While much is talked about the power of robotics or software systems to revolutionise healthcare, ideas around speech recognition have for far too long focused solely on its use for dictation. Now experts are testing the same technology that gives us Alexa and Siri to see what could be achieved in the GP surgery, operating theatres and with dementia patients. According to Cathal McGloin, CEO of the AI company ServisBOT: ‘While it’s early days for widespread implementations of voice assistants in healthcare, the number and range of use cases is growing.’
McGloin says we can expect to see voice activation used everywhere from operating theatres to clinical trials and home healthcare. ‘You could ask: “Alexa, what are the A&E waiting times in hospitals within a ten-mile range?” The voice assistant can then advise on the name and location of the hospital that has the shortest.’
Voice technology can enhance the day-to-day wellbeing of both clinician and patient, explains Dr Simon Wallace of Nuance Communications.
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