How AI is keeping Londoners healthy

It’s fairly common to struggle to get a doctor’s appointment, even if you’re calling way in advance. To address this, Babylon Health has stepped in to offer their GP at Hand service, whereby you can contact a GP, virtually, at any time of day. And if you do need to see a doctor in person? There are five clinics in London (and one in Birmingham). Plus, there are other features too, including a digital health check and symptom-checker. 

Urban Fitness London has partnered with app collection FitConnect to help all gym bunnies and fitness-phobes hit their targets. How does it work? The software, called FitConnect Goals, asks what you want to achieve (from gaining muscle and losing weight to improving overall fitness) and then tracks your progress, giving you tailored advice and working alongside the in-club team. Yep, it develops with you – because no matter what exercise you’re doing, every body is different.

Keeping the correct blood levels topped up at hospitals isn’t simple. There’s a whole list of variables, such as incoming patients, donor blood types, regional diversity and more – and they can all alter stock requirements. To improve the process and logistics of hospital blood stocks, AI company Kortical conducted a case study, examining the impacts of artificial intelligence on cultivating and using blood stocks. The results? Waste and costs can be reduced by half when using AI, properly optimising the NHS’s supply. Something that is especially important when you consider the shelf life of blood is quite limited. For platelets, it’s only seven days.

In fact, research shows that AI can do this just as accurately as doctors – and in as little as four seconds. According to evidence from the trials of UCL, The Francis Crick Institute and Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, not only could detecting and predicting heart disease become easier than ever, it could also free up clinicians to spend their time on other things. But, obviously, don’t let that stop you from doing your bit to stay fighting fit.