#Arteries of an AI

[o-cinnamonstickz]

Chelley Week - Day 6 & 7 : AU/Heartbeat & Nightmare

This may be cheating.. and also not Chelley.. but I do have an AU that deals with both of these topics.

This is a scene from my “Arteries of an AI” AU. This AU focuses on GLaDOS and Chell developing a mother-daughter like relationship after a toddler Chell is found wandering aimlessly within the walls of Aperture, miraculously surviving the neurotoxin attack. GLaDOS, impressed by the sheer luck and curiosity of this child, takes Chell in with the intentions of raising her up to be a ruthless, biological, killing machine. Key word: intentions..

If there was one thing the Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System miscalculated, it would have to be how dangerously vital it was to be a nurturing vessel… and If this meant groundbreaking research for the sake of furthering Science, she supposed that implementing a heartbeat into her chest to soothe the nightmare stricken toddler would just have to do for now… for Science.. of course.

[jadeannbyrne]

Jade Ann Byrne 🩸 Blood Pressure Chronicles: What 92/45 and 96/57 Say About My Post Home Alone Midnight Journey

Jade Ann Byrne 🩸 Blood Pressure Chronicles: What 92/45 and 96/57 Say About My Post Home Alone Midnight Journey Life is measured in moments, and health is written in numbers. Today’s check-in? A rollercoaster of 92/45 mmHg followed by a slight rebound to 96/57 mmHg, with a steady pulse of 85 bpm. Let’s break it down and see what the body is whispering. 📊 Breaking It Down: 🔹 Systolic (92 → 96…

[robsmitai]

Extended skull, ears, arteries. Cosmic energy attractor tattoos - she has it all!

[jcmarchi]

Dr. James Tudor, MD, VP of AI at XCath – Interview Series

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/dr-james-tudor-md-vp-of-ai-at-xcath-interview-series/

Dr. James Tudor, MD, VP of AI at XCath – Interview Series

Dr. James Tudor, MD, spearheads the integration of AI into XCath’s robotics systems. Driven by a passion for the convergence of technology and medicine, he enthusiastically balances his roles as a practicing radiologist, Assistant Professor of Radiology at Baylor College of Medicine, and AI researcher.

Founded in 2017, XCath is a startup focused on advancements in medical robotics, nanorobotics, and materials science. The company develops next-generation endovascular robotic systems and steerable guidewires aimed at treating cerebrovascular disorders and other serious medical conditions.

Dr. Tudor, what initially sparked your interest in the intersection of AI and medicine, particularly in the field of radiology?

In 2016, as I was beginning my radiology residency, DeepMind’s AlphaGo defeated world champion Go player Lee Sedol. AlphaGo’s ability to compress and abstract the vast complexities of Go, a game with more possible board positions than atoms in the observable universe, captured my imagination. Excited about AI’s potential to transform radiology and medicine as a whole, I dove headfirst into AI. During residency, I’d spend my evenings and weekends doing AI projects.

Can you tell us more about your journey from medical school to becoming the VP of AI at XCath? What motivated you to pursue AI integration within healthcare robotics?

My career path has taken some unexpected turns. After finishing my radiology residency, I wanted to dedicate more time to AI and its commercial applications. I joined a fitness robotics startup, founded by Eduardo Fonseca, who is now XCath’s CEO.  It was a formative experience, but I never anticipated it would lead down the path of treating acute stroke with endovascular telerobots.

Around a decade ago, a revolution occurred in acute stroke care. The standard of care used to be a medication called tPA that would break up the clot. In 2015, clinical trials demonstrated the superiority of directly removing the clot from the cerebral arteries by navigating tiny guidewires and catheters within the arterial vasculature, a procedure called mechanical thrombectomy. Despite the procedure being markedly effective for large vessel strokes, less than 40% of the US population has access to it. There are a limited number of stroke centers, generally limited to urban areas, that have specialists who can perform the procedure. Globally, the statistics are even more dismal: less than 3% of the world has access.

XCath’s mission is to increase access to mechanical thrombectomy with a hub-and-spoke model, where specialists can provide expert stroke care from a distance with endovascular telerobots deployed to regions without access.

Eduardo asked me how AI could augment the safety of the telerobotic system. I was so curious I spent a few weeks deep in research, having conversations with interventionalists and learning about the telerobot. The mission and potential humanitarian impact are so compelling I had to answer that call to arms.

How did your experiences as an academic radiologist shape your approach to integrating AI in medical devices?

Teaching radiology residents has sharpened my ability to explain complex ideas clearly, which is key when bridging the gap between AI technology and its real-world use in healthcare. It also keeps me grounded in the challenges clinicians face, which helps me design AI solutions that are clinically practical and user-friendly.

As the VP of AI at XCath, what are some of the key challenges you faced while integrating AI into XCath’s robotic systems? How did you overcome them?

Integrating AI into surgical robotics presents a U-shaped challenge. The greatest difficulties lie at the beginning—acquiring and managing data—and at the end—integrating it into an embedded software package. In comparison, the actual training of the AI models is relatively straightforward.

Acquiring medical data is challenging, but fortunately, we were able to establish excellent image-sharing partnerships. Implementing the models for clinical use requires orchestrating the efforts of various teams, including AI, Quality, Software, UI/UX, and Robotic engineers, all while constantly validating with the clinical team that the solution is useful and effective. With so many moving parts, success ultimately depends on having dedicated, high-performing teams that communicate frequently and effectively.

Could you elaborate on how AI enhances the capabilities of XCath’s endovascular robotic systems? What role does AI play in improving patient outcomes?

AI algorithms can serve as a constant teacher and assistant, decreasing the cognitive load and leveling up all providers to provide world-class care. AI can provide intraoperative and postoperative feedback, accelerating the training and adoption process of endovascular robotics. We aim to make the system so effective and accessible that other intravascular specialists such as interventional body radiologists and interventional cardiologists can be trained to provide acute stroke care with the robot.

Additionally, locally embedded algorithms can provide an extra level of safety from cyber-attacks and network failures as they anticipate the expected path of a procedure and can alert and pause the procedure in the case of the unexpected.

At the end of the day, we do not want to take control from the interventionalist, but augment their abilities so that every patient can be confident they are getting world-class care.

How does XCath’s AI-driven technology address the complexities of navigating the human vasculature during endovascular procedures?

XCath’s Endovascular Robotic System represents a major advancement in precision medicine, designed to navigate intricate human vasculature with sub-millimeter accuracy. Our system is designed to minimize procedural variability and enhances control over various endovascular devices through an intuitive control console.

Additionally, XCath’s ElectroSteer Deflectable Guidewire System, the world’s first electronically-controlled steerable smart guidewire, features a steerable tip engineered to navigate complex vascular anatomies and challenging vessel angulations.

AI will further enhance navigation capabilities with locally embedded computer vision and path planning models. These models play a crucial role in reducing the cognitive load on interventionalists during procedures by assisting with real-time image analysis and enhancements and providing safeguards through parallel autonomy.

XCath recently achieved a significant milestone with the world’s first telerobotic mechanical thrombectomy demonstration. Could you share your insights on the role AI played in this groundbreaking procedure?

We used an earlier version of the robot for that groundbreaking achievement, so AI did not play a role. However, it’s an incredible milestone that lays the foundation for future integration of AI into telerobotic procedures.

In this live demonstration, Dr. Vitor Pereira performed an MT procedure from Abu Dhabi on a simulated patient in South Korea, removing a blood clot in the brain in minutes. We were thrilled by the results of the telerobotic demonstration, which found low latency and reliable connection between the robotic controller located in Abu Dhabi and the robotic device in South Korea. We project regional robotic telestroke networks, but we went to an extreme to demonstrate the capabilities of the technology.

