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Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly important, especially in the medical field. While AI has been used in medicine for some time, its growth in the last decade is remarkable. Specifically, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques in medicine have been increasingly adopted due to the growing abundance of health-related data, the improved suitability of such techniques for managing large datasets, and more computational power. ML and DL methodologies are fostering the development of new "intelligent" tools and expert systems to process data, to automatize human–machine interactions, and to deliver advanced predictive systems that are changing every aspect of the scientific research, industry, and society. The Italian scientific community was instrumental in advancing this research area. This article aims to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the ML and DL methodologies and applications used in medicine by the Italian research community in the last five years. To this end, we selected all the papers published in the last five years with at least one of the authors affiliated to an Italian institution that in the title, in the abstract, or in the keywords present the terms "machine learning" or "deep learning" and reference a medical area. We focused our research on journal papers under the hypothesis that Italian researchers prefer to present novel but well-established research in scientific journals. We then analyzed the selected papers considering different dimensions, including the medical topic, the type of data, the pre-processing methods, the learning methods, and the evaluation methods. As a final outcome, a comprehensive overview of the Italian research landscape is given, highlighting how the community has increasingly worked on a very heterogeneous range of medical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the swift pace of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in diverse spheres, the medical and healthcare fields are utilizing machine learning (ML) methodologies in numerous inventive ways. ML techniques have outstripped formerly state-of-the-art techniques in medical and healthcare practices, yielding faster and more precise outcomes. Healthcare practitioners are increasingly drawn to this technology in their initiatives relating to the Internet of Behavior (IoB). This area of research scrutinizes the rationales, approaches, and timing of human technology adoption, encompassing the domains of the Internet of Things (IoT), behavioral science, and edge analytics. The significance of ML in medical and healthcare applications based on the IoB stems from its ability to analyze and interpret copious amounts of complex data instantly, providing innovative perspectives that can enhance healthcare outcomes and boost the efficiency of IoB-based medical and healthcare procedures and thus aid in diagnoses, treatment protocols, and clinical decision making. As a result of the inadequacy of thorough inquiry into the employment of ML-based approaches in the context of using IoB for healthcare applications, we conducted a study on this subject matter, introducing a novel taxonomy that underscores the need to employ each ML method distinctively. With this objective in mind, we have classified the cutting-edge ML solutions for IoB-based healthcare challenges into five categories, which are convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), deep neural networks (DNNs), multilayer perceptions (MLPs), and hybrid methods. In order to delve deeper, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) that examined critical factors, such as the primary concept, benefits, drawbacks, simulation environment, and datasets. Subsequently, we highlighted pioneering studies on ML methodologies for IoB-based medical issues. Moreover, several challenges related to the implementation of ML in healthcare and medicine have been tackled, thereby gradually fostering further research endeavors that can enhance IoB-based health and medical studies. Our findings indicated that Tensorflow was the most commonly utilized simulation setting, accounting for 24% of the proposed methodologies by researchers. Additionally, accuracy was deemed to be the most crucial parameter in the majority of the examined papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual attention estimation is an active field of research at the crossroads of different disciplines: computer vision, deep learning, and medicine. One of the most common approaches to estimate a saliency map representing attention is based on the observed images. In this paper, we show that visual attention can be retrieved from EEG acquisition. The results are comparable to traditional predictions from observed images, which is of great interest. Image-based saliency estimation being participant independent, the estimation from EEG could take into account the subject specificity. For this purpose, a set of signals has been recorded, and different models have been developed to study the relationship between visual attention and brain activity. The results are encouraging and comparable with other approaches estimating attention with other modalities. Being able to predict a visual saliency map from EEG could help in research studying the relationship between brain activity and visual attention. It could also help in various applications: vigilance assessment during driving, neuromarketing, and also in the help for the diagnosis and treatment of visual attention-related diseases. For the sake of reproducibility, the codes and dataset considered in this paper have been made publicly available to promote research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning (ML), artificial neural networks (ANNs), and deep learning (DL) are all topics that fall under the heading of artificial intelligence (AI) and have gained popularity in recent years. ML involves the application of algorithms to automate decision-making processes using models that have not been manually programmed but have been trained on data. ANNs that are a part of ML aim to simulate the structure and function of the human brain. DL, on the other hand, uses multiple layers of interconnected neurons. This enables the processing and analysis of large and complex databases. In medicine, these techniques are being introduced to improve the speed and efficiency of disease diagnosis and treatment. Each of the AI techniques presented in the paper is supported with an example of a possible medical application. Given the rapid development of technology, the use of AI in medicine shows promising results in the context of patient care. It is particularly important to keep a close eye on this issue and conduct further research in order to fully explore the potential of ML, ANNs, and DL, and bring further applications into clinical use in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One problem in the quantitative assessment of biomechanical impairments in Parkinson's disease patients is the need for scalable and adaptable computing systems. This work presents a computational method that can be used for motor evaluations of pronation-supination hand movements, as described in item 3.6 of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). The presented method can quickly adapt to new expert knowledge and includes new features that use a self-supervised training approach. The work uses wearable sensors for biomechanical measurements. We tested a machine-learning model on a dataset of 228 records with 20 indicators from 57 PD patients and eight healthy control subjects. The test dataset's experimental results show that the method's precision rates for the pronation and supination classification task achieved up to 89% accuracy, and the F1-scores were higher than 88% in most categories. The scores present a root mean squared error of 0.28 when compared to expert clinician scores. The paper provides detailed results for pronation-supination hand movement evaluations using a new analysis method when compared to the other methods mentioned in the literature. Furthermore, the proposal consists of a scalable and adaptable model that includes expert knowledge and affectations not covered in the MDS-UPDRS for a more in-depth evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial resistance has become a critical global health problem due to the abuse of conventional antibiotics and the rise of multi-drug-resistant microbes. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a group of natural peptides that show promise as next-generation antibiotics due to their low toxicity to the host, broad spectrum of biological activity, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-parasitic activities, and great therapeutic potential, such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, etc. Most importantly, AMPs kill bacteria by damaging cell membranes using multiple mechanisms of action rather than targeting a single molecule or pathway, making it difficult for bacterial drug resistance to develop. However, experimental approaches used to discover and design new AMPs are very expensive and time-consuming. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in using in silico methods, including traditional machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) approaches, to drug discovery. While there are a few papers summarizing computational AMP prediction methods, none of them focused on DL methods. In this review, we aim to survey the latest AMP prediction methods achieved by DL approaches. First, the biology background of AMP is introduced, then various feature encoding methods used to represent the features of peptide sequences are presented. We explain the most popular DL techniques and highlight the recent works based on them to classify AMPs and design novel peptide sequences. Finally, we discuss the limitations and challenges of AMP prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have dramatically advanced in various industries, especially medicine. AI describes computational programs that mimic and simulate human intelligence, for example, a person's behavior in solving problems or his ability for learning. Furthermore, ML is a subset of artificial intelligence. It extracts patterns from raw data automatically. The purpose of this paper is to help researchers gain a proper understanding of machine learning and its applications in healthcare. In this paper, we first present a classification of machine learning-based schemes in healthcare. According to our proposed taxonomy, machine learning-based schemes in healthcare are categorized based on data pre-processing methods (data cleaning methods, data reduction methods), learning methods (unsupervised learning, supervised learning, semi-supervised learning, and reinforcement learning), evaluation methods (simulation-based evaluation and practical implementation-based evaluation in real environment) and applications (diagnosis, treatment). According to our proposed classification, we review some studies presented in machine learning applications for healthcare. We believe that this review paper helps researchers to familiarize themselves with the newest research on ML applications in medicine, recognize their challenges and limitations in this area, and identify future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a crucial tool in healthcare with the primary aim of improving patient outcomes and optimizing healthcare delivery. By harnessing machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and computer vision, AI enables the analysis of complex medical data. The integration of AI into healthcare systems aims to support clinicians, personalize patient care, and enhance population health, all while addressing the challenges posed by rising costs and limited resources. As a subdivision of computer science, AI focuses on the development of advanced algorithms capable of performing complex tasks that were once reliant on human intelligence. The ultimate goal is to achieve human-level performance with improved efficiency and accuracy in problem-solving and task execution, thereby reducing the need for human intervention. Various industries, including engineering, media/entertainment, finance, and education, have already reaped significant benefits by incorporating AI systems into their operations. Notably, the healthcare sector has witnessed rapid growth in the utilization of AI technology. Nevertheless, there remains untapped potential for AI to truly revolutionize the industry. It is important to note that despite concerns about job displacement, AI in healthcare should not be viewed as a threat to human workers. Instead, AI systems are designed to augment and support healthcare professionals, freeing up their time to focus on more complex and critical tasks. By automating routine and repetitive tasks, AI can alleviate the burden on healthcare professionals, allowing them to dedicate more attention to patient care and meaningful interactions. However, legal and ethical challenges must be addressed when embracing AI technology in medicine, alongside comprehensive public education to ensure widespread acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new pruning constraint when mining frequent temporal patterns to be used as classification and prediction features, the Semantic Adjacency Criterion [SAC], which filters out temporal patterns that contain potentially semantically contradictory components, exploiting each medical domain's knowledge. We have defined three SAC versions and tested them within three medical domains (oncology, hepatitis, diabetes) and a frequent-temporal-pattern discovery framework. Previously, we had shown that using SAC enhances the repeatability of discovering the same temporal patterns in similar proportions in different patient groups within the same clinical domain. Here, we focused on SAC's computational implications for pattern discovery, and for classification and prediction, using the discovered patterns as features, by four different machine-learning methods: Random Forests, Naïve Bayes, SVM, and Logistic Regression. Using SAC resulted in a significant reduction, across all medical domains and classification methods, of up to 97% in the number of discovered temporal patterns, and in the runtime of the discovery process, of up to 98%. Nevertheless, the highly reduced set of only semantically transparent patterns, when used as features, resulted in classification and prediction models whose performance was at least as good as the models resulting from using the complete temporal-pattern set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug side effects (DSEs) or adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a major concern in the healthcare industry, accounting for a significant number of annual deaths in Europe alone. Identifying and predicting DSEs early in the drug development process is crucial to mitigate their impact on public health and reduce the time and costs associated with drug development. Objective: In this study, our primary objective is to predict multiple drug side effects using 2D chemical structures, especially for COVID-19, departing from the conventional approach of relying on 1D chemical structures. We aim to develop a novel model for DSE prediction that leverages the CNN-based transfer learning architecture of ResNet152V2. Motivation: The motivation behind this research stems from the need to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of DSE prediction, enabling the pharmaceutical industry to identify potential drug candidates with fewer adverse effects. By utilizing 2D chemical structures and employing data augmentation techniques, we seek to revolutionize the field of drug side-effect prediction. Novelty: This study introduces several novel aspects. The proposed study is the first of its kind to use 2D chemical structures for predicting drug side effects, departing from the conventional 1D approaches. Secondly, we employ data augmentation with both conventional and diffusion-based models (Pix2Pix), a unique strategy in the field. These innovations set the stage for a more advanced and accurate approach to DSE prediction. Results: Our proposed model, named CHEM2SIDE, achieved an impressive average training accuracy of 0.78. Moreover, the average validation and test accuracy, precision, and recall were all at 0.73. When evaluated for COVID-19 drugs, our model exhibited an accuracy of 0.72, a precision of 0.79, a recall of 0.72, and an F1 score of 0.73. Comparative assessments against established transfer learning and machine learning models (VGG16, MobileNetV2, DenseNet121, and KNN) showcased the exceptional performance of CHEM2SIDE, marking a significant advancement in drug side-effect prediction. Conclusions: Our study introduces a groundbreaking approach to predicting drug side effects by using 2D chemical structures and incorporating data augmentation. The CHEM2SIDE model demonstrates remarkable accuracy and outperforms existing models, offering a promising solution to the challenges posed by DSEs in drug development. This research holds great potential for improving drug safety and reducing the associated time and costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) describes computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. Examples of AI techniques are machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning. AI can be applied in many different areas, such as econometrics, biometry, e-commerce, and the automotive industry. In recent years, AI has found its way into healthcare as well, helping doctors make better decisions ("clinical decision support"), localizing tumors in magnetic resonance images, reading and analyzing reports written by radiologists and pathologists, and much more. However, AI has one big risk: it can be perceived as a "black box", limiting trust in its reliability, which is a very big issue in an area in which a decision can mean life or death. As a result, the term Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has been gaining momentum. XAI tries to ensure that AI algorithms (and the resulting decisions) can be understood by humans. In this narrative review, we will have a look at some central concepts in XAI, describe several challenges around XAI in healthcare, and discuss whether it can really help healthcare to advance, for example, by increasing understanding and trust. Finally, alternatives to increase trust in AI are discussed, as well as future research possibilities in the area of XAI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), the utilization of Metaverse technology has become increasingly crucial. As the world becomes more digitized, there is a pressing need to effectively transfer real-world assets into the digital realm and establish meaningful relationships between them. However, existing approaches have shown significant limitations in achieving this goal comprehensively. To address this, this research introduces an innovative methodology called the Meta-Metaverse, which aims to enhance the immersive experience and create realistic digital twins across various domains such as biology, genetics, economy, medicine, environment, gaming, digital twins, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, psychology, supply chain, social networking, smart manufacturing, and politics. The multi-layered structure of Metaverse platforms and digital twins allows for greater flexibility and scalability, offering valuable insights into the potential impact of advancing science, technology, and the internet. This article presents a detailed description of the proposed methodology and its applications, highlighting its potential to transform scientific research and inspire groundbreaking ideas in science, medicine, and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwaves are non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation with waves of electrical and magnetic energy transmitted at different frequencies. They are widely used in various industries, including the food industry, telecommunications, weather forecasting, and in the field of medicine. Microwave applications in medicine are relatively a new field of growing interest, with a significant trend in healthcare research and development. The first application of microwaves in medicine dates to the 1980s in the treatment of cancer via ablation therapy; since then, their applications have been expanded. Significant advances have been made in reconstructing microwave data for imaging and sensing applications in the field of healthcare. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled microwave systems can be developed to augment healthcare, including clinical decision making, guiding treatment, and increasing resource-efficient facilities. An overview of recent developments in several areas of microwave applications in medicine, namely microwave imaging, dielectric spectroscopy for tissue classification, molecular diagnostics, telemetry, biohazard waste management, diagnostic pathology, biomedical sensor design, drug delivery, ablation treatment, and radiometry, are summarized. In this contribution, we outline the current literature regarding microwave applications and trends across the medical industry and how it sets a platform for creating AI-based microwave solutions for future advancements from both clinical and technical aspects to enhance patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the age of an individual progresses, they are prone to more diseases; dementia is one of these age-related diseases. Regarding the detection of dementia, traditional cognitive testing is currently one of the most accurate tests. Nevertheless, it has many disadvantages, e.g., it does not measure the extent of the brain damage and does not take the patient's intelligence into consideration. In addition, traditional assessment does not measure dementia under real-world conditions and in daily tasks. It is therefore advisable to investigate the newest, more powerful applications that combine cognitive techniques with computerized techniques. Virtual reality worlds are one example, and allow patients to immerse themselves in a controlled environment. This study created the Medical Visuospatial Dementia Test (referred to as the "MVD Test") as a non-invasive, semi-immersive, and cognitive computerized test. It uses a 3D virtual environment platform based on medical tasks combined with AI algorithms. The objective is to evaluate two cognitive domains: visuospatial assessment and memory assessment. Using multiple machine learning algorithms (MLAs), based on different voting approaches, a 3D system classifies patients into three classes: patients with normal cognition, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with severe cognitive impairment (dementia). The model with the highest performance was derived from voting approach named Ensemble Vote, where accuracy was 97.22%. Cross-validation accuracy of Extra Tree and Random Forest classifiers, which was greater than 99%, indicated a greater discriminate capacity than that of other classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning has become an increasingly ubiquitous technology, as big data continues to inform and influence everyday life and decision-making. Currently, in medicine and healthcare, as well as in most other industries, the two most prevalent machine learning paradigms are supervised learning and transfer learning. Both practices rely on large-scale, manually annotated datasets to train increasingly complex models. However, the requirement of data to be manually labeled leaves an excess of unused, unlabeled data available in both public and private data repositories. Self-supervised learning (SSL) is a growing area of machine learning that can take advantage of unlabeled data. Contrary to other machine learning paradigms, SSL algorithms create artificial supervisory signals from unlabeled data and pretrain algorithms on these signals. The aim of this review is two-fold: firstly, we provide a formal definition of SSL, divide SSL algorithms into their four unique subsets, and review the state of the art published in each of those subsets between the years of 2014 and 2020. Second, this work surveys recent SSL algorithms published in healthcare, in order to provide medical experts with a clearer picture of how they can integrate SSL into their research, with the objective of leveraging unlabeled data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]