Beyond the many use cases of artificial intelligence seen across industries, healthcare professionals have recently highlighted that AI is proving opportune in one of the most complex areas of medicine – genomics – and is revolutionising patient care.
Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in association with Gitex Global, a landmark event showcased AI’s transformative potential and its ability to drive industry-wide change. It highlighted how AI is improving the efficiency of healthcare systems and shaping the future of genomics, offering new solutions to some of the industry’s most pressing challenges, such as understanding and predicting hidden patterns in advanced genomic datasets – enabling diseases to be diagnosed and treated more accurately than ever before.
Leveraging AI to Transform Genomics and Healthcare
For healthcare, AI has been a game changer, strengthening healthcare system operations and care delivery. Paul Jones, CEO of BioPharma Solutions, AI Life Sciences at M42, a global leader in AI-enabled healthcare technologies, noted that AI is shifting the focus from reactive treatment to more proactive early detection.
“We probably understand less than 1% of what’s happening in genomics and there’s still 99% to discover. So the research effort is absolutely critical because we need to gradually reduce that 99%,” he said.
The UAE is already making significant strides in genomics with the UAE Genomics Programme, one of the largest such initiatives in the world, which marked a milestone by collecting 500,000 genetic samples last year, paving the way for personalised healthcare solutions tailored to the Emirati population.
Highlighting the importance of collaboration in global health efforts, Professor Haghighi highlighted that 4.5 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services. He highlighted the crucial role that partnerships play in bridging these gaps, stressing the critical need for global collaboration to address health challenges.
“Partnerships are a very important factor for any advancement, but when it comes to healthcare, they become crucial,” he said. “We’re coming out of a pandemic, and what we’ve learned is that if your friend isn’t safe, then you’re not safe. That applies to biology,” he added.
Spider-inspired microrobots: Redefining surgical precision
The program also showcased groundbreaking research on microrobots through organic grippers inspired by dead spiders, to safely extract dead or infected cells, drawing inspiration from the agility of arachnids and illustrating the fusion of AI, robotics and bioengineering.
This innovation could transform surgical practices, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional metal tools, minimizing tissue damage and speeding up recovery.
According to analysts at Research and Markets, the global healthcare AI market is expected to reach $164 billion by 2030, highlighting the transformative potential of AI in healthcare to revolutionize patient care and streamline operations to reduce operational costs.
Caroline Haïat
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