Singapore, Bhutan institutions partner on ethical AI for healthcare

Singapore's SingHealth has partnered with Bhutan's Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology to promote responsible AI use in healthcare through co-developed guidelines, educational programs, and AI applications.

Singapore's largest public healthcare group signed an agreement on Tuesday with a Bhutanese educational institute to promote the ''responsible use'' of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) and the Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology (GCIT), Royal University of Bhutan.

Both institutions will co-develop publications, guidelines and educational programmes on AI ethics and responsible healthcare AI use, according to a statement by SingHealth.

They will also work on developing AI applications that remain safe, effective and ethically sound, and adapted to Bhutan's regulatory frameworks and healthcare environment,.

The institutions are also co-developing an AI-assisted Chest Radiograph model trained on Bhutanese data to support accurate diagnosis of lung diseases such as infections and cancer, the statement said.

''With plans to roll out the model across Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) hospitals by 2027, the collaboration will enable valuable learning from Bhutan's healthcare environment,'' SingHealth's AI Office Director Associate Professor Daniel Ting, told PTI after signing the MoU with Audrey Low, President of GCIT.

The model will be developed by GCIT and Bhutan's Digital Health and Innovation Unit with clinical expertise from SingHealth.