Big data analysis contributes to preventive medicine development: AI expert

Egypt has potential to improve healthcare system particularly with youthful population, says Mostafa

Technology and big data analysis contribute significantly to the development of preventative medicine, according to Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert Ehab Mostafa.
Mostafa, CEO and Managing Director of NI Consulting and former Vice President of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), stressed the importance of using technology in the health sector to support the country's initiatives. He noted that it was particularly important given the current fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Bringing together Big Data processing, AI applications, and the Internet-of-Things (IOT), in one integrated system are vital tools to activate preventive medicine.
This would also attract businessmen who will bring investments to the right place based on well-studied information.
This came during Mostafa's participation in Narrative Summit's digital talks entitled "Reshaping Norms", which are aired via its various social media platforms.
The digital talks host renowned experts addressing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and how it will reshape the future of the local and global economy, society, and technology.
During his talk, Mostafa also highlighted that Egypt has tremendous potential to improve its healthcare system. As youth also represent nearly 40% of the total population, they should be equipped with technologies such Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to push the country forward.
It is also vital that the government keep an electronic chip for every citizen alongside the national ID. This would contain all their medical data, enabling doctors access to patient data and medical records in the event of an emergency, Mostafa said.
He further explained that the system currently in use in Egypt can be improved by changing the traditional medical report storage, making use instead of big data and AI for improved monitoring.
Mostafa added that the idea of electronic chips has been adopted in electronic devices that collect and analyse data on a person's health condition. This includes recording daily bodily movement, pulse and blood sugar levels. This type of health monitoring, also referred to as "preventative medicine", has the end goal of being able to predict health issues in advance.
Mostafa emphasised that applying preventive medicine methods could help alert the governorates in advance of certain diseases that could potentially become a pandemic.
Using preventative medicine methods could also provide healthcare professionals with the rates of a disease's escalation among various groups, as well as their causes.
With this information on hand, decisions on medicine supplies and quantities, building hospitals with specific equipment, and most importantly, addressing the causes of such a disease can more easily be made.
Lastly, Mostafa stressed the importance of encouraging investors to focus on innovation and technology to further improve the accuracy and analysis of the available health data.