AI can aid faster, cost-effective diagnosis but clinical validation and data safeguards needed: experts
Experts at a sustainability dialogue in Chennai discussed the potential for AI to revolutionize healthcare by improving diagnostic speed and accessibility. They emphasized that while AI can help reach underserved populations, its implementation requires rigorous clinical validation and data protection measures.
Why it matters
As AI integration in medicine accelerates, balancing innovation with patient safety and ethical data handling remains a primary global challenge.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can improve disease detection, expand access to healthcare, and reduce diagnostic costs, but its adoption must be backed by clinical validation, data protection and human oversight, experts said in a panel discussion in Chennai on Tuesday (October 13, 2026).
The discussion on ‘Artificial Intelligence-Driven Healthcare: Innovation, Ethics, Accessibility and Sustainability’ was held as part of T he Hindu ’s Sustainability Dialogues 2026 , presented by Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS). The panellists were Sindhuja Giritharan, Clinical Lead, Digital Health and Patient Engagement, Sundaram Medical Foundation; Richa Pant, Director, Research, Deep Tek; Reuben Fernandes, Founder & CEO, Skyfire Applied Intelligence Pvt. Limited (Atom360); and A. Hariharan, Associate Professor, Department of Transfusion Medicine, Saveetha Medical College, SIMATS.
Ms. Pant said medical imaging was among the areas where AI was making a significant difference, as digital images offered standardised data from which systems could learn patterns.
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