Experts Convene at IIIT Delhi to Explore AI-Driven Healthcare Solutions

New Delhi: A diverse group of medical professionals, engineers, scientists, and stakeholders gathered at the iHub Anubhuti IIITD Foundation of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT Delhi) for a day-long conference aimed at exploring the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in revolutionizing healthcare. The conference, titled “AI in Healthcare: Bridging the Gap Between Medicine and Engineering,” focused on developing AI-driven solutions to enhance patient care, optimize clinical processes, and improve overall healthcare outcomes.

In his inaugural address, Professor Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), highlighted the transformative potential of the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). He emphasized that integrating AI with clinical and basic sciences could significantly improve healthcare access by utilizing India’s extensive data sets. “The NM-ICPS offers an opportunity to recalibrate healthcare systems by merging expertise across disciplines to address critical challenges in patient care,” Prof. Karandikar noted.

He underscored the urgent need for interdisciplinary collaboration to alleviate the pressures on India’s overburdened healthcare facilities. “Over the next three years, NM-ICPS will focus on synchronizing efforts across multiple fields to achieve impactful advancements in healthcare,” he added.

The conference, jointly organized by DST and five Technology Innovation Hubs (TiHs) under NM-ICPS, with support from AIIMS Delhi, provided a platform for participants to identify key challenges in healthcare, foster collaborative research, and explore the practical implementation of AI-driven solutions.

Highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research, Prof. Karandikar encouraged attendees to generate actionable recommendations that could lead to effective healthcare interventions. “Our goal is to launch an interdisciplinary R&D program that brings together experts from engineering, basic sciences, computer science, and practicing clinicians to drive innovation in healthcare,” he said.

Prominent figures at the conference included Dr. Ranjan Bose, Director of IIIT Delhi; Dr. Ekta Kapoor, Head of the FFT Division at DST; and Dr. Pushpendra Singh and Dr. Vikram Goyal, Project Directors at iHub Anubhuti-IIITD Foundation. Domain experts from both medicine and engineering fields also contributed to discussions on advancing AI applications in healthcare.