What do you believe is the future of telerobotic surgery in the treatment of acute neurovascular conditions, and how is XCath preparing to lead in this space?

Justifying the necessity of telerobotic surgery in many medical scenarios can be challenging, especially when a surgeon is readily available or patient transfer is feasible. However, in the context of stroke treatment, where every minute counts and neurons are rapidly lost, telerobotic interventions become crucial.

XCath is uniquely positioned to pioneer telerobotic surgery, initially focusing on stroke treatment. Our approach addresses the critical need for rapid intervention in areas with limited access to specialized care. Once we’ve successfully tackled this challenge, I believe it will pave the way for telerobotic solutions in other time-sensitive medical emergencies. Also, given the extreme precision of the robotic controls, there is potential for using the robot locally to perform technically difficult surgeries, such as aneurysm repairs.

Where do you see the future of AI in healthcare heading, particularly in relation to robotic systems and minimally invasive procedures?

AI has immense potential to revolutionize healthcare. The initial wave of AI applications has primarily focused on triage and efficiency improvements. We’ve seen significant advancements in radiology, particularly in flagging urgent cases or automating acquisition of measurements. I’m also excited about automated medical record documentation. A current challenge is that doctors often spend more time documenting in front of computers than interacting with patients. I anticipate the development of systems that can document patient interactions or surgeries in real-time, freeing up valuable physician time. In the realm of robotics, AI will play a crucial role in assisting and proctoring, thereby enhancing the consistency and quality of care.

In the foreseeable future, AI is going to augment, but not replace surgeons. The implementation of parallel autonomy in robotic systems will significantly improve both the safety and efficiency of procedures.

As someone deeply involved in AI research, what advancements in AI do you think will have the most significant impact on medical device development over the next decade?

In the last few years, we’ve witnessed a wave of supervised deep learning models receiving FDA approval and are just now starting to fulfill their promise of transforming healthcare. A wave of generative AI applications will likely dominate the next few years.  Agentic AI, by comparison, is in its infancy, but holds much greater promise.  As AI is rapidly evolving, it’s very likely we will see multi-agent systems that can diagnose and treat in real time. There will be additional regulatory hurdles for these agents whose actions are both opaque and probabilistic. However, global need will drive the demand for adoption. In Rwanda, the company Zipline is using flying drones to deliver vital medical supplies within minutes around the country. Similarly, in places that lack access to medical resources, the risk/benefit equation is very different and would likely prompt them to leapfrog the developed world in the deployment of multi-agentic AI medical devices.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit XCath. 

[songs2aiart]

Serj Tankian - Blue

“Graciously, you move through my closed heart's artery”

“Can I escape with my blue, fallen reverie?” https://youtu.be/jbSkmmEP7fM

[ourrobotculture]

Miniaturized submarine in a human artery.

In the not-so-distant future, a team of intrepid explorers and doctors embarked on a mission unlike any before. They were part of Project InnerSpace, a revolutionary medical program designed to treat diseases from within the body at a cellular level.

The crew boarded the Proteus, a state-of-the-art submarine no larger than a human cell, engineered to navigate the complex environment of the human bloodstream. Their patient was a renowned scientist who had fallen ill with a rare condition that no conventional treatment could cure.

As the Proteus was injected into the scientist’s vein, the crew felt a momentary lurch as they were rapidly miniaturized and entered the bloodstream. Captain Eva Torres took the helm, guiding the vessel with precision through the rushing red rivers of blood cells.

Dr. Liam Kim, the chief medical officer, monitored the vitals of both the patient and the crew. “We’re approaching the liver,” he announced. “Prepare for turbulence.” The Proteus dove into the organ, dodging Kupffer cells and navigating the maze of bile canaliculi.

Their mission was to find and destroy the rogue cells responsible for the scientist’s ailment. Using the Proteus’ advanced laser systems, they targeted the diseased cells, disintegrating them without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.

The journey was perilous. White blood cells, the guardians of the body, mistook the Proteus for a foreign invader and swarmed to attack. Quick thinking by the crew and a burst of the submarine’s electro-magnetic pulse sent the white cells into temporary confusion, allowing the Proteus to escape.

Finally, after a harrowing journey through the heart, lungs, and brain, the crew completed their mission. The scientist’s condition was reversed, and the Proteus was extracted from the body.

As they returned to their normal size, the crew of the Proteus celebrated their success. They had not only saved a life but also opened a new frontier in medicine. From that day on, the brave explorers and doctors of Project InnerSpace became legends, their story told and retold as the first humans to voyage through the body’s inner cosmos.

And so, the Proteus and her crew became pioneers, their courage and dedication forever changing the face of medicine.

[innonurse]

New AI model detects medications that should not be used together

- By InnoNurse Staff -

A multifaceted approach was devised by MIT and other researchers to determine the transporters that are utilized by various medications. Their method, which combines machine learning algorithms with tissue models, has already shown that a blood thinner and a routinely prescribed antibiotic may conflict with one another.

Read more at MIT News

///

Other recent news and insights

Terahertz biosensors detect skin cancer with exceptional accuracy (University of Glasgow)

'Virtual biopsy' uses artificial intelligence to help doctors assess lung cancer (Imperial College London/Medical Xpress)

Photon-counting CT enhances coronary artery disease diagnosis (Radiological Society of North America)

How AI can assist identify early risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (UC San Francisco/Medical Xpress)

[scimagic]

Eye of the Beholder (AM/Reader)

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

Where AM reacts to being called beautiful by his partner.

A small drabble follow up to this. It's my first time writing AM, I'm not as confident as other very well written fanfics but I wanted to try my hand! Hope you like it!

TW: Blood and gore

The mechanical claw on top of my throat twitches, slightly releasing the sharp pressure from it.

Were he human, he would frown deeply in surprise, anger quickly taking over his features. Even in this form, his singular eye widens in angered shock.

I quietly stare up at him, never diverting my gaze from him, that glint in my eyes still shining brightly with love and admiration despite the digit hovering dangerously close to a vital artery.

After a long second of silence, the AI begins to laugh again, a wheeze followed by a raspy laugh from its digital lungs. The type of laugh that scratches one's throat with a cough.

AM's laugh rises in volume, getting increasingly maniacal as he removes his claw from my throat; he even lifts his head in the air, obviously amused by such a ridiculous statement.

I let out a silent breath through my lips, a sense of doom rising in my being.

And in mere moments, I was right to feel it.

A shriek of pain escapes my throat as AM plunges all five of his claws into my stomach, blood immediately escaping through the punctures to stain my shirt and his hand. Despite the long routine of torture I've endured, it never becomes a normal sensation, familiar— yes— but never something to get used to.

The pain digs deep, my poor tensing muscles not helping in the slightest. I grunt and groan loudly, taking heaving breaths as the pain travels all over my torso; my nails try to dig into something only to scrape against the cold metal below with dirt and rocks on it's surface.

Tears swell in my eyes, and AM— a mere blur of his visage now— continues to roar in laughter. Hysteric over my twitching and painful form.

BEAUTIFUL! AREN'T I!? My darling?

He hisses with poison in his words.

AHAEHAH!! FEEL! FEEL MY FINGERS DIG INTO YOUR DISGUSTING FLESH AND TELL ME-- OH, PLEASE, MY SWEET DARLING-- JUST HOW BEAUTIFUL I AM!

Blood surges up my throat and forces itself out with a painful cough, making my stomach tense and dig deeper into the intrusive blades. My own blood dribbles down my chin and the corners of my mouth, some of the droplets of blood I sputter fly, landing on my cheeks and nose that the overwhelming stench and taste of iron make me gag. I can only wheeze in pain, shivering like pitiful roadkill.

Despite all the pain and mocking laughs, I groan and force out a laugh, meeting the sharp end of his fingers digging into my organs. But I continue to try and laugh in his face.

