The Smart Hospital: Data and AI Challenges

Healthcare systems generally constitute a combination of healthcare facilities and providers that collaborate in order to offer a complete range of healthcare services. As the primary providers of healthcare, hospitals hold an essential place in the healthcare system. This study introduces three novel automated Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems by using the robotic platform of the TIAGo robot: (i) an image-based system that monitors the food consumption of the patients and provides information regarding their energy intake to prevent malnutrition; (ii) a rehabilitation system that monitors patients as they perform prescribed exercises to prevent loss of mobility, and (iii) a monitoring system for the correctness of the oxygen therapy in terms of the proper positioning of the oxygen mask to prevent hypoxia complications. A well-designed observational clinical study is planned to evaluate and validate the utility and effectiveness of the proposed AI systems in improving patient stay in the hospital. For the abovementioned systems, three novel datasets were created.Clinical Relevance: Through the implementation of AI systems, the proposed research intends to provide specialists with an extra tool to aid in the monitoring of hospitalized patients, thus helping to prepare the way for the Smart Hospital.