Following his graduation with an MD [General Medicine] from Madras Medical College, Dr. Annamalai started his profession as a Consultant Physician. At Christian Medical College [CMC] Vellore, Dr. Annamalai worked as a consultant nephrologist and conducted multiple retrospective data analyses. To learn about Annamalai’s opinions on AI in healthcare, INDIAai spoke with him.
Describe your experiences as a clinician, researcher, and nephrologist in practice.
2009 saw the start of my career as a clinician when I started my internship at Madras Medical College. During this time, I was exposed to a wide range of health issues including all specialties within the medical field. I then completed my MD [General Medicine] at Madras Medical College in 2014, giving me first-hand knowledge treating a wide range of medical conditions. After arduous instruction at Christian Medical College [CMC], Vellore, I was later developed into a skilled nephrologist in 2019. I had performed a few retrospective data analyses in my capacity as a researcher during my MD and DM training sessions. As a Consultant Nephrologist for a brief period of time at CMC Vellore, I participated in a multicenter randomized controlled medication trial for a kidney condition. I enjoyed a successful year as an assistant professor of nephrology at CMC Vellore, where I am currently a practicing nephrologist. I received a lot of experience treating complicated kidney conditions and mentoring aspiring nephrologists. I have dedicated myself to growing the Nephrology Department at Naruvi Hospitals in Vellore since November 2020.
During your interview, you mentioned that treating chronic kidney disease (CKD) requires early identification. Are there any technological instruments you use for this process? in order to simplify and expedite the process.
Screening for kidney disease indicators in high-risk populations, such as those with diabetes mellitus, systemic hypertension, a family history of kidney problems, etc., is a crucial step in the early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD). It entails a straightforward blood test for serum creatinine, a urinalysis to look for blood leaks or proteins, and a blood pressure reading to find excessive blood pressure that has gone unnoticed.
What do you think the laborious CKD detection process entails? AI researchers in India will find it useful to identify the research gaps so that they can begin developing solutions, particularly in identifying the early indicators of kidney illness to allow timely detection.
The laborious process of diagnosing CKD involves educating the general people about renal health and making them aware of the dangers of progressive, untreated CKD.
Throughout your more than ten years as a physician and researcher, what technological developments have you seen?
Both the diagnostic and therapeutic domains have seen significant advancements; nephropathology, immunology, disease biomarkers, and novel therapy techniques that target the molecules implicated in the disease pathogenesis are just a few examples of the innovative approaches that have been made.
Kindly share details about the technological tools and programs you usually use.
Several estimating formulae and software-enabled computations based on clinical and laboratory factors are used to arrive at the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Newer developments in nephropathology have helped to boost the amount of information obtained from kidney biopsy several times over.
How do you feel about AI models being used to help in medical diagnosis?
In certain regions of the world, AI models have already been employed in a limited capacity to help treating clinicians and nephropathologists diagnose and treat kidney illnesses. More uses of AI models in healthcare are anticipated in the future.
A number of respected academic institutions, like Stanford and Oxford, have started to offer courses on artificial intelligence applications in the healthcare industry. What view do you have on this change?
Adopting advancements, nephrology expanded as a medical subspecialty. Therefore, I applaud this change as a practicing nephrologist in order to guarantee improved patient care, safety, and management results in the future.
Which journals or books would you suggest to aspiring medical researchers and students?
In accordance with their lecturers and mentors, they ought to closely monitor highly influential indexed journals inside their field of interest.
