WCM-Q pre-medical students excel in national AI competition

Two teams of pre-medical students from Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q) have been highly commended after creating solutions to two problems highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the mentorship of Dr Majda Sebah, lecturer in chemistry in the Division of Premedical Education at WCM-Q, the students entered the National Artificial Intelligence Competition, organised by Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Qatar University. Each team entered in one of two categories; track 1, concept and design, and track 2, proof of concept and demonstrations. More than 1,000 teams entered the competition and the WCM-Q students were shortlisted in the final round.For track 1, the three participating students in the team, Maryam Arabi, Lina Ahmed, and Yousef al-Najjar examined how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to improve healthcare during the pandemic. They realised that due to social distancing and the fear of infection, people were avoiding doctors’ surgeries, potentially putting themselves at risk even if they had a medical condition that needed treatment.The three students came up with the idea of using drone technology that would allow doctors to examine patients remotely. The drone would be able to take vital signs and perform non-invasive procedures and an algorithm – written by the students – would then decide whether further medical intervention was needed.Arabi explained, “We started by doing extensive research about the most developed technologies that are being used across the world as well as the emerging use of telemedicine. Once we found a gap in the market and understood the needs of doctors, we indulged in months of designing, revising, and evaluating our idea of MediDrone to produce a device that would bring clinical procedures, that are commonly adopted in hospitals, to the comfort of the patient’s home. For track 2 – proof of concept and demonstrations – the student team made up of AlDana al-Khalaf, Leena Aboidris, and Mohammed al-Ansari, showed how AI could be used in an educational setting, expanding upon the parameters of Calvin, an online ‘lab assistant’ that allows students to perform practical experiments even when away from the laboratory by using a text editor programme to write experimental commands for Calvin to interpret. The technology for Calvin was created by Dr Melissa Hines at Cornell University, and offers a virtual simulation of any given chemistry experiment. It incorporates equipment, instructional codes, and results allowing students to have a practical experience online. A student must direct Calvin each step of the way through the experiment, with Calvin providing data for students to critically analyze and arrive at a conclusion.Dr Sebah had collaborated with Dr Hines to write new codes for the software by setting up experimental parameters for a chemical kinetics experiment, which is the study of reaction rates and how they are impacted by factors such as pressure, temperature, and concentration. Al-Khalaf said, “This competition was quite an eye-opening experience. My team and I became aware of the extensive process that an academic research paper goes through. I believe that this competition equipped us with the necessary tools required for academic writing that I will incorporate in my future research papers. We are incredibly grateful to have had this early exposure in our first year in the premedical program.”Dr Sebah, who worked closely with both teams offering support and guidance said, “Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar strongly encourages all of our students to get involved in research and understand the concept of translating laboratory findings into practical healthcare solutions. I thank HBKU and Qatar University for organizing this competition and providing a great platform for AI innovations.”