AI Enhances Life-Saving Nutrition For Premature Newborns
A recent study suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could significantly improve how premature babies are fed, enhancing their growth and development. Premature infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are typically fed through total parenteral nutrition (TPN), a mixture of nutrients delivered intravenously. This method is necessary for babies whose digestive systems are not yet developed enough to absorb nutrients effectively. However, creating TPN prescriptions can be error-prone, as doctors cannot easily measure whether the baby is receiving the right amount of nutrition.
In an attempt to address this issue, researchers trained an AI system using data from nearly 80,000 past TPN prescriptions for premature infants, combined with information on their health outcomes. The AI program analyzes a preemie’s electronic medical chart to predict the precise nutrients and amounts needed. The study, published in Nature Medicine, showed that the AI performed as well, if not better, than human doctors in recommending the necessary nutrition and medications for preemies.
The AI-based system narrowed down the many potential TPN variations to 15 standard formulas, which were found to closely match what human medical professionals would prescribe. These formulas can help speed up and improve the safety of TPN prescriptions. In tests, neonatologists preferred the AI-generated prescriptions over the human-created ones, indicating that the AI’s recommendations might better align with the babies’ nutritional needs. When the team compared actual TPN prescriptions to the AI’s recommendations, they found that babies who received suboptimal nutrition had a higher risk of serious health complications, including necrotizing enterocolitis, a dangerous gastrointestinal condition.
The next step for the researchers is to conduct clinical trials to compare the outcomes of premature infants fed using the standard methods versus those receiving AI-generated nutrition. While AI recommendations still need to be reviewed by doctors and pharmacists to ensure accuracy, the system could help streamline the nutrition process, reduce costs, and make proper nutrition more accessible to hospitals. The researchers hope that AI will complement healthcare professionals, allowing them to focus more on direct patient care while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of treatments for vulnerable infants.
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