Researchers at NOSM and Lakehead Universities studying artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of Northern health care

Researchers from NOSM University and Lakehead University are collaborating to better understand artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of Northern Ontario. The AI-NORTH project aims to identify ways that Northern and rural patients and populations are represented in, and benefit from, the global AI paradigm shift.

The project also connects people doing healthcare AI research through a collaboratory—a virtual space to share and discuss current projects happening in Northern Ontario.

Spearheaded by Dr. Erin Cameron, the inaugural Academic Director of NOSM University’s Centre for Social Accountability (CFSA), the project is funded by an AMS Healthcare Compassion and Artificial Intelligence Grant. Dr. Cameron co-leads this project with Dr. Michelle-Marie Spadoni, Associate Professor in Nursing at Lakehead University, along with NOSM University colleagues Drs. Alex Anawati and Joseph LeBlanc.

“Innovation is at the heart of health-care practice in Northern Ontario, and we are interested in how artificial intelligence is already being used and could be used to identify and address health priorities in the future,” says Dr. Cameron. “Artificial intelligence in the North is different, and we hope to begin to articulate how—and in what ways.”

The use of technology in education and health-care delivery in Northern Ontario has increased with the widespread shift to online technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This shift has helped to catalyze new ways of teaching and learning for many.

“Advances in AI are driving rapid changes in health care, and health professional education programs must adjust and quickly adapt to this reality, all while considering the social and political structures at play in the advancement of technologies that may shape the underpinning ethical and relational tenets of social accountability,” Dr. Spadoni says.

“This is critical for anchoring contemporary health professional ethics, standards of practice, and ultimately shaping the lives of patients, families, communities, and health providers in ways expected and unexpected.

“While technology and artificial intelligence have the potential to drive better, more accessible care, there is a need to explore ways to reorient AI to better address priority health and social needs across the region.”

The project brings together researchers and learners from across Northern Ontario, including Dr. Brian Ross (professor, NOSM University), Dr. Trevor Bruen (family medicine resident, NOSM University), Daniel Lamoureux (medical student, NOSM University), Dr. Muhammad Mamdani (Director, The Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine at the University of Toronto), Ghislaine Attema (PhD student, Faculty of Education, Lakehead University), and Sophie Myles (Health System Fellow, Algoma Ontario Health Team), and the team continues to grow. For a complete list, visit the AI-NORTH website.

In the future, AI-NORTH will explore topics around AI and education, AI and policy, AI and equity, and AI and public health. Anyone interested in being part of these discussions is welcome to contribute and can contact ai.north@nosm.ca or subscribe to the AI-NORTH newsletter.