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人工智能遇上中医:开启医疗新纪元

 

人工智能与中医学

王嘉驹 2024

近年来,随着人工智能技术的迅猛发展,AI 的应用已经深入各个领域。机器人技术的日益成熟,尤其是配备 AI 的机器人,为这些创新技术赋予了广泛的可能性。一些研究机构和学者甚至预测,通用人工智能(Artificial General Intelligence)将在不久的将来成为现实。中医学领域同样不乏对 AI 的探索与研究。作为一名中医师,且对人工智能有一定的技术基础,我对 AI 在中医学中的应用充满了兴趣。大约十年前,我参与了中医临床科技应用的研究。彼时,国内外(包括台湾和香港)都在研究机械脉诊仪和其他四诊设备的开发。我也对这些脉诊仪的研发方向和技术应用进行了深入的学习。

当时,相关技术如 MEMS 振动感应、光学感应、声波感应的研究正在发展中,但也面临各自的局限。最终的结论是,当时的技术尚不足以支撑一个具备全面临床可靠性的中医自动化系统。然而,十年后的今天,人工智能技术已经取得了长足的进步。那么,AI 在中医四诊中的应用是否也取得了相应的突破呢?我想结合十年前的发现,讨论其中的挑战与问题:

 

1.      脉诊仪的技术瓶颈

脉诊仪的核心挑战在于能否模拟人类手指的灵敏度。要解决这一问题,必须:

  • 收集大量的脉象数据并进行建模。
  • 确保这些数据与临床医生的诊断结果具有高度一致性。
  • 借助中医师对治疗反馈的分析,来验证脉象数据的准确性。
  • 需要足够有经验的中医师参与研究,确保数据的完整性与可靠性。

2. 触诊技术的局限

  • 触诊场景复杂多样,目前需要依赖类似机器人的设备来辅助完成。

3. 望诊技术的发展

  • 望诊技术已经取得了较大进展,但仍需克服一些问题,如光照条件的干扰、不同皮肤颜色对病征判断的影响,以及复杂皮肤病变的识别。

4. 问诊的技术难点

  • 问诊本身的算法和模型已相对成熟,但语音识别方面仍存在挑战,尤其是在应对不同口音和方言时。此类问题会影响病人回答的准确记录与提取有效信息。

5. 闻诊的复杂性

  • 闻诊涉及对声音和气味的分析,例如区分不同类型的咳嗽声或体味的采集与判断。这与脉诊技术的复杂性相似,尤其是在模拟人类嗅觉方面具有相当高的技术难度。

模拟技术的挑战

脉诊数据的获取不仅仅是记录桡动脉的跳动频率,还涉及更复杂的多维度分析,包括脉象的紧张度、宽度、深度、顺畅度、力度等。特别是复合脉象的存在,使得数据采集的复杂性成倍增加。设备还需解决按压力度、脉位定位等问题,不同体型、肌肉软硬度的患者对设备的要求各不相同,技术难度相当高。

中医学的学术与技术挑战

中医学本身存在一些学派之间的学术分歧,这些不同的理论体系在中医发展的过程中形成了对某些问题的不同解释。尤其是在脉学的传承方面,由于存在传承断层,导致了临床应用中的盲点和矛盾。这种学术不一致性可能会在自动化系统的构建中造成决策链的不完整。此外,中药的使用标准在业内尚未达成统一共识,这也为系统化的自动化应用带来挑战。

当代中医的人工智能应用

尽管 AI 和机器人技术已经极大地提升了中医四诊技术的潜力,但我认为目前的技术在临床应用中仍未达到成熟阶段。临床需求的核心在于设备的可靠性和效率,而即使这些都达标,责任归属问题依然难以解决。设备故障或系统误诊是不可避免的风险,因此在自动化技术的应用中,如何明确责任承担仍是一个亟待解决的问题。这不仅是中医领域的挑战,现代医学同样面临类似的问题。

中医科技应用的前景

尽管距离实现高度自动化的中医临床系统还有相当的距离,但这并不意味着中医科技应用的探索止步不前。我们可以从全自动化转向辅助模式的应用,通过引入自动化技术来辅助诊疗过程,既提升了效率,又避免了责任承担的问题。在其他领域,如自动驾驶技术中,类似的解决方案已开始被应用,我们可以从中借鉴经验。

辅助模式的发展

在辅助诊疗模式下,AI 与其它现代科技的应用仍有巨大的发展空间。关键在于分析并找到性价比更高且具备可行性的应用场景,逐步推动中医自动化的落地与发展。在临床中,我常常想到可以通过 AI 系统提高诊断的全面性,从而更加精准地做出有效的诊疗决策。例如,利用 AI 技术对四诊收集的数据进行分析,可以提示可能存在的疾病,帮助医生进行鉴别诊断,并提供治疗的建议。系统可以标记数据中的矛盾点,并针对主要的病机组提出诊疗策略,包括治则治法和用药提示。

这样的系统可以显著减少误诊和漏诊,提升辨证论治的效率和准确性,同时确保处方符合八纲原则。通过将临床数据收集与诊疗流程紧密结合,建立起一个庞大的数据库,不仅能优化临床决策,还能为大数据分析提供基础,从而进一步提升系统的信息准确性。此外,这些数据也可以用于优化中医教学材料、促进科研创新,甚至与现代生物化学数据相结合,推动中医现代化进程。这一系统将成为现代技术与中医学深度融合的桥梁,有望助推钱学森所提出的以中医学为框架的人体科学向前迈进。

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