Digital humans - helping patients navigate healthcare

Leaving a medical appointment with a look of confusion on
their face is a common experience for many Australians.

What did the doctor just say? I'm supposed to do what now?
What does that mean?

Help could be at hand with digital humans – more than an avatar
or a CGI replica, a complete digital human is designed to have a natural
conversation with you about your health.

It sounds like science fiction, but it's already a reality
thanks to the work of Marie Johnson, managing director of the Centre for Digital
Business.

Ms Johnson will be speaking about her work in this complex field at the upcoming National Congress.

"I'll be focussing on the human experience from the patient
perspective," she said.

"Basically, when the internet was created, it was designed
and built in a structural way and that led to websites that were awful to
navigate and documents that were presented in a way that's very complex.

"What this has actually done has compromised outcomes in
health care and government servicing."

In 2016, Ms Johnson led the co-creation of "Nadia", the
world's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered digital human for service
delivery for people with a disability.

Nadia was designed to have human-like conversations and even
the way she looked was vital.

Lip colour that supported lip reading for those with hearing
impairment; short hair that reduced distraction for those with cognitive
disability; and a calm manner designed not to startle.

Ms Johnson said her work on Nadia was partly inspired by the
problem of "illiteracy and cognitive function", meaning people simply didn't
understand or couldn't navigate the complex world of government servicing.

"There's a technical way of presenting information and
people just can't comprehend it, even on the internet," she said.

"So really the challenge was, how could we make the web
itself more human?

"The rigid world of structured websites, structured forms,
structured channels, call centres, defined hours and complex bureaucratic language
are impenetrable barriers for people with intellectual disability and cognitive
impairment."

Ms Johnson's latest work is the AI powered Digital Human
Cardiac Coach, "Hanna", which was developed after more than a decade of "lived
experience" in cardiac health.

"My husband, Al, is a heart patient – four heart surgeries,
all up, eight cardiac bypass grafts and four stents.

"He's also a former RAAF aeronautical engineering officer
with a research background in expert systems.

"He's a personal trainer, a Heart Foundation ambassador and
volunteer, a cardiac rehab patient, a guest university speaker and contributor
to the development of the Australian heart and stroke national action plan.

"And some days, lost in his own personal grief.

"If we struggled – imagine how hard it would be for others?
A heart patient is more than a heart patient, they are people seeking
information and reassurance.

"When you're dealing with cardiac issues, if you're seeing a
surgeon for example, you have already entered an acute situation.

"You're dealing with your own mortality and how traumatising
that can be."

Hanna is designed to talk about cardiac health in a natural
way, allowing patients to ask questions in everyday language, whenever they
want.

"People cannot understand
what their doctor is saying, or they forget what they were told, or even that
they can't navigate a hospital with complex signage – for example, the word
'oncology', what is that?," Ms Johnson said.

"This is not about diagnosis and treatment, this is about
being able to go home after seeing your doctor and get the information you need
in a way that you can understand – in a conversation.''

According to Ms Johnson, digital humans were there to
augment the services of real life doctors and nurses.

"Another big issue is the burn out rate of medical staff –
the demand from patients for just that ongoing, basic conversation puts a huge
pressure on staff," she said.

"Digital humans can be part of the service delivery."

In the United States, the use of AI powered systems are
already in use, including the SimCoach system which is being used to monitor
symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in returned servicemen and women.

"It's been highly effective, particularly in the engagement
with veterans," Ms Johnson said.

"We're also seeing the use of this technology in the
so-called 'smart home' and this can have health applications too – for older
people, living alone, it might record they got up five times in the night to go
to the bathroom.

"Then in the morning, it might say 'hey Jack, you got up
five times last night, might be time to make a doctor's appointment'."

Ms Johnson added one of the most critical aspects of digital
humans was co-design.

"The co-design process determines the purpose, role,
personality and operating model supporting the particular digital human," she
said.

"These digital humans need to be more than just a pretty
face. A person's cultural aspects need to be embedded within them – culture,
language, food references etc, can be localised and it can be tailored to
anyone.

"For example with the cardiac coach, if you're an Indigenous
Australian, the digital human can be designed using words and mannerisms that
convey those messages to Indigenous people."

Ms Johnson said the uses for digital humans were almost
limitless.

"I really feel this is a humanitarian application of
technology," she said.

"Human rights extends to health care and we really hope this
is going to be a breakthrough for everyone."

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