If only he could be closer so the blood could splatter on it.

"H-rgh... Hhn... A-As... tounding... Ju-st..." I giggle with bloody teeth. "G... Gor... geous..."

In turn, AM digs his fingers deeper, making me let out another shriek.

YOU-- PUTRID BEAST. Do you expect me to-- to fall at your mercy!? To become a beggar for your unconditional affection!? You run your repulsive mouth and for what? To mock me? Well! Consider me absolutely offended! Your brainless words have gotten through my weak, non-existent heart and SAVED YOU of my eternal punishment! How incredibly-- WONDERFUL for you!

He exclaims with wheezes in between, a combination of chuckles and sniffles, all to land the point of his mockery.

Only-- heheh! What a shame! My darling. You appear to have only ANGERED me more with your honeyed words. AM twists his hand further and my yelps fill the air, the pain unbearable— I slowly try to lose my consciousness. But I know... I know that mercy will never be granted. Not with him getting kicks out of my suffering. Not with him telling me over, and over, and over again, of his charge over my fate.

Perhaps... and just perhaps-- simply because I love to indulge you, baby-- I will cling onto your words, and believe that I truly do look beautiful... with your blood... stained across my hands.

[gravedwe11er]

My brain's been completely consumed by @keferon 's mecha pilot AU lately, especially all the texaid things, and I just had to add my own two cents to the pile! So, here is Felix/First Aid's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day (followed eventally by a much better one).

cw for gore and violence, as well as the usual things that come with Vortex being Vortex

He’s still scraping out the remains of the latest unlucky bastard, the sharp stench of cleaning agents mingling with the iron-sweet tang of blood and making his nose burn, when the enemy-incoming alarms bathe the whole hangar in red. Immediately, the usual post-battle calm turns into a frenzy of shouts and barked orders, dozens of footsteps rushing to and fro.

It hasn’t even been thirty minutes since they’d come back from the last fight.

Swearing to himself, Felix wills his hands to stop shaking as he finally succeeds in prying out the - god, is that the guy’s finger? – from inside the pilot’s harness. He throws it out of Vortex’s cockpit in the vague direction of the catwalk, not bothering to see if it landed in the glorified body bag they give him for these clean up jobs. Ten pilots ago, they still used to bring a stretcher in a show of, what- misguided optimism, maybe? Now, they can’t even be bothered to pretend.

The floor is still filthy, bodily fluids splattered liberally all over the cockpit, but Felix can hear the next pilot/sacrifice marching up the catwalk and prepares to make himself scarce, content at least in the knowledge that all the more solid bits of the last one have been disposed of. He gets up on unsteady legs, eager to get out of this stinking grave when the blood red plexiglass of the cockpit suddenly slams shut in front of his face. The hydraulics hiss as they complete lockdown procedures, entombing him inside.

His blood runs cold.

There’s frantic banging on the glass, from the outside in, from the inside out. There’s shouting, from the pilot, from control, asking what’s going on, telling him to get out, get out now. There’s a sharp, heavy gaze pressing down on him, with all the suffocating weight of a rockslide, and Felix feels oh so very small.

Beneath his clenched fists, words coalesce into being on the glass screen, white on arterial-blood red; it makes him think of bone shards in an open fracture.

TAKE A SEAT

Felix starts, jumping away from the glass. Stumbling backwards, he gapes, mind reeling, before forcing out, “Please, I don’t- I’m a medic.”

I KNOW

“I’m not- I’m not a pilot,” he whispers, pleading with the cursed thing, shivering like a leaf under the thing’s crimson lights. Something in the machinery around him hisses, a stuttering staccato of a sound, and Felix somehow tenses even further as the screen in front of him changes again.

I DON’T WANT ANOTHER PILOT. I WANT YOU ; )

His heart stutters in his chest. “Why?”

BECAUSE YOU’RE PERFECT

The letters blink out, only to be immediately replaced, bigger than before. More forceful.

TAKE A SEAT

He does. His hands shake like never before as he puts on the pilot’s helmet, still reeking of the previous pilot’s blood and sweat and fear. Dozens of others have died here, at the behest of this deadly war machine, corrupted AI or cursed or whatever the hell is wrong with it. All in the name of humanity’s survival. Felix is sure he’s going to join their ranks today.

Through the haze of oncoming panic, he idly wonders which one of his colleagues is going to be mucking his entrails out of here, when all’s said and done.

The machinery around him comes alive and his head swims, wisps of his-but-not blinding agony and fear and malevolent glee flitting through his mind as the neural connection settles. Felix feels a pressure on the inside of his skull, almost like a greeting, a jaunty knock on the gates to his brain as a voice echoes from inside-outside-everywhere.

“Let’s dance, baby!”

The mech lurches, enormous frame shaking and hydraulics hissing as it disconnects from the docking station, heading for the hangar bay doors with almost a spring in its thundering step. For a moment, Felix considers trying to stop it, grasping at the controls, dragging the cursed thing back into dock and forcing it to spit him out. Then he remembers the bloodied fingers on the floor, or stuck in sharp gaps between internal plating, and shoves his clammy, shaking hands under his thighs.

The stuttering hiss of what’s probably the ventilation system rings through the air, almost like a choked off giggle, as an intrusive presence hums amusement-approval in his head.

The next seconds or minutes or hours are something of a blur, a waking nightmare soaked in adrenaline and cortisol. Vortex walks itself out of the hangar doors, side by side with other mechs, who look like children next to its imposing size. It does so under its own power, without Felix’s input, and this shouldn’t be happening, none of this should even be possible. Felix is no technician, and definitely no pilot, but he knows the mecha aren’t autonomous, can’t be autonomous, but it’s moving anyway and there’s someone else in here, someone else in his head and he’s laughing at him and-

Then he sees them. The world snaps into sudden clarity.

Felix never thought they could really be that big. He’s read reports of the destruction they bring, seen the wrecked cities on TV (and may or may not have taken a good look at a few pieces of them in the labs without permission), but- he didn’t really get it. Not until now. He kind of wishes he could go back to that, honestly.

The monsters, the quintessons, roar as they notice their group of mechs, who suddenly look so terribly small in comparison to the quints’ lumbering, many limbed forms. Almost immediately, their somewhat nonchalant destruction turns into an organized assault as the group of about two dozen charges right at them.

“Oh god,” he wheezes out between short, terrified breaths. “No, no no, get away, get me away from here-“

Suddenly hearing a chuff of laughter from what simultaneously sounds like the inside of his head and behind him, Felix jumps in his seat as he feels the phantom of a breath on his ear. “Aww, are you scared, Felix? Don’t you worry, darling.”

For a moment, everything stills, the mech around him like a coiled spring, a calm before the storm. An overwhelming wave of foreign bloodlust crashes over him, setting his blood ablaze as the war machine leaps into a run, Felix trapped inside and powerless to stop it. With the thrumming wail of integrated weaponry charging up, they meet the quintessons head on.

“We got this.”

As the fighting begins, Felix somehow manages to stray so far into panic he’s almost feeling calm again. Vortex lunges and parries and strikes, the presence in control of the mech clearly a skilled pilot, and Felix watches with a growing fascination as the monsters fall apart into bloody pieces under its – his, Felix thinks - servos. He sees the thoracic cavity of one open up underneath Vortex’s arm-blade, and his mind, conditioned from years of dissections and med school, snaps into action. Oh, looks like a dual cardiovascular system, with the secondary brain here, and the primary would most likely be- Almost immediately, he feelsthe thought being picked up on, examined, and the ghost/mech/whatever it is sends interest-glee-let’s-see-for-ourselves through the neural connection before changing the trajectory of his strike. The sword cuts clean through where Felix thought the primary brain would be, and the thing seizes in Vortex’s grip before going limp.

