Karnataka govt to support teleradiology, teleconsultation in state

Mar 25, 2022

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 25 : Considering the vital role of technology in the medical field, the Karnataka government will support the implementation of teleradiology and teleconsultation, the state Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said on Friday.
Inaugurating the 74th annual conference of the 'Indian Radiological and Imaging Association' (IRIA), the minister said that radiology or medical imaging plays a big role in ensuring accurate diagnosis and consequently.
If technology and data science are leveraged well, it can decrease the cost and increase the quality of health care in the country, Narayana opined.
"In India, at present, health care is being delivered in an expensive, labour-intensive way and this needs to be changed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can help Radiologists work smarter and efficiently," he said.
These technologies can help radiologists gather more significant insights from the vast amounts of data generated by imaging solutions. As a result, it can improve treatment and reduced the cost of care, he added.
Narayana said, there is a need to leverage AI at an even more significant speed and intensity to drive many more advances.
Recent studies in the west have shown that 56 per cent of radiologists currently use AI at some level, the Healthcare sector lags behind other sectors in the adoption of AI because it operates in a regulated environment, he noted.
"Biology and engineering are crossing paths in research. This intersection will bring about remarkable advances in diagnosing, understanding and treating disease. In the west, several educational programmes offer engineering-based medical training. Such education helps medical professionals develop engineering solutions to problems that doctors face every day," Minister explained.
Adding, Radiology has become a highly dynamic field with current advances extending into Radio-genomics, Radiomics and Data-imaging, he stated, by 2033, the US is expected to have a shortfall of about 42,000 medical imaging professionals.