**National University Hospital Launches Spine AI Tool** National University Hospital (NUH) has unveiled an AI tool designed for analyzing lumbar spinal stenosis, a frequent surgical issue among elderly patients. According to a press release, the technology, named Spine AI, automatically identifies narrowing in the spinal canal and classifies it by severity. Its development involved training on over 18, 000 lumbar spine MRI images from 446 patients. In tests, this technology could analyze each spine in as little as "47 seconds. " Lumbar spinal stenosis occurs when the spinal canal in the lower back narrows, causing compression of nerves and blood vessels that serve the lower limbs. Currently under evaluation in the radiology department at NUHS, Spine AI was developed collaboratively by NUH, the NUS School of Computing, and the National University Spine Institute. Siemens Healthineers assisted in optimizing the AI's user interface. NUH performs about 4, 000 lumbar MRI scans annually. With Spine AI streamlining the analysis, reducing it to an average of seven minutes per scan, the tool could save approximately 466 hours each year, according to estimates by Dr.

Andrew Makmur, NUHS Group CTO and a consultant in NUH’s Diagnostic Imaging Department. **South Korea to Use AI for Senior Citizens' Independence Monitoring** The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, along with the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone, will implement AI technology to check in on approximately 42, 000 seniors who are expected to spend the upcoming Chuseok holidays alone. Chuseok, a significant autumn harvest festival in Korea, is celebrated for three days. As part of a personalized elderly care initiative, the AI Call service employs text-to-speech and speech-to-text technologies to facilitate voice calls while gathering and transmitting relevant information. Additionally, SK Telecom and the Lotte Welfare Foundation are providing technical expertise for this holiday call service. **Thai Regional Hospital Trials AI for Chest X-ray Analysis** Phrapokklao Hospital, a key regional medical facility in Chanthaburi, located south-west of Bangkok, Thailand, has recently adopted a chest X-ray (CXR) analysis AI to enhance lung cancer screening in the community. Dr. Passakorn Wanchaijiraboon, deputy director of the Cancer Centre of Excellence at Phrapokklao Hospital, stated, "In most Thai government hospitals, CXRs are interpreted by non-radiologists. Yet, in community hospitals, there are often no radiologists available for reading CXRs. By integrating specialist AI into the process, we can assist healthcare providers in identifying incidental high-risk nodules that could indicate lung cancer. " He recently led an evaluation study on qXR, a CXR AI solution from the Indian company Qure. ai. Dr. Wanchaijiraboon, also an oncologist, further emphasized that "the introduction of CXR AI is particularly beneficial for community hospitals, as it significantly elevates diagnostic capabilities in the absence of onsite radiologists. "