Dr. Ali Alizadeh, Chairman of the Digital Health Committee of the Deputy Minister of Research and Technology of the Ministry of Health, told Sina Press: "Naturally, new health related technologies enter the market much faster than other fields as it deals with people's lives and well-being. In this regard, artificial intelligence is one of these technologies that is highly considered in the world in the field of health and wellness."
He pointed to the applications of artificial intelligence in the field of medicine and added: "Artificial intelligence is now operational to diagnose some diseases and has found many applications in the field of drug development and offering new treatment methods, and many companies and start-ups are active in it."
According to Sina Press, he stated: "Currently, health related artificial intelligence has made better progress than other areas due to its effective role, reduction of costs, increasing the level of access and quality of services."
He mentioned the challenges in this area and said: "Fortunately, Iranian researchers have now entered the field of artificial intelligence very well, but in order to be able to examine topics, methods, and work models on patients, they must have access to a wide range of clinical data, diseases, and treatment information. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a set of rules and regulations so that researchers can access this data. In fact, one of the main needs for the development of artificial intelligence in the country is to determine upstream rules and regulations."
He stated: "In the first stage, required data has to be collected and then, rules and regulations, ways to access information should be clarified. Finally, after development of methods and usage, they have to be tested in a series of tests, patients and clinical trials to be able to enter the market."
Later Dr. Alizadeh emphasized: Last week, the Supreme Leader of Iran emphasized the discussion of artificial intelligence and the need to pay attention to this area in the country. In this regard, the Ministry of Health and other related agencies must focus on this issue, in order to properly develop artificial intelligence technology in the country.
He continued: "Although according to Iranian officials, Iran has scored the first place in the region in the field of artificial intelligence, but we have a long way to go to reach our real global position, and the applications of this technology in the field of health have not been developed and commercialized yet."
In the end, he added: "Special attention to the issue of artificial intelligence can cause the growth and promotion of our nation in this field and might create a suitable competitive advantage."
Interview by: Farzaneh Sedghi
Translated by: Mehdi Fallahi Panah