Georgina Ferry interviews Andrew Soltan, medical doctor (John Radcliffe Hospital), 10 March 2022.
Topics discussed include (00:00:40) AS's early interest in medicine, medical studies at Christ's College, Cambridge and training in Addenbrooke's Hospital, 2018 move to Oxford; (00:02:00) research work in Oxford using machine learning methods for early detection and prediction of disease; (00:04:00) artificial intelligence, successes and innovations within the field, narrow AI and its use in clinical research and care; (00:06:23) research on abdominal aortic aneurysms, development of algorithm; (00:07:21) first memory of COVID-19, role as a Junior Doctor at the Adult Intensive Care Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital; (00:10:46) key data collected when patients arrive at hospital; (00:13:57) meeting with David Clifton on project to develop AI tools that could detect COVID-19 from routinely collected healthcare data such as blood tests and vital signs (CURIAL); (00:16:18) validation strategy for the project, development of faster means of carrying out tests; (00:19:20) genesis of the title of the project (CURIAL); (00:20:54) approval for the study from MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency); (00:22:17) Consultant Emergency Physicians of EMROx (Emergency Medicine Research in Oxford) and local approval to put the machine and algorithm into practice, assistance of medical students in running the tests; (00:23:41) comparison with lateral flow testing; (00:27:16) CURIAL One, CURIAL Lab, CURIAL-Rapide; (00:28:00) future plans for the technology, including a start-up company; (00:29:25) responsibilities and workload as a Junior Doctor and Clinical Academic; (00:30:58) risks associated with shifting to AI methods; (00:33:04) similar approaches being undertaken nationwide; (00:34:37) work at the John Radcliffe Hospital, including resources and PPE; (00:35:15) personal threat felt from COVID-19, early vaccination, affect on colleagues; (00:37:14) AI and day-to-day clinical use of this technology; (00:38:15) future interests, engagement in AI ethics and practicality of AI deployment; (00:40:12) working collaboratively with a range of people; (00:42:00) barriers and structures in adopting AI into clinical practice.
