In something that sounds like it came from science fiction, the UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies is ushering in a new era of training for its medical students, using an AI-programmed humanoid robot to practice interviewing patients and hone their English skills.
A talking robot named RIA (for Robotics and Innovation in AI) has been designed and brought to “life” by developers at India-based Machani Robotics to mimic a patient. RIA can be programmed to be various “characters,” all with their own personalities and medical afflictions.
With a series of symptoms uploaded into the programming, medical students can ask RIA questions to reach a diagnosis or determine whether further testing is needed.
During a class activity at the newly opened 8980 Building on Aug. 22, a group of students had the opportunity to interview RIA and make a diagnosis based on the symptoms she described. Furthermore, these students speak a native language other than English, so they had a chance to practice their English skills and bedside manner.
“One of our more successful programs is what we call Medical English,” said Patti Juza, associate dean and executive director for international programs at the Division of Extended Studies. “This is a short-term program that has medical students, nurses, doctors, radiologists [and] pharmacists come from all over the world for four weeks at a time to study with us. …
“Even without RIA, this program is different because it doesn’t just focus on vocabulary like body parts but more functional language that health care providers would need to be successful in an English-speaking environment.”
As part of the Medical English program, students have site visits, interviews with practicing health care providers and mock interviews with actors pretending to be patients.
But unlike actors, RIA gives students feedback on pronunciation and grammar and offers a chance to ask clarifying questions.
“We have her role-play with the students, where she functions as a patient and the students take on the role of a medical care provider and diagnose her and provide her with guidance and advice,” Juza said. “Maybe she won’t understand everything and will ask follow-up questions that the students need to be able to answer. It’s a real simulation. It’s like no other experience.”
South Korean student Sajin Kang said her opportunity with RIA “was really a unique experience. … Her facial expressions were very impressive. It is also amazing to see how technology is being integrated into medical education. English is not my first language, but I had this experience to [practice] that doctor/patient dialogue on the robot, so it was truly helpful.”
Students in the Aug. 22 exercise recently studied gastroenterology, and therefore the ailments centered on the digestive tract.
In one interaction, RIA reported having abdominal pain that was “affecting my daily life.” She also complained of mouth sores.
A student asked about her diet, family history, tobacco use, allergies and more. Based on RIA’s answers, the student proposed more testing to confirm the preliminary diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (which administrators said was correct).
RIA has been tested on other Medical English students, and the programming constantly evolves to meet their needs.
“We work with Machani Robotics and provide them with circular information so they know what our learning objectives are,” Juza said. “They work with us on RIA’s performance. So if we’re looking for help with pronunciation or socio-linguistics, they will go in and program her to provide that feedback to students.”
Going forward, Juza said, “we would like to see her used each term [of Medical English]” and in Legal English and Business English programs.
“We want her to work with all our English programs to help the students improve their language skills,” Juza said. “We could see her used in other parts of the campus. It’s amazing to be part of something like this, because the science fiction is not really science fiction anymore. It’s science. It’s here.” ♦