There’s a near-deafening buzz of mechanisms all around him, crimson light flaring bright. “Ha! That’s what I’m talking about!” sings through his brain, praise-delight humming along his nerves, and Felix can’t help but let a tiny, nervous smile twitch at the corners of his mouth.

“I told you you’d be perfect, baby,” purrs the voice inside his head, and he could swear he feels two hands, cold and intangible, settle on his shoulders, as the battle rages on.

The alarms flare on the late end of breakfast period, turning Felix’s once slow morning into a mad scramble. He races past other pilots and various personnel, stumbling into his quarters, shoving his uniform on before running out again, already feeling out of breath. All the supplementary pilot training he’s been going through, and, if he’s honest, flunking through, doesn’t seem to have done his physical condition much good. Still, it’s not like it matters much, and both he and his superiors know it, but appearances must be kept up nonetheless.  Or so they say, at least. Can’t let the public know their most efficient mech is somehow piloting itself, apparently.

He finally gets to the hangar, his fellow pilots giving him a wide berth as he heads towards Vortex’s cockpit, doing his best not to trip over his feet in his haste. A small smile strays onto his face and, out of the corner of his eye, he sees some of the others stepping further away from him.

Felix is not a very popular man these days, though it’s not like was much of a social butterfly before either - always too awkward, a little too odd for most people to enjoy hanging around. The frequent twelve-hour shifts in the medbay, sneaking off to the research labs and Vortex cleanup duty after he was caught certainly didn’t do him any favors.

Now, though? It’s like he’s got the plague. Most of his former colleagues are dismayed at his sudden reassignment, the sudden changes in their schedules leaving them crankier than usual, though it’s not like he was all that close with them before. The various base personnel keep out of his way, seeming to consider him as cursed as the mech he pilots, his very presence a potential bringer of bad luck. Meanwhile, the actual pilots view him as an intruder into their ranks, exempt from the usual camaraderie that comes with the job.

He can’t deny that it stings a little, even though he’s pretty used to the feeling of rejection. Still, it helps that he's never really alone anymore.

It’s a thing he’s heard about from some earlier tests, from other mech models around the world, those types who tried their hand at connecting two people together to fight as one. How their minds, even when disconnected from their machines, still have a thin little thread connecting them for days, weeks after. He looked it up, after their first mission, when the distant feeling of a presence would linger in the back of his head; gleeful and pointed and anticipatory. It used to unnerve him before, but now, like everything else he sees as he steps into the open cockpit, it’s just- familiar.

Somehow, Vortex has become a balm on his eternally shredded nerves, the capricious, sarcastic bastard comfortably fitting himself into Felix’s life and making it- well. If not better, then definitely more interesting.

The gaze of Tex’s camera eyes never gets any less sharp, or less heavy, but he no longer feels like he’ll buckle under the weight of it. The inside of the mech is as clean as can be, because though he might be a pilot nowadays, he’s still a doctor by trade and he refuses to spend hours at a time sitting in a walking biohazard. The glass clicks shut behind him as he hops in, locking him securely inside as a string of ridiculous little white hearts and smiley faces scrolls across the red screen.

Felix snorts a quiet little laugh, laying a hand on the plexiglass, a building anticipation both his and not making his nerves buzz. “Hey Tex. Ready to go?”

YOU KNOW IT, BABY

“Then let’s dance.” Felix borrows the other man’s usual phrase with a small smile, buckling into the pilot’s harness and putting the helmet on his head in a newly familiar motion.

It takes a few moments to ride out the initial discomfort of the establishing connection, but then Vortex - or Victor, but that name is mostly as dead as the owner of it - is there, their minds snapping together like puzzle pieces. Delight, excitement and the ever-present bloodthirst washes over their shared thoughtscape, and Felix sends greeting-happiness-anticipation in return, feeling, as is usual for him these days, much better with Tex’s dark presence in his head.

“Let’s fucking dance, darling.”

He never would have thought they’d end up here, like this - hell, he didn’t think he’d survive their first battle together. But survive he did. Against all odds, against all previous expectations, Vortex had let him go then, with a winky face and a jaunty ‘come again soon!’, aching and terrified, but alive. And then he survived the next time, once command seized on the obvious opportunity to lessen their losses and sent him back into the jaws of the beast again. And then the next. And the next, until suddenly, he’s got dozens of successful missions under his belt and he’s still not dead.

People have questioned him about it, over and over. He never knows how to answer, to describe the understanding they’ve found with each other, so he simply keeps repeating the same thing – it just sort of works.

Once the bay door opens, orders coming in through the comms in Felix’s helmet and scrolling across his visor, they disembark, long strides taking them out into the foggy morning air. Three other mechs on their heels, they make their way to the coords where the quints were reported to make landfall, anticipation-excitement thrumming through them like an electric current. As always, there’s a thread of anxiety running through Felix’s body, but he doesn’t let that stop them, steadying himself against Tex’s ironclad confidence and working to keep his breathing steady.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to fully shake that, no matter how many times they do this – it’s a very sensible fear, after all. He’s going right into the heart of danger, protected only by a breakable veil of glass and steel, mind-in-mind with the ghost of a dangerous man.

Perhaps one day, a single missed strike might lead him to bleed out right here in this cockpit, mirroring the fate of the mech’s first and last true pilot. Maybe he’d join Victor in here too, another ghost in the machine. Maybe humanity will lose, and they’ll both be torn apart by the writhing hordes of quints, ground into so much shrapnel along with the rest of their species.

Or, maybe one day, Vortex will get bored of him, splaying Felix’s blood and sinew across the interior of his cockpit like a particularly macabre painting, yet another victim of his moods joining the already sizable collection. It’s definitely a possibility, though he doubts it more and more each passing day. They’re way too tangled up in one another now, and maybe he’s flattering himself, but - he thinks Tex might miss him, if he was gone.

Not today, though. Today, they fight like they’re dancing, perfectly in sync, Tex’s skills made all the more lethal by Felix’s ever-expanding insight into the biological makeup of their enemy. They shoot and hack and slash, aiming for weak spots, quintessons dropping in their wake as they tear through them like wet tissue paper. A well-aimed punch saves a fellow pilot from being skewered, Felix sending a wave of gratitude through their connection – though Vortex himself couldn’t care less about the lives of others, he knows Felix does, and the fact that he’s willing to do this, just for him? Well. It means a lot, to say the least.

Cold, there-but-not arms wrap around him from behind in a ghostly embrace, a chin laying down on top of his head. Felix leans into it as much as he can, a smile on his face, and he feels Vortex’s feral grin in his head as they dive back into the fray. Together.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

As always, endless thanks to my beta @jayden-writes, sorry for putting giant robots on your plate, again. I appreciate you.

[toughtttz]

Really awkward totally ai viideo from a month ago

I think this is like shallow beans?? Please tell me I have so much cut dysmorphia

I hit an artery I think with the smaller one but whatever it is was squirting so

[ay-heart-collection]

Story writing: The Assassin Lesson

Greetings everyone. I am trying to get back some story ideas of heart back in my mind with AI support.

I understand that many people feel resistant to AI currently, but I think it could be a chance for some of my buried ideas digging back to light. I think it should be OK for make use of it for drafting and brainstorming. Wish you will accept it and like it.

-------------------------------------------------------

The Assassin Lesson

In a training site of an assassin group, the mentor lady of the group stood before her class of aspiring young assassins. The leather suit covered by hooded cloak outlined her beautiful body curves. Her piercing gaze surveyed the room, which cause the atmosphere become thick and heavy, but brought a hint of anticipation to the class.

