Are you at risk of diabetes? Chinese AI system could predict disease 15 years in advance
Technology firm working with Shanghai hospital says system had an 88pc accuracy rate in tests on information from 170,000 people
Doctors at a hospital in Shanghai are hoping a new artificial intelligence system will help them to identify patients at risk of developing diabetes up to 15 years in advance.
In tests the model, known as Ruining Knows Sugar, or Ruining Zhitang in Chinese, achieved an accuracy rate of 88 per cent, according to 4 Paradigm, the Beijing-based company that developed the software and which has been working with medical staff at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai since last year.
According to Tu Weiwei, a machine learning specialist at the tech company, the system was designed to identify those most at risk of developing type 2 diabetes – the most common form of the chronic disease – within the next three years.
It also gave risk forecasts for the next nine and 15 years as a reference, he said.
Ning Guang, a specialist in metabolic diseases and vice-president of Ruijin Hospital, said the new system used medical information from 170,000 individuals from across the country, some of whom had diabetes and others who did not.