AI Ushers in New Era For Government Hospitals in AP
Health minister Satyakumar Yadav said the programme is being implemented with the support of start-up innovators who are deploying around 40 advanced devices to conduct nearly 15 types of diagnostic and screening tests
VIJAYAWADA: In a significant step towards modernising public healthcare, the Andhra Pradesh government has launched pilot projects introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI)–based medical services in 18 government hospitals across the state.
The initiative, aligned with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s vision of technology-driven governance, aims to improve the speed and quality of diagnosis and treatment in public health institutions.
Health minister Satyakumar Yadav said the programme is being implemented with the support of start-up innovators who are deploying around 40 advanced devices to conduct nearly 15 types of diagnostic and screening tests.
These include early detection of cervical cancer, heart diseases, tuberculosis, anaemia, cataract, glaucoma, sickle-cell anaemia and neurological disorders in children.
The pilot projects are under way in several hospitals, including government medical colleges and district hospitals in Visakhapatnam, Anantapur, Guntur, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Parvathipuram and Tenali.
According to officials, AI-powered systems can significantly reduce the time required for diagnosis, enabling doctors to begin treatment sooner and enhancing overall healthcare delivery.
Various innovative applications are being tested under four broad categories: diagnostic tools, portable point-of-care devices, smart monitoring wearables and remote care through telemedicine. Some systems can detect tuberculosis through cough analysis, identify heart ailments at an early stage, and even predict dengue outbreaks based on historical data.
Portable diagnostic kits that fit into suitcase-sized units are also being used to conduct blood tests, identify anaemia and leukaemia through blood slides, and detect cervical cancer without the need for fully equipped diagnostic laboratories. In Vijayawada government general hospital, RT-PCR equipment is being used to confirm tuberculosis, while specialised kits are being used to conduct blood, thyroid, kidney and sugar tests at city diagnostic centres.
Smart wearable devices are also being tested in hospitals such as Sattenapalli area hospital, Tenali district hospital and Kakinada GGH to continuously monitor patients’ oxygen levels, pulse and body temperature. Another AI-based system records doctor–patient conversations through micro devices and automatically generates clinical summaries and prescriptions.
The initiative is being carried out with support from the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub. Applications from innovators were invited nationwide under the AP MedTech Innovation Challenge, which received 297 proposals. After a three-stage evaluation by the committee for applied technologies in health (CATH), 18 innovations were shortlisted for pilot implementation.
Health secretary Saurabh Gaur and commissioner Veerapandian said the results of the pilot project would soon be submitted to the chief minister. Based on the findings, the government will decide on scaling up AI-based healthcare services statewide.
Officials say the technology would eventually be integrated with the Ayushman Bharat health account (ABHA) ID system to digitally store patient records and ensure faster, high-quality medical services for a larger population.
