Season 2, Episode 1 | March 26, 2025

Healing with Intelligence Part 1: AI and Robots Saving Lives

In today’s episode — the first of a two-parter on Healing with Intelligence —  we're exploring how robots, artificial intelligence and an emerging new technology called quantum science are transforming healthcare by helping doctors to better diagnose, monitor and treat illness. In part one, we provide a sampling of some of those new technologies — including a head-worn device that can command a robot to help those with limited motion perform daily tasks ranging from making dinner to scratching an itch.

And then we meet Justin Chan(opens in new window), an assistant professor at CMU in the School of Computer Science, who has invented several AI-powered healthcare devices, including a wearable AI-powered camera that can help clinicians avoid medication errors while reducing risks and improving patient care.

Justin discusses some of his other inventions that use AI to leverage ubiquitous smart devices to help diagnose conditions like ear infections and even predict heart attacks — technologies that not only save lives, but also bridge the gap in healthcare access, especially in underserved populations. The episode concludes with a look at the future of AI in public health and the importance of innovation in addressing global health challenges.

Resources

Watch CMU’s Head-Worn Assistive Teleoperation (HAT)(opens in new window) — an experimental interface to control a mobile robot – help people with motor impairments control a mobile robot via head motion and speech recognition.

Learn how Justin Chan’s invention uses a smartphone to detect ear infections(opens in new window), commercialized by WavelyDX.