Robots are Better than Doctors in Medical Diagnosis

 Pepper is an 'emotional' robot which has been available to buy
since June 2015 ( AFP/Getty Images )
Pepper is an 'emotional' robot which has been available to buy since June 2015 ( AFP/Getty Images )
TT

Robots are Better than Doctors in Medical Diagnosis

 Pepper is an 'emotional' robot which has been available to buy
since June 2015 ( AFP/Getty Images )
Pepper is an 'emotional' robot which has been available to buy since June 2015 ( AFP/Getty Images )

Artificial intelligence has proved remarkable abilities in diagnosing various conditions and has outperformed specialists in many fields. Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that a competition was held between an artificial intelligence system designed for medical diagnosis and a group of experienced doctors from various clinics and hospitals in Moscow.

The doctors were given radiographies and analysis, and were asked to verify whether the patient had a tumor or arrhythmia. The same data was entered into the automated system, which gave a more accurate result.

The head of a technical group working on artificial intelligence technologies said: "Artificial neural networks are able to see patterns that humans cannot easily see, so these networks define the areas to focus on during diagnosis. The size of nodal formations of the tumor, for example, may be very small, and often the robot will identify it and guide the doctor to the area he has to focus on." 

However, experts in the medical and technical fields warned from the errors that may occur in the work of artificial intelligence, and explained that doctors' reliance on it would lead to a decline in their experience. 

However, specialists in the development of artificial neural networks assured doctors that this technical development would not be a substitute for them, but would be helpful to them, and will help them reduce the rate of error in diagnosis.

It is worth noting that a team of technical specialists and doctors are currently working on the design of a unified diagnostic system in Russia that depends on artificial intelligence. 

The main idea behind ​​the project is to pump data into this system with information on the most accurate details of diseases, as well as data on the pathology of the patient. 

The system will be trained on diseases' diagnosis. It will not be confined to a specific hospital or residential area, but will be a unified network connecting various medical institutions in Russia. 

The system is expected to achieve a quantum leap in the medical diagnosis field, with more speed and accuracy.



Rain Checks Spread of Japan Wildfire 

This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)
This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)
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Rain Checks Spread of Japan Wildfire 

This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)
This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)

Rain appears to have halted the spread of Japan's worst wildfire in more than half a century, officials said Thursday, as residents expressed relief the smoke was gone.

The blaze had raged around the northern city of Ofunato for more than a week, killing one person and forcing more than 4,500 residents to evacuate their homes.

The rain, which began falling Wednesday following a record dry period, had helped firefighting efforts, a local fire official said.

"Thanks in part to the rain, the situation has subsided to an extent," Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami told a regular briefing.

"We realize many residents are aching to return home," he said, adding that evacuation orders would be lifted when safety was confirmed.

Several columns of white smoke and fire sources persisted during the day, officials said.

"The fires haven't been fully put out yet," another Ofunato official told the briefing.

Residents were more positive, however.

"I'm relieved to see no smoke", one elderly woman told public broadcaster NHK, while a man said he was "very happy that we had rain yesterday".

The wildfire burned about 2,900 hectares (7,170 acres) -- around half the size of Manhattan -- making it Japan's largest in more than 50 years, surpassing the 2,700 hectares engulfed by a 1975 fire on Hokkaido island.

Japan endured its hottest summer on record last year as climate change pushes up temperatures worldwide.

Then in February, Ofunato received just 2.5 millimeters (0.1 inches) of rainfall -- breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.4 millimeters in 1967 and well below the average of 41 millimeters.

At least 78 buildings are believed to have been damaged, although details are still being assessed, according to the fire agency.

The number of wildfires in Japan has declined since a 1970s peak.

However, there were about 1,300 in 2023, concentrated in the period from February to April when the air dries out and winds pick up.

Greg Mullins, a former fire and rescue commissioner for the Australian state of New South Wales, told AFP this fire as well as the recent ones in Los Angeles were "highly unusual" because they took place in the cooler winter months.

"In both cases the fires were preceded by hot summers, which increased evaporation and drying of vegetation, followed by large rainfall deficits that parched the landscape," he said.

"This is a common by-product of climate change," said Mullins, a founder of the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group.