Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose ‘sequentially’ like a doctor

By Nancy Lapid Oct 22 (Reuters) Microsoft researchers say an AI tool that diagnoses patients step by step, as doctors do, was more than twice as accurate as general physicians at solving complex medical cases, according to ​a study published on Thursday in Science. The model identifies and coordinates the ‌questions that should be asked of a patient, as well as the exams and tests that should be ordered, using an orchestrator that organizes how AI will tackle a problem by employing a simulated panel of clinical experts collaborating to solve diagnostic cases, according to the report. Existing medical AI ‌models ​typically take an all-at-once approach that examines all of ⁠a patient s symptoms, lab results ⁠and imaging studies to generate a diagnosis. With the orchestrator coordinating the steps to reaching a diagnosis, the AI model first decides what to ask about the patient’s history and what is significant in the physical exam. Based on what ​it learns, it decides which tests to