Woman in Ghana | Credit: Kojo Kwarteng
How can artificial intelligence help save mothers' lives?
AI has the potential to save lives by using available health data—such as routine examinations or basic parameters—to identify high-risk pregnancies at an early stage, especially in areas where specialized diagnostics or further tests are not available. Machine learning models could thus help to identify life-threatening complications such as postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), eclampsia, or postpartum infections at an early stage and initiate targeted measures on site more quickly.
You conduct research in Ghana, a country with limited resources. What challenges do you face there when introducing new technologies?
A lack of digital infrastructure, fragmented healthcare systems, and limited financial and human resources make the sustainable implementation of AI technologies considerably more difficult. Added to this are ethical implications—in particular, issues of data protection, data sovereignty, and cultural acceptance of new technologies.
Although more than 400 AI applications have been developed worldwide in the field of maternal health, only a few of them ever reach the stage of being ready for use in the real healthcare system.