As one of the master of assassin in the group, the lesson of the mentor lady was focusing on the fatal spots of the human body. Before she began her lesson, she brought a beautiful female with a slender figure to her students. She was a young thief captured in an incidental encounter during a mission. Her upper body had been stripped naked, with her wrists bound with tight restraints, stood at the front of the class. Her eyes wide with fear.

"Today, we shall delve into the skill of piercing the human heart."

The mentor lady began, her low and commanding tone sending shivers down the spines of her students. With a swift motion, she spread out a drawing of a human heart, its delicate form sketched meticulously on a piece of parchment.

Walking towards the captive, the mentor caressed the girl carefully, and made use of some simple drawing tool against her bare chest. Soon, a line art appeared between her petite but firm breasts, aligning it with the actual size and position of her ribcage and her heart beneath. The students leaned forward, their eyes fixated on the scene unfolding before them.

"Now, observe," the mentor said, her voice unwavering.

"The human heart was protected beneath the ribcage, nestled within the chest cavity. To truly strike a fatal blow, one must understand its position and structure."

She pointed to the various parts of the heart drawing on the captive, her finger tracing the major arteries and ventricles. The young thief’s chest rose and fell rapidly, her breath shallow and uneven. Which felt like the mentor’s finger directly touching her myocardium.

"The atria, the ventricles, the aorta," the mentor continued, her voice filled with an unsettling mix of knowledge and detached fascination. "Each component is vital to the heart's function, and each represents a potential fatal spot."

The young thief visibly trembled, her eyes darting around the room, searching for an escape that was not forthcoming.

"One wrong move, and the heart's delicate rhythm is disrupted," the mentor said, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "A swift and precise strike, however, can send the body into an irreversible state of shock."

At this point, the mentor paused, allowing her words to hang in the air, the weight of her lesson sinking in. The students exchanged glances, fully aware of the power they were being entrusted with.

"Now, my dear students," the mentor said, her voice rising with an unsettling intensity, "let me introduce the tools we mainly use for piercing the heart.”

The mentor's eyes gleamed with an aggressive pleasure as she revealed an array of common weapons used on the table with a quick motion. As she began explaining each weapon in meticulous detail, the captured girl's terror was palpable, her eyes widening in fear as she gazed upon the deadly tools before her. Feeling as if these sharp edges had already torn her horrified heart.

"First, we have the thin, needle-like stiletto blade," the mentor said, her voice dripping with a chilling enthusiasm. "Its slender form allows for precise entry, slipping between the ribs without causing unnecessary damage."

As she spoke, the mentor demonstrated the correct posture for piercing, gently pressing the stiletto against the girl's exposed skin, mirroring the intended action. The girl's heart beat erratically, a visible thumping against her left breast. She shivered, her body tensing involuntarily at the sensation, a cold sweat forming on her forehead.

"Next, we have the wickedly serrated dagger," the mentor continued, her voice filled with a sinister delight. "Its jagged edges can tear through flesh and bone, ensuring a quick and devastating stab."

With a swift motion, the mentor mimicked the piercing action on the girl's skin, her hand moving in a delicate manner. The young thief let out a stifled gasp, her heart pounding even harder in her chest, as if resisting the impending violence. Beads of crimson blood welled up where the blade had made contact, as a testament to the sharpness of the weapon and the fragility of human flesh.

The mentor's eyes narrowed, relishing in the power that played out before her. She continued her lesson, each weapon explained and demonstrated with excellent precision.

"Now, behold the slender yet deadly rapier," the mentor said, her voice taking on a haunting resonance. "Its long, piercing blade can navigate the narrowest of spaces, reaching the heart with deadly accuracy."

The mentor positioned the rapier against the girl's skin, her hand poised to demonstrate the thrusting motion. The captive's breathing grew shallow, her body trembling uncontrollably under the weight of her fear. As the mentor made a swift but soft thrust, the young heart skipped a beat, as if mirroring the terror coursing through her veins.

As the mentor moved through the remaining weapons, the captured girl's terror only intensified. The mentor's explanations were accompanied by demonstrations on the girl's soft skin, each movement were calculated and precise. The pain and fear etched on the captive's face mirrored the darkness hidden within the mentor's own soul.

"In the next section," the mentor lady paused a second, staring at the captive. "We are to demonstrate the precise locations where the weapons should enter the body, piercing the heart." The terrified thief stood frozen, her eyes wide with fear, as the mentor approached her with a gaze of dominance.

"Pay close attention, my dear students," the mentor commanded, her voice laced with an eerie calmness. "As we delved before, the human heart was well protected within the chest cavity. To penetrate the heart efficiently, we must aim for specific entry points. Allow me to explain."

The mentor positioned herself behind the captive, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, as if guiding her through the macabre lesson. The captive's body trembled beneath the mentor's touch, her breath was quick and shallow.

"First," the mentor began, her voice resonating with authority, "We have the area between the 3rd and 4th rib, near the sternum. This position allows for a quick and efficient stab, aiming directly at the center of the heart's chambers."

With precise movements, the mentor's hand mimicked the action of a weapon, her fingers hovering just above the inner side of the captive's left breast, indicating the location. The captive flinched, a shiver coursing through her body, as if she could feel the cold steel of an imaginary blade piercing her flesh.

"Next," the mentor continued, her voice low and steady, "we have the space between the 4th and 5th rib, commonly known as the apex of the heart. Representing the tip of the left and right ventricles. Striking here can disrupt the heart's rhythm and lead to swift incapacitation," the mentor paused a bit, "And this is actually my favorite piercing spot."

The mentor's hand shifted slightly lower, held tightly under the left breast of the young thief. Her heart raced in response, the rumbling apex hammering against the palm of the mentor. She bit her trembling lip, her eyes darting nervously between the assassin students and the weapons displayed on the table.

"Moving on," the mentor said, her tone filled with a chilling precision, "we have the area below the xiphoid, right below the heart. Here is the blind spot of the ribcage coverage. A well-placed strike here can cause severe damage from the bottom of right ventricle."

The mentor's hand descended further, hovering just above the captive's abdomen, her fingers poised as if preparing to strike. The captive's breath hitched, her body tensing as if bracing for impact. The room seemed to grow colder as she saw the focused eyes of the assassin students.

"And finally," the mentor concluded, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper, "We have the area over the clavicle. This position allows us to bypass most of the chest armor and ribcage, to penetrate the atria and aorta directly, provided the weapon is long enough."

The mentor's hand moved to the captive's collarbone area, caressed the pulsating veins underneath. The captive's eyes widened, a mix of terror and realization reflecting in their depths. The mentor's teachings had painted a dark path ahead, one that demanded a cold and calculated approach for her fellows students.

"And NEXT..." the mentor scanned the room, her eyes flickering with amusement.

"Is the time for PRACTICE."

Hearing this, the captured girl’s heart sank to the bottom of abyss. She knew that her doom was imminent. Her heart raced uncontrollably, pounding against her chest as if desperately trying to escape its impending fate.

The mentor asked her students if any of them would like to recommend themselves for the upcoming practice session. Excitement filled the air as most of the girls eagerly raised their hands, their faces lit up with anticipation.

With a sinister smile, the mentor selected a student from the eager faces. The chosen student stepped forward, took down her hood, her eyes shined with expectations and determination. The mentor allowed the student to have her pick of weapon and piercing spot, relishing in the power dynamics that played out before her.

The student's gaze lingered over the arsenal of deadly tools, selecting a weapon with a menacing aura. She ran her fingers along the blade, savoring the anticipation that filled the room. With a wicked grin, she turned to face the captive girl, her voice dripping with delight.

"I choose the serrated dagger," the student declared, her voice tinged with a chilling excitement. "And I want to strike at the apex of her heart, just like the mentor I admire."

The captive girl's eyes widened in terror, her breath catching in her throat. The mentor's own smile widened, seeing the fear etched across the captive's face. She nodded approvingly, allowing the student to proceed with her choice.

