Special sessions focus on emerging technologies in training, patient care

The field of chest medicine is continually evolving and embracing new technologies. From the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the identification and management of pulmonary disease to the role of virtual reality (VR) in medical training, the CHEST 2021 program includes three special sessions looking at some of the innovative ways these cutting-edge technologies are being used in chest medicine.

On Tuesday, October 19, at 4:00 pm, the session The Future is Present: Immersive Virtual Reality in Medical Education will explore the growing application of VR technology in medical training, including a recent VR pilot program developed by CHEST designed to recreate intubation scenarios in a virtual ICU suite.

“As VR technology and augmented reality (AR) become more advanced, more accessible, and importantly, more cost-effective, the applications for them in medical training—both in procedural and conceptual teaching—are great,” said Viren Kaul, MD, FCCP, Scientific Program Committee member. “Medical simulation programs can now provide a very realistic first-person experience that can be applied across various learning environments. As this technology becomes more mainstream, the applications are going to be broad, and the access it can bring to learners will be fantastic.”

Read this related article to learn more about this session and the CHEST VR pilot program: Explore the expanding role of virtual reality in medical education

Two on-demand sessions, March of the Machines: Integration of Artificial Intelligence Algorithms in Pulmonary Imaging and The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Lung Disease, will examine how AI and machine learning can aid with diagnostic accuracy and clinical management through automated detection, quantification, classification, and prediction of disease progression in various pulmonary diseases.

“With the advent of computerized tomography, the sensitivity of picking up small nodules in patients’ lungs has increased significantly, but the problem of distinguishing between benign and malignant nodules remains,” said Scientific Program Committee member Kevin Chan, MD, FCCP. “As we harness the abilities of AI algorithms and machine learning, we will hopefully better discern the differences between these lesions.”

As new technology emerges, deep learning models for early detection and disease progression continue to evolve for diseases such as COPD and pulmonary fibrosis, and lung nodules. During these two on-demand sessions, speakers will discuss newer machine learning-based techniques and their integration into clinical practice.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to augment and improve upon human performance in clinical tasks, such as the diagnosis or identification of disease patterns,” said Christopher Carroll, MD, FCCP, Scientific Program Committee co-chair. “In these cutting-edge sessions, experts will discuss how this emerging technology is changing how we diagnose and treat patients with lung disease.”