AI and COVID

This morning I was reading an article by John McCormick in WSJ’s Artificial Intelligence daily newsletter that highlighted a company called Sanofi that is using AI to drive COVID-19 vaccine research, but not in the way that you may expect. They are not using AI to develop the vaccine itself but are instead using the technology to identify and recruit appropriate volunteers for clinical trials of the developing vaccines. See, each vaccine that is currently undergoing testing (of which there are now 13 which are in the clinical human trial phase) will need thousands, if not tens of thousands, of volunteers to support its trial(s), however these volunteers must meet certain criteria in order to fit the purpose of the studies. In the case of COVID, here are the criteria:

Criteria

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:

1. Age: 18 years of age or older
2. Available to participate for the planned duration of the clinical trial for which the screening is being done
3. Able and willing to complete the informed consent process
4. Agree to participate in procedures as needed for the clinical trial screening process.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

1. A known condition that requires active medical intervention or monitoring to avert serious danger to the participant s health or well-being
2. Known to be pregnant or breast-feeding, or planning to become pregnant in the near future
3. Use of a medication that significantly alters the immune system within the past 6 months or anticipated within the next year (e.g. immunoglobulin, systemic corticosteroids > prednisone equivalent of 10 mg/kg/day)
4. Any other condition that in the opinion of the investigator would make the subject unsuitable for enrollment or could interfere with the subject participating in and completing the study
5. Abuse of illicit drugs, alcohol abuse, or alcohol dependency within the last 6 months
6. Known to be infected with HIV or Hepatitis B and/or C.

So as one can see, it is not a simple question of “Would you like to participate in this study?” that would determine a volunteer. Using AI, Sanofi will likely start by identifying suitable geographies that will present large populations from which to select, then comb through medical records of patients that could be viable volunteers. This process is normally quite manual and can take some time, which only slows the vaccination trials and, ultimately, their release to the public. Every step matters deeply at this time. Each day, the economic impact of the Coronavirus is in the billions, so speed matters. This is where AI really shines — its ability to make quick “yes or no” decisions on a scale and scope that dwarfs humans’ ability to sort through such massive data sets (like the entire US population).

The Coronavirus has revealed many weaknesses in our healthcare system, but AI begun to prove true, and I think its adoption will only accelerate at this time because of its vast potential to improve the system.