24 crossroads magazine Over the past 15 years, AI has become firmly embed- ded in healthtech, particularly in radiology. “Decision-support tools in radiology primarily rely on computer vision,” Jan Beger explains. “These tools often use so-called narrow AI models that have been trained to detect one specific condition and alert the ra- diologist when needed. But we’re now entering a new era, with technologies capable of much more holistic, far-reaching impact.” At the forefront of this shift are foundation models – AI neural networks trained on vast volumes of raw data, enabling them to be applied across a wide array of use cases. “Radiologists don’t look at images in isolation,” says Mr Beger. “They interpret them in context, drawing on lab results, patient history and other clinical data. Foundation models can do something similar – ingest- ing diverse data types and reasoning across all of them. It brings us closer to AI that can operate more like a clinician. That’s truly exciting.” Making sense of multimodal data Healthcare systems must handle a vast array of data types ranging from structured lab results and diagnos- tic images to free-text clinical notes and even handwrit- ten observations. “This diversity presents a challenge, but also a major opportunity. With the latest generation of AI technologies, we can leverage and derive mean- ing from multimodal patient data. It’s a game-changer.” Mr Beger also highlights that artificial intelligence has a role to play in bridging the communication gap between clinicians and patients. “Medical reports can be overwhelming. AI can help translate jargon into clear, patient-friendly language, even responding in an empathetic way.” Opportunities in healthtech These advances are creating a wave of opportunity, not just in terms of new AI-driven health products, but also for enhancing internal business operations. “Artificial intelligence will influence many areas of our How is AI driving innovation in digital health, and what does it take to succeed? We spoke with Jan Beger, Global Head of AI Advocacy at GE Health- Care, to find out. BY LENA MÅRTENSSON © GE HealthCare