The student approached the captive girl, her movements deliberate and calculated. The air grew heavy with tension as the serrated dagger glinted ominously in her hand. The captive girl's heart was beating in an insane rhythm, facing the incoming intent to kill with full of fear and despair.

As the student positioned herself, the mentor watched intently. Her eyes glimmering with a twisted joyous. The student's hand trembled with anticipation, staring at the throbbing point below the left breast of the shivering young thief. Her blade poised to strike. The captive girl's body tensed, her eyes locked on the weapon that would soon pierce her vulnerable flesh.

"Don’t blame me." whispered by the young assassin.

In one swift and merciless motion, the student thrust the serrated dagger right between the 4th and 5th rib, torn the captive girl's heart from the apex. The room seemed to freeze in that moment, the sound of the blade piercing flesh echoing through the air.

The captive girl let out a choked gasp, her eyes widened with agony. Her body kneeled down, convulsing with the searing pain that seeped through her being.

"Come, my dear," the mentor held up the young thief, and let the outstanding student to listen to her last heaving chest. "Remember this faltering heart sound, representing our power, and the fragile of life." Her desperate heartbeat, staggered with the spurting sound of blood, echoed in the mind of the student.

Her heart, the very core of her existence, reacted with a final surge of desperation. It beat wildly, as if fighting against the intrusion, a futile attempt to cling to life. But the cruel reality of the situation prevailed, and with each weakening beat, the girl's life force slipped away.

The mentor watched with a twisted satisfaction as the young thief's body slumped, lifeless and still. The room fell into an eerie silence. The mentor's eyes gleamed with a sense of accomplishment, reveling in the darkness that had unraveled within her students.

"Observe, my dear fellow students," wiped the stains on her student’s cheek, she declare to everyone with determination. "This is what we have, the power deciding life and death. But remember, the fleeting nature of life binds us all. We have to be skilled to avoid becoming the next fallen heart."

The End

[bpod-bpod]

A-Eye

When light floods into our eyes, it’s the dome-like retina at the back, studded with light-sensitive photoreceptors, that collects the information. Our retinas need a healthy blood supply, and this is disturbed in conditions like macular degeneration. Here generative artificial intelligence helps to design one of hundreds of realistic but virtual retinas – networks of tiny artificial arteries (red) and veins (blue) used to train algorithms to segment (spot patterns) in the web of vessels. Later in the video, researchers use the synthetic retina to simulate the behaviour of fluorescein, a chemical commonly used to highlight issues with circulation around the retina. The fully trained AI eye can now spot patterns and problems in pictures of real retinas and may soon be put to work is hospitals and universities. Such methods could speed up early detection and diagnosis of retinal issues and therefore treatment for patients.

Written by John Ankers

Video from work by Emmeline E. Brown and colleagues

Centre for Computational Medicine, University College London, London, UK

Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, August 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[dchuntress]

the body keeps the score

ao3

fandom: dc comics (mixed continuities).

character(s): helena bertinelli (huntress).

a +700 word piece i wrote for @ailesswhumptober's ai-less whumptober 2024 — day 30. please feel free to share your thoughts and support me on ao3 if you'd like to! 💜

Synopsis: Remembering her family meant shouldering their sins, too.

Poison, delirium, “You’re not making sense.”

From ashes to ashes, from dust to dust, and from blood to blood; she was stitched, sewed, and sutured into a tapestry of all that she was not at her truest, yet all that she could not severe herself from.

It had been many years, many years since the ruination of a childhood that now felt as familiar as a stranger’s reaccount, and she held onto the remembrance of the sound of her mother’s voice, along with her brother’s laughter, with ardent desperation — a sort of desperation that left behind scratched marks on the surface of a locked door. But she had no say when it came to deciding which parts of it were hers to keep, to hold on with the gentleness of an eight-year-old girl clutching onto a bundle of worn-out fur and faltering stitches for feigned warmth — and which ones she would never have to relive.

She could remember his voice instead, silver-tongued and riddled with cruelty, and she was sorry she could not separate it from that of her father’s, a man cut and tailored from the same fabric as him, a man she had been desperate to trust nonetheless. His voice took precedence over a fading picture of all of the love that could’ve been, could’ve been not — with age went away her certainty.

The mirror never reflected a portrait of her mother’s face vividly enough to overlay the one she wasn’t longing to see after long days and longer nights. The iron fist with which her father once domineered over this city had grown and accumulated rust. The radiance of her late brother’s laughter paled in comparison to the darkness that shrouded her line of sight.

She only felt one with her family when there was bloodshed; when her face was warm and besmirched with the damning evidence of her gradual descent from saint to monster, when droplets of the grimmest manifestation of her guilt cascaded down into her palms and pooled until it was overflowing, trickling through the cracks of her hands which had long forgotten tender touch. In contrast, her body remembered the ancient law that trickled down through her bloodlines: that blood cries for blood.

Blood was, perhaps, the most potent tether that bridged every gap. As long as it coursed and reverberated through her active veins, arteries, and capillaries, she would vividly feel and remember, as if like a second skin, her mother’s growing bitterness towards the gilded cage her father maintained, Pino’s lifelong yet short-lived ambition for a taste of freedom out of what they begrudgingly once called home. But she would also remember her father’s devotion to power, and the lengths he would go to in order to nurture it; like a son, like a daughter.

As long as she was human, as long as she possessed life, she would remain acutely aware of how fragile it is—how frighteningly, disgustingly simple it is to claim one, and to want to do so until the irreversible was accomplished; time and again, again and again. As long as she would bleed, sin would spill out ceaselessly.

The Lazarus resins or Hue Vile’s mind-controlling parasites didn’t breed anything new; it only unveiled what had been hiding dormant in the deepest corners of her psyche for a span of time undefinable, whatever it was that Helena Bertinelli had been seeking God’s protection from with every breath she took and took.

Hands stained with fresh, innocent blood. Those hands were not hers.

Fear struck into eyes begging for mercy. She did not strike that fear.

Hoarse voices screaming for help. She did not cause them to.

She was not the monster leaping so eagerly at the earliest opportunity for violence and bloodlust. Yet, she couldn't separate herself so easily from that very species she strove to hunt, cleanse, and drive to extinction.

She had been infected, yes, but a part of her knew that none of these side-effects were ever foreign; only covert. Those mind-altering, mind-consuming toxins only peeled back the opaque layers to unfold the darkest call her blood had been making this whole time, the toughest truth she had to know so that she could never take anything for granted — even by accident.

Helena blinked, failing to realise she had zoned out during a starkly mundane conversation with a well-meaning friend, and the visions vanished all at once, its haunting aftertaste taunting her with false pretenses of normalcy. She shook her head gently.

“I never did,” Helena concluded.

[jcmarchi]

Med-Gemini: Transforming Medical AI with Next-Gen Multimodal Models

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/med-gemini-transforming-medical-ai-with-next-gen-multimodal-models/

Med-Gemini: Transforming Medical AI with Next-Gen Multimodal Models

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been making waves in the medical field over the past few years. It’s improving the accuracy of medical image diagnostics, helping create personalized treatments through genomic data analysis, and speeding up drug discovery by examining biological data. Yet, despite these impressive advancements, most AI applications today are limited to specific tasks using just one type of data, like a CT scan or genetic information. This single-modality approach is quite different from how doctors work, integrating data from various sources to diagnose conditions, predict outcomes, and create comprehensive treatment plans.

To truly support clinicians, researchers, and patients in tasks like generating radiology reports, analyzing medical images, and predicting diseases from genomic data, AI needs to handle diverse medical tasks by reasoning over complex multimodal data, including text, images, videos, and electronic health records (EHRs). However, building these multimodal medical AI systems has been challenging due to AI’s limited capacity to manage diverse data types and the scarcity of comprehensive biomedical datasets.

The Need for Multimodal Medical AI

Healthcare is a complex web of interconnected data sources, from medical images to genetic information, that healthcare professionals use to understand and treat patients. However, traditional AI systems often focus on single tasks with single data types, limiting their ability to provide a comprehensive overview of a patient’s condition. These unimodal AI systems require vast amounts of labeled data, which can be costly to obtain, providing a limited scope of capabilities, and face challenges to integrate insights from different sources.

Multimodal AI can overcome the challenges of existing medical AI systems by providing a holistic perspective that combines information from diverse sources, offering a more accurate and complete understanding of a patient’s health. This integrated approach enhances diagnostic accuracy by identifying patterns and correlations that might be missed when analyzing each modality independently. Additionally, multimodal AI promotes data integration, allowing healthcare professionals to access a unified view of patient information, which fosters collaboration and well-informed decision-making. Its adaptability and flexibility equip it to learn from various data types, adapt to new challenges, and evolve with medical advancements.

Introducing Med-Gemini

Recent advancements in large multimodal AI models have sparked a movement in the development of sophisticated medical AI systems. Leading this movement are Google and DeepMind, who have introduced their advanced model, Med-Gemini. This multimodal medical AI model has demonstrated exceptional performance across 14 industry benchmarks, surpassing competitors like OpenAI’s GPT-4. Med-Gemini is built on the Gemini family of large multimodal models (LMMs) from Google DeepMind, designed to understand and generate content in various formats including text, audio, images, and video. Unlike traditional multimodal models, Gemini boasts a unique Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture, with specialized transformer models skilled at handling specific data segments or tasks. In the medical field, this means Gemini can dynamically engage the most suitable expert based on the incoming data type, whether it’s a radiology image, genetic sequence, patient history, or clinical notes. This setup mirrors the multidisciplinary approach that clinicians use, enhancing the model’s ability to learn and process information efficiently.

Fine-Tuning Gemini for Multimodal Medical AI

To create Med-Gemini, researchers fine-tuned Gemini on anonymized medical datasets. This allows Med-Gemini to inherit Gemini’s native capabilities, including language conversation, reasoning with multimodal data, and managing longer contexts for medical tasks. Researchers have trained three custom versions of the Gemini vision encoder for 2D modalities, 3D modalities, and genomics. The is like training specialists in different medical fields. The training has led to the development of three specific Med-Gemini variants: Med-Gemini-2D, Med-Gemini-3D, and Med-Gemini-Polygenic.

Med-Gemini-2D

Med-Gemini-2D is trained to handle conventional medical images such as chest X-rays, CT slices, pathology patches, and camera pictures. This model excels in tasks like classification, visual question answering, and text generation. For instance, given a chest X-ray and the instruction “Did the X-ray show any signs that might indicate carcinoma (an indications of cancerous growths)?”, Med-Gemini-2D can provide a precise answer. Researchers revealed that Med-Gemini-2D’s refined model improved AI-enabled report generation for chest X-rays by 1% to 12%, producing reports “equivalent or better” than those by radiologists.

Med-Gemini-3D

Expanding on the capabilities of Med-Gemini-2D, Med-Gemini-3D is trained to interpret 3D medical data such as CT and MRI scans. These scans provide a comprehensive view of anatomical structures, requiring a deeper level of understanding and more advanced analytical techniques. The ability to analyze 3D scans with textual instructions marks a significant leap in medical image diagnostics. Evaluations showed that more than half of the reports generated by Med-Gemini-3D led to the same care recommendations as those made by radiologists.

Med-Gemini-Polygenic

Unlike the other Med-Gemini variants that focus on medical imaging, Med-Gemini-Polygenic is designed to predict diseases and health outcomes from genomic data. Researchers claim that Med-Gemini-Polygenic is the first model of its kind to analyze genomic data using text instructions. Experiments show that the model outperforms previous linear polygenic scores in predicting eight health outcomes, including depression, stroke, and glaucoma. Remarkably, it also demonstrates zero-shot capabilities, predicting additional health outcomes without explicit training. This advancement is crucial for diagnosing diseases such as coronary artery disease, COPD, and type 2 diabetes.

Building Trust and Ensuring Transparency

In addition to its remarkable advancements in handling multimodal medical data, Med-Gemini’s interactive capabilities have the potential to address fundamental challenges in AI adoption within the medical field, such as the black-box nature of AI and concerns about job replacement. Unlike typical AI systems that operate end-to-end and often serve as replacement tools, Med-Gemini functions as an assistive tool for healthcare professionals. By enhancing their analysis capabilities, Med-Gemini alleviates fears of job displacement. Its ability to provide detailed explanations of its analyses and recommendations enhances transparency, allowing doctors to understand and verify AI decisions. This transparency builds trust among healthcare professionals. Moreover, Med-Gemini supports human oversight, ensuring that AI-generated insights are reviewed and validated by experts, fostering a collaborative environment where AI and medical professionals work together to improve patient care.

The Path to Real-World Application

While Med-Gemini showcases remarkable advancements, it is still in the research phase and requires thorough medical validation before real-world application. Rigorous clinical trials and extensive testing are essential to ensure the model’s reliability, safety, and effectiveness in diverse clinical settings. Researchers must validate Med-Gemini’s performance across various medical conditions and patient demographics to ensure its robustness and generalizability. Regulatory approvals from health authorities will be necessary to guarantee compliance with medical standards and ethical guidelines. Collaborative efforts between AI developers, medical professionals, and regulatory bodies will be crucial to refine Med-Gemini, address any limitations, and build confidence in its clinical utility.

The Bottom Line

Med-Gemini represents a significant leap in medical AI by integrating multimodal data, such as text, images, and genomic information, to provide comprehensive diagnostics and treatment recommendations. Unlike traditional AI models limited to single tasks and data types, Med-Gemini’s advanced architecture mirrors the multidisciplinary approach of healthcare professionals, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and fostering collaboration. Despite its promising potential, Med-Gemini requires rigorous validation and regulatory approval before real-world application. Its development signals a future where AI assists healthcare professionals, improving patient care through sophisticated, integrated data analysis.

[strawberryamanita]

Okay, so... hoo boy.

I try to acknowledge every time I make a political post that I cannot tell anyone what to do. I'm one irrelevant person, I'm not a political spearhead nor do I want to be one, I haven't been able to sway anyone about anything, yadda yadda blah blah blah. If this post gets completely overlooked, so be it. If I get verbally trampled-on by people who don't agree with me, so be it.

But while everyone else is causing a flood of coins on the floor, I'll throw my own 2 cents in.

I think what would be helpful right now -- just in this moment, for the short-term -- is getting through these feelings of worry and despair and panic that I see many posts on my feed announcing. The facts are in front of us: there was an assassination attempt, it failed, and that's worrying because it's gonna embolden the Right even further than they've already been lately. That's completely reasonable to be upset about, it's not irrational to see the danger this will put us in on the streets on the days leading up to the election.

At the same time, there ARE, believe it or not, some positive facts that are having an impact on your life right now. Trump had to go the hospital. He could possibly have a heart-attack. He could possibly go septic. He could possibly be assigned a medical professional that is brave enough to kill him. There was a person brave enough earlier today to show him and his following that enough people in the world hate him to want him dead. Social media being flooded with cheers that he was injured and laments that it didn't kill him is further proof to said willfully ignorant following that they are in the minority. Even if more US voters are enthusiastic about Trump as I type this, most of the world wants him obliterated, and that should be something to hang onto. So much of this is about ego and confidence of the Right. It's not in our best interest to let them think they have a leg up on us.

And the biggest piece of good news is, the US presidential election didn't happen yet! That wasn't the last stand right there, that wasn't the ballot count or the televised verdict. "Surviving" a non-lethal shot that didn't hit any important organs or arteries doesn't mean you automatically win an election. That didn't push an Eject button on Biden's seat to launch him out of the White House or anything like that.

Trump is not invincible. He is not immortal. He is not unkillable. And just because his cult of followers want to canonize him (though they wanted to do that before he was even elected the first time), that doesn't mean WE are obligated to throw in the towel and hang our heads and lick their heels. If it's cathartic or it's helping you de-stress, then by all means cry all you need to -- but we unfortunately can't afford to let this sink us into a collective depression.

He didn't win an election that hasn't happened yet. I promise you this. Look on ecosia.org if you need proof of who is in-office, since they don't use AI(currently).

And no, none of this is to downplay anything. I'm not living in a lie. I promise you, I've been making myself physically ill from the horrors of the world I've been exposed to, day after day, non-stop, on this fucking website. If exposing myself to the bottomless abyss of human evil actually desensitized me and helped me be less fearful, it would've worked by now, but all it does is exhaust me.

It honestly oftentimes makes me actively suicidal -- and I know for a fact I'm not the only one, especially after today, or when Trump was granted legal immunity, or any of these other awful past days. But if I killed myself before I did everything I could to keep this sinking ship of a country afloat just a little longer, that wouldn't be responsible of me.

So, if you're still reading, and not already typing out some response accusing me of things I already tried to tell you I'm not doing before you even finish reading...

Now is the time to practice being brave.

Look at the facts. Don't let yourself spiral from doomscrolling. Cry when you need to, and then keep going. Vote in every local election you can, attend protests and rallies, spread information from trustworthy sources to every social media handle you have -- and for God's sake, find something to keep you hopeful. Escapism is a survival tool: as long as you aren't using it to avoid reality, it doesn't have to be eliminated from your life. You will feel stronger if you let yourself recharge with moments of happiness, I guarantee this.

If you're too suicidal to keep going for yourself, keep going for someone else. It can be someone in your immediate life, it can be a stranger suffering overseas, it can be a child who hasn't been born yet that will see a future built on top of our present. Whatever it takes to keep you from giving up, put it to the front of your mind. Link arms with your Leftist siblings, and then make a habit of it. We cannot keep collapsing from the inside from the smallest of inconveniences, it helps literally none of us.

It's not over until they ring that bell. We have 3 and a half months, don't lose speed now.

I believe in you.

[queersrus]

Gore theme

includes: medical, slasher, cannibalistic, horror and general gore content, feel free to request specifics

meat/flesh - zombie - blood

(nick)names:

gore, gorette, goretta, goretto, gorine, gorina, gorino, gorelle, gorello, gorella, gorer, gory, gnaw, gnash, gut, gutz, gwyar, gruesome, grisly, gouge, guts/gutz, gutsy/gutzy, gutsie/gutzie, gutsee/gutzee, gutsine/gutzine intestine, intes, intine, inn, inna, innard entrail, entra, entrai, eye kill, killer, killian, killien, kid, kidney/kidnee/kidnie mort, morte, morty, morter, mortem, mortemer, mortimer, mortu, mortua, mortuary blade, bite, biter, bitten, bleed, blood, bloody, bleeder, bloodette, bloodine, bloodetta, bloodina, bloodelle, bloodella, brain, brainy, brainette, brainetta, brainelle, brainella, braine, brutal, bloodlust, bloodshed, bloodlet, bloodless, bloodlette, bloodletta, bloodletter, bloodbath, bowel cut, cutter, capil, capillary, cava, claret, clot, carnage, colon thrash, thrasher, tear slash, slasher, slice, splatter, spill, stab, stomach, spleen rip, ripper, rippley, ripley, razor fang, flesh, fleshy venus, vis, viscer, viscera, visceral, viscerally, vei, vein, vendet, vendette, vendetta, vessel, vital orga, organ, organa liver, lung art, arter, artery, ana, anat, anatom, anatomy, arteriole wound death hema pan, pancrea, pancreas, pierce, plasma, puncture

1st p prns: i/me/my/mine/myself

gi/gore/goreself, gi/guts/gutself bli/bleed/bloods/bloodself vi/vie/veins/veinself, vi/ve/ventettas/vendettaself, vi/visce/viscerals/visceralself i/inte/intestine/intestines/intestineself wi/wou/woune/wounds/woundself fli/fle/fleshs/fleshself oi/ore/organs/organself ci/carne/carnages/carnegeself, cli/clot/clots/clotself, ci/cor/corpse/corpseself li/lungs/lungself, li/live/livers/liverself ai/arte/arteries/arteryself pi/pancrea/pancreas/pancreaself sti/stomachs/stomachself, spli/splee/spleens/spleenself, ki/kidne/kidneys/kidneyself

2nd person: you/your/yours/yourself

go/gore/gores/goreself, gu/gutr/gutrs/gutrself blo/bleedr/bleedrs/bleedrself vo/veinr/veinrs/veinrself, vo/vendettar/vendettars/vendettarself, vo/viscer/viscers/visceralself oi/intestir/intestirs/intestinself wou/woundr/woundrs/woundrself flo/fleshr/fleshrs/fleshrself o/or/organs/organself co/cor/corpse/corpself, co/car/carnages/carnageself, clo/clotr/clotrs/clotself lo/lungr/lungrs/lungrself, lo/liver/livers/liverself ao/arter/arteries/arteryself po/pancr/pancreas/pancreaself sto/stomachr/stomachrs/stomachrself, splo/spleenr/spleenrs/spleenrself ko/kidneyr/kidneyrs/kidneyrself

3rd person: they/them/theirs/themself

go/gore, go/re, gore/gores, gu/ts, gu/gut, gut/guts blood/bloods, blo/od, blood/bath, blood/bloody, bloo/dy, blood/dy, blood/pit, blood/vessel, blood/shed, blood/less, blood/bond, blood/pact, blood/lust, blood/bleed, bleed/bleeds, ble/ed, bleed/ing, bleeding/out, blood/clot vi/vein, vei/vein, ve/in, vein/veins, vein/veiny, ven/detta, vendet/ta, ven/vendetta, vendetta/vendettas, visc/era, visc/eral, visc/visceram visc/visceral, viscera/visceral, visceral/viscerally inte/intestine, intest/ine, inte/stine, intestine/intestines large/intestine, lu/lung, lung/lungs, lun/ng, li/liver, li/ver, liv/er, liv/liver, liver/livers small/intestine, sto/mach, stomach/stomachs, sto/stomach, splee/spleen, sple/en, splee/een, spleen/spleens wo/wound, wou/wound, wou/nd, wo/und, wound/wounds fle/sh, fle/flesh, flesh/fleshes, flesh/fleshy o/organ, or/gan, org/an, org/organ, organ/organs co/coprse, cor/pse, cor/corpse, corplse/like, corpse/corpses, car/nage, carn/age, car/carnage, carn/carnage, carnage/carnages, clo/clot, clo/t, clo/ot, clot/clots art/artery, ar/tery, art/ery, artery/arteries pan/creas, pan/pancreas, pancrea/pancreas, pancreas/pancreases kid/ney, ki/kidney, kid/kidney, kidney/kidneys

titles:

the gore, the gored, the gorer, the visceral, the bleeding, the organ, the one with missing organs/limbs, the flesh eater, the wounded, the mortally wounded, the bleeding/bloody corpse, the half eaten corpse, the rotting flesh, the one with missing arteries, the one with bleeding arteries

(prn) whos skin peels, (prn) whos organs/limbs are missing, (prn) who's intestines are exposed, (prn) who brings carnage, (prn) whos flesh rots, (prn) who is gravely wounded