As artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionizes health care, the standards community is at the forefront of efforts to support its use. Marking a major breakthrough for the potential of AI in this realm, a new American National Standard led by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) member and accredited standards developer the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) was recently published for use of AI in healthcare.
A collaborative, industry-led effort spearheaded by CTA with contributions from 52 tech companies and trade associationsincluding several ANSI membersthe standard provides a framework for a better understanding of AI technologies. It provides a basis for common terminology so that consumers, tech companies, and care providers can better communicate, develop, and use AI-based health care technologies, CTA announced.
The Pulse of AI in Healthcare:
AI is set to play an increasingly important role in health care, from diagnosis to treatment. What's more, AI can be lifesaving: Some studies suggest that AI can perform as well as or better than humans at key healthcare tasks, such as detecting disease. As an example, in 2019, research shed light on how AI is taking an increased role in diagnosing and treating cancer. Moreover, other studies show that AI can help clinicians take a more comprehensive approach for disease management and support end of life care.
AI's market value continues to grow: A recent report by Accenture reveals that growth in the AI health market is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2021a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent.
The American National Standard, ANSI/CTA-2089.1, Definitions/Characteristics of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care, defines terms related to AI and associated technologies in health care including "assistive intelligence, synthetic data, remote patient monitoring, and artificial intelligence enabled diagnostic system."
An American National Standard (ANS) is a document that has been sponsored by an ANSI-accredited standards developer (see a list at www.ansi.org/asd), achieved consensus, met ANSI's Essential Requirements, and been approved by the Institute. The hallmarks of the process ensure that ANS are developed in a manner that is equitable and accessible to all interested stakeholders.
In addition to CTA, a number of activities being advanced by the ANSI Federation are supporting diverse applications of AI, including standards from ANSI members and accredited standards developers such as INCITS and IEEE.
In the international arena, ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology - a Joint Technical Committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) - established subcommittee SC 42, Artificial intelligence, in 2018, to focus on the entire AI ecosystem.
Charged with serving as the focal point within ISO/IEC JTC 1 for AI standardization, SC 42 provides guidance to JTC 1 and other non IT-focused ISO and IEC committees as they look to develop AI-related standards in their sector-specific application areas. The committee has 15 projects in development, including efforts on foundational standards (terminology and framework documents for AI and machine learning), trustworthiness (including a risk management approach for AI), and governance implications of AI. CTA is a member of the SC 42 U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) administered by INCITS.
ANSI has served as the secretariat to ISO /IEC JTC 1 since its inception in 1987, and provided the chair for the first and only ISO/IEC joint technical committee. The U.S. also holds the secretariat and chair positions of SC 42.
See related news:
In New ISOfocus Issue, ANSI President and CEO Offers Insights on the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Standards Support Advancements in Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare
USNC Current Newsletter Focuses on Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems
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