Study examines potential uses of AI in occupational medicine

Morgantown, WV — What role might artificial intelligence play in occupational medicine? Two researchers from West Virginia University recently explored this question.

Zaira Chaudhry and Avishek Choudhury from the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources performed qualitative analysis to examine 27 previous studies using a total of 47 AI algorithms on “clinically relevant applications of AI in occupational health.”

“Positive” results of using AI included:

• Predicting noise-induced hearing loss in steel factory workers
• Forecasting changes in white blood cell counts among workers exposed to benzene.
• Risk assessments for musculoskeletal disorders, occupational lung disease, blood dyscrasias and metabolic syndrome.  
• Predicting return-to-work and disability duration

“While the findings of the reviewed studies are promising, it is necessary to proceed with caution when integrating AI into occupational health settings,” the researchers write. “They identify key areas for further research – highlighting the need for ‘robust explainable AI models that are informed by occupational health clinicians and rigorously validated in real-world settings with diverse worker populations to optimize their clinical utility and promote clinician trust in these models.’”

The study was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environment Medicine.