How AI is being used to make advancements in healthcare

NEW YORK (CBS, KYMA) - Artificial intelligence (AI) is radically transforming modern medicine, especially when it comes to diagnosing cancer and heart disease.

A new study published in the journal, "Radiology," finds that AI can spot patterns in mammograms that may help identify women at higher risk of developing breast cancer.

The FDA also cleared the first AI tool that can detect certain forms of heart disease from a routine electrocardiogram (ECG).

The technology, called EchoNext, was developed by Dr. Pierre Elias, a cardiologist and AI expert.

"This cheap test, the electrocardiogram, which we do hundreds of millions of times per year - we can't use that to detect things like heart failure, or valve disease, or pulmonary hypertension. I've read 10,000 EKGs as a cardiologist and I still can't do it but it turns out AI can do exactly that," Dr. Elias explained.

Elias says AI should not serve as a replacement for doctors. He hopes his technology serves as a co-pilot to help medical professionals figure out which patients need a greater level of care.