CSIRO report says health care AI is now in routine clinical use
The Australian science agency says AI is being used in imaging, treatment planning and decision support, while safety and standards remain key barriers.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to experimental health projects, according to a new CSIRO report. The Australian science agency says AI tools are now being used in clinical settings, raising the stakes for safety checks, data rules and shared digital standards.
CSIRO’s report, titled AI Trends for Healthcare, says AI is already supporting medical imaging, clinical decision-making, disease management and more personalized care. The report frames the shift as a move from largely hidden technical systems to tools that clinicians, patients, industry and governments are increasingly confronting directly.
Dr. David Hansen, chief executive and research director of CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre, said generative AI has pushed the technology into public view and sped up its use in health care. According to Hansen, that wider adoption has also increased attention on quality, safety and responsible deployment.
Clinical uses are expanding
The CSIRO report says health care organizations are already seeing measurable benefits from AI in several areas. It lists clinical decision support, medical image analysis, disease management and personalized care among current uses.
One example cited by CSIRO involves generating synthetic CT scans from MRI images. According to the report, that approach can help clinicians plan radiotherapy more accurately while reducing patients’ exposure to radiation.
The report also points to newer areas of development, including multimodal AI and AI-assisted software development. CSIRO says those technologies could help shape future health care tools, though the report stresses that they need to be built with practical clinical use in mind.
Hansen said CSIRO found that emerging AI tools should be developed together with clinicians and industry. He said the work described in the report reflects collaboration aimed at making AI useful in real-world care, rather than keeping it separate from clinical practice.
Standards and oversight remain central
CSIRO says wider use of AI in health care depends on stronger support systems around the technology. The report identifies regulation, quality management, data governance and digital health interoperability as challenges that must be addressed for AI tools to be safe and effective at scale.
Hansen said health systems that rely more heavily on AI-powered tools need strong evidence, quality assurance and standards designed with community input. The report argues that those safeguards are necessary as AI moves into more routine clinical work.
The report also highlights the role of national digital health standards. CSIRO points to Sparked, Australia’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources accelerator, as work intended to help AI technologies connect across the health system and support care centered on patients.
CSIRO says the report is intended for researchers, policymakers and industry leaders looking at the next stage of AI-enabled health care in Australia. Hansen said the sector has entered a phase in which responsible innovation, evidence and collaboration will influence how well AI benefits patients, clinicians and communities.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.