Olagunju Abdulrahmon, The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, @Olagunjurahman
This article is based on a presentation at The Physiological Society’s first early career virtual conference, Future Physiology 2020.
In the world of indispensable machines and a competitive workforce, technology has become the hallmark of every society, which has proven to bring the modern world to life. It has changed the face of industries, and it is crystal clear that we are in another phase of industrial revolution – of which the health industry is of no exception. The application of these recent advancing technologies is not only diverse but increasingly applicable to many fields!
Statistics released by allaboutcareers.com, a leading career exploration website, revealed that 44% of undergraduates are unable to define the industry that they would like to work in once they graduate. These are worrying statistics that emphasise the need for high quality, free and easy to access career information for young people that will increase undergraduate awareness with different careers that can be pursued (as physiologists) especially in this era of advancing technology.
This article explores how artificial intelligence (AI), bioprinting and nanotechnology can create more employment opportunities for future physiologist by bridging the wide gaps between knowledge in research, teaching and clinics.
AI: Putting artificial intelligence to work in the lab
AI as described simply by John McCarthy in 1956 as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines” – is really pushing past the limit of what nature provides us. This technology promises to change the practice of medicine – and all its allied fields – in hitherto unknown ways, but many of its practical applications need to be explored and developed more. More specifically, physiologists need to understand and acclimatise themselves with these advances for better transition of basic research to clinical application.
“The basis of evidence-based research is to establish correlations and insights via developing associations and patterns from the existing database of information” (1). Traditionally, physiologists employed statistical methods to find patterns and associations. However, computers can now learn the art of diagnosing a patient via two broad techniques – flowcharts and database approach. Through the process of extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL), researchers can generate a patient dataset worthy of analysis by AI techniques. In addition to the data analysis using structure data, AI techniques are now used for medical image recognition, semantic recognition, and molecular biological testing.
AI (in the form of a deep neural network) has been developed to examine electrocardiogram (ECG) test results, to predict which patients are likely to develop an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or die within the next year, according to two preliminary studies presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2019 in Philadelphia and research published in Nature Communications this year by researchers at Uppsala University and heart specialists in Brazil this year (2).
Scientists have trained a computer (a neural network or artificial intelligence) to evaluate electrocardiograms (ECGs) to predict which patients are likely to develop an irregular heartbeat even when doctors interpreted the test results as normal.
Another example of using AI in physiology is analysis of blood samples to better understand neurodegenerative diseases: Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in the analysis of blood samples which help to predict and explain disease progression. For example, researchers at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital) of McGill University and the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health used an AI algorithm to analyse the blood and post-mortem brain samples of nearly 2000 patients with Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. This will help in understanding the molecular patterns specific to these diseases.
Physiologists can use these technologies in research settings like universities, research institutes, bioindustries, pharmaceutical companies and many more, and by collaborating with data scientists, bioinformaticians, clinicians, tech specialist and many other roles.
Bioprinting: building physiological tissues one cell at a time
In the last decade, bioprinting has made significant steps towards the fabrication of physiological tissues. “Currently, there is a plethora of research being done on bioprinting technology and its potential as a future source for implants and full organ transplantation” (3).
Bioprinting tissues and organs requires the recreation of structures and functions within the tissue, including signaling networks, cellular interactions, multiple cell types, and physiological activity; which can be done by physiologists with their understanding of composition of structures and their mechanism of actions.
3D printed tissue is proving to be an effective means of testing new pharmaceuticals, meaning that drugs can be thoroughly assessed and brought to market more quickly, all without doing research on animals .
This technology has been applied in different areas such as in the construction of biomimetic tissues, conductive tissues, drug delivery, biorobotics, fabrication of bioelectronics and many more.
Physiologists can bridge the gaps – such as in the fields of in vivo integration and vascularization – in making this technology more acceptable.
Furthermore, physiologists can use these technologies in research settings like universities, research institutes, bioindustries, pharmaceutical companies and many more.
Nanotechnology: a meeting of traditional sciences
This is another revolution in biomedical sciences which has created one of the most dynamic science and technology domains at the confluence of physical sciences, molecular engineering, biology, biotechnology, and medicine. This domain includes better understanding of living and thinking systems, revolutionary biotechnology processes, synthesis of new drugs and their targeted delivery, regenerative medicine, neuromorphic engineering, and developing a sustainable environment (4).
Moreover, for its applications to medicine and physiology, materials and devices used in this technology can be designed to interact with cells and tissues at a molecular (i.e., subcellular) level with a high degree of functional specificity, thus allowing a degree of integration between technology and biological systems which are not previously attainable.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that nanotechnology is not in itself a single emerging scientific discipline but rather a meeting of traditional sciences such as chemistry, physics, materials science, and biology to bring together the required collective expertise needed to develop these novel technologies.
This technology is applied in drug delivery, which involves a thorough understanding of drug pharmacology, human physiology and disease pathology and integrates each aspect into the design and evaluation of drug delivery systems for specific diseases. Hopefully, the insights gained from these research explorations on drug delivery systems can build a bridge between the fields of nanomaterials and biological systems and provide a new perspective for the design and development of clinically useful nanomedicines.
This technology can be applied in vaccine development, cancer therapies, diagnostic applications, antibiotics resistance and much more. Furthermore, physiologist can use these technologies in research settings like universities, research institutes, bioindustries, pharmaceutical companies and many more. They can also engage in this as a design strategist, regulatory affairs, and consultant.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6691444/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15432-4
- https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/bioprinting-technology-a-current-state-of-the-art-review
- https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnt/2009/184702/
- https://www.cbinsights.com/research/artificial-intelligence-healthcare-startups-investors/