While South Africa is leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in Southern Africa, the level of technological advancement in the local medical sector is low, with only some innovation and recognition of its positive use cases.

It is hoped that the establishment of an International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) hub locally will progress education and improve healthcare and digital health through artificial intelligence (AI).

This is according to University of Johannesburg (UJ) Biomedical Engineering and Healthcare Technology Research Centre co-director Professor Habib Noorbhai – who is one of the key drivers of the strategic agreement signed by UJ in November last year with the Foundation for the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, acting through I-DAIR in Geneva, Switzerland.

As such, South Africa has joined the I-DAIR hub network, which includes the National Centre for Health Information Systems, in Santiago, Chile; and the African Population and Health Research Centre, in Nairobi, Kenya.

With UJ as the South African hub lead, it is intended to attract young researchers working in the areas of digital health and AI for health. The hub will also act as a regional centre of excellence for research and capacity development.

UJ has positioned itself as a 4IR university, making it the best choice for the International I-DAIR hub lead in South Africa, says UJ Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) director Professor Babu Paul.

“We have a strategic thrust towards 4IR at the university. This strategy was adopted when Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, an expert in AI and a thought leader, became the vice chancellor of the university in 2018.”

UJ understood early on that AI and its applications are not solely the domain of engineering, hence the university’s establishment of its flagship IIS entity to drive the 4IR initiatives of the university, as the institute is not siloed or confined to a specific domain, working with disciplines across the board.

The I-DAIR hub in South Africa will look to upskill the existing workforce in the medical sector in digital health and AI through training initiatives, which will assist in addressing the need to integrate digital health within the healthcare system.

“It is well known that digital health innovation, along with its focal points in patient care and healthcare training, needs to be established at universities and parastatals. “The need to establish formalised digital health training for the health workforce, including all disciplines, is paramount,” explains Noorbhai.

While South African universities have started to develop digital health short courses, as well as supervise master’s and PhD students exploring digital health and healthcare technology and innovation topics, these areas remain largely underdeveloped, with the exception of bioinformatics, he adds.

Hence, the development of material for online or physical training that will improve the involvement of participants through gaming or virtual reality, for example, is being discussed, with topics being confirmed, says Paul.

“Our aim in the coming year is to ensure the collaboration of all I-DAIR hubs to develop at least two courses to assist those already working in the medical sector and those who wish to enter the industry in becoming acquainted with the new paradigm in the 4IR era around digital health and AI to enhance the medical field,” he notes, highlighting the future inclusion of other local universities when required for their expertise once the I-DAIR hub is established in South Africa.

While there is no final deadline for the development of the competency framework for the global network of I-DAIR hubs, Noorbhaiexpects it will be completed in a few months.

Once finalised, the framework will firm up the expectations for the I-DAIR hubs, as well as their roles, deliverables, milestones and timeframes, besides other aspects.

The framework will entail a partnership with the World Health Organization, credentialling bodies, donors and non-government organisations, and will be linked with various university curriculums.