Use of Artificial Intelligence in Microbiology

Artificial Intelligence in Microbiology An event organized by the Turkish Microbiology Society and the Northern Cyprus Microbiology Platform examined applications of artificial intelligence and mathematical modeling in microbiology and healthcare. Within the framework of the Turkish Microbiology Society's online seminars, an event was organized in collaboration with the Northern Cyprus Microbiology Platform to examine applications of artificial intelligence in microbiology. The event, attended by over 150 healthcare professionals and microbiologists from Turkey and Northern Cyprus, featured presentations by researchers from Near East University that generated considerable interest among participants. The TMC-Northern Cyprus Microbiology Platform, a working group of the Turkish Microbiology Society, shared with the microbiology community information and developments regarding the applications of artificial intelligence technology—used worldwide during the pandemic—in diagnosing infectious diseases in Northern Cyprus and the advantages it offers in the healthcare sector.

Artificial intelligence in microbiology discussed comprehensively

The event, moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emrah Ruh from Near East University Faculty of Medicine and Dr. Assoc. Prof. Ayşe Seyer from Cyprus International University Faculty of Medicine, featured presentations on: "Artificial Intelligence and Its Applications in Healthcare" by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilber Uzun Özşahin; "Mathematical Modeling in Medicine" by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilgen Kaymakamzade; "A New Approach in Microbiological Diagnosis: Multi-Criteria Decision Making Theory" by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Arıkan Sarıoğlu; "Diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Using an Artificial Intelligence Model in a Clinical Mycobacteria Laboratory: Preliminary Report" by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Meryem Güvenir; "Can We Accelerate COVID-19 RT-qPCR Diagnosis Using Artificial Intelligence?" by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Buket Baddal; and "Use of Artificial Intelligence in Plasmodium spp. Diagnosis" by Dr. Emrah Güler.

The prevalence of artificial intelligence in medicine is increasing daily

Computer systems based on artificial intelligence have wide-ranging applications in the medical field. These methods are most commonly used in diagnosis, treatment and drug development, as well as in combating COVID-19. Artificial intelligence, in simple terms, is defined as processing large amounts of data using algorithms to obtain an output and thereby solve a problem. Today, artificial intelligence-based methods find applications in fields such as cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology and gastroenterology, as well as in clinical microbiology. In microbiology, these methods show promise for purposes such as microscopