In a fascinating turn of events, an American mother took the assistance of chatGPT, the AI chatbot to determine her 4-year-old son’s mystery illness after 17 doctors failed to recognise the disease or diagnose him. what is even more shocking is that the chatbot was able to correctly diagnose the disease and as it turns out, the 4-year-old is suffering from a rare neurological condition called Tethered Cord Syndrome. Tethered Cord Syndrome impacts the spinal cord. All credits to the AI chatbot, it helped the family get the urgent treatment and help that they needed.
How Did ChatGPT Detect The Rare Condition?
According to reports, the family was trying to get answers to the son’s condition for more than three years, however, she never got a definitive diagnosis even after consulting multiple specialists. The mother notices rare symptoms in the child during the COVID-19 pandemic. It started from constant toothaches and slowed growth to issues with balance and posture.
As soon as she had almost given up hope and felt helpless, she thought of uploading her son’s MRI notes and all his symptoms line by line into ChatGPT. Within seconds, the AI tool suggested a possible condition: Tethered Cord Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that affects the spinal cord. The AI Chatbot even had recommendations for the child which the mother decided to follow. Following this, Courtney joined a Facebook group for parents of children with similar symptoms, which further validated ChatGPT’s suggestion. She then approached a new neurosurgeon, who confirmed the diagnosis. Alex later underwent spinal surgery and is now recovering well.
Role Of AI In Healthcare
This case is a great example of how AI can assist healthcare professional during diagnosis, treatment and patient care. However, there should be a proper disclaimer against using ChatGPT or other AI tools for diagnosis all the time because it is a very new technology and is till not 100 per cent accurate. Misdiagnosis can happen and can be harmful.
As artificial intelligence continues to integrate into everyday life, cases like Alex’s raise both hope and questions – could AI someday become a standard tool in every doctor’s toolkit? For now, it’s a reminder of the technology’s promise and its limitations.
Source: TheHealthSite.com / Digpu NewsTex
