We all have had trips to the doctor’s – some not so pleasant I might add. Your part ends when you describe all your symptoms. After that, you wait for a diagnosis from the doctor. They take some of your body fluids, tests are conducted and voila! Your fate is known.
Have you ever wondered how the tests are able to pinpoint exactly whatever ails you? Now, there’s two ways diagnoses work;
Host Response Diagnostics
Host response tests work by checking the reaction of a living system, in this case, to the presence of foreign materials.
Over the past couple of years, diagnostic methods have had some significant developments and rightly so. Challenges in the field, like drug resistance and high mortality from severe infections, have warranted improved diagnostics and host response diagnostics.
Exactly How Do Host Response Tests Work?
When it comes to detecting and responding to diseases, nothing is faster or more accurate, not to mention more actionable, than mother nature’s first line of defense and that is our bodies’ immune systems.
Doctors have a tough time distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections using conventional tests and this particular method solves that because the immune system has different reactions to both.
It all boils down to monitoring changes, if any, in the levels of three particular immune system proteins that work to fight bacteria and viruses. They all show different unique patterns in bacterial and viral infections.
For instance, the protein TRAIL increases in the blood of patients infected by a wide variety of viruses but decreases in the case of bacterial infections – dramatically so, I might add. Based on this kind of response, it is easier for clinicians to tell if it’s a viral or bacterial infection.
Why Go for a Host Response Test?
Such tests boast of a few advantages on top of the sheer speed and accuracy they bring.
To begin with, the test allows for accurate and rapid diagnosis even in cases where the infection site is inaccessible. How does it do that you ask? Immune system proteins necessary for host response diagnostics circulate the entire body.
It prevents false alarms as it can single out bacteria and viruses that are harmless and don’t cause any infection or disease. It also comes in handy in identifying pathogens that are undetectable using conventional tests alone.
Artificial Intelligence Diagnostics
Medical practitioners spend a lot of time studying how to correctly diagnose a disease and the value of artificial intelligence diagnostics cannot be overstated with that regard. Your doctor has a lot of thinking and inferring and deducting to do especially when your symptoms are compatible with one or more illnesses. Machine learning is the most utilized artificial intelligence field.
How it Works
Machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence that involves the use of computer systems that are able to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions. This is achieved by using algorithms and statistical models to analyze and draw inferences from patterns in data set(s).
With reference to artificial intelligence diagnostics, the system is fed a bunch of data and machine algorithms are trained to see patterns in that data. With good, accurate data available, machine algorithms cannot be bested when it comes to diagnosing diseases in a split second.
Advantages
AI enables researchers to collect one very deep well of information from various sources. Drawing from that rich and varied information makes the analysis of diseases more effective.
AI is also good for your doctor’s stress levels. Research reports that half of medical practitioners are stressed from working conditions and the pressure of meeting deadlines. AI automates some of their work and functions, which helps your doctor juggle fewer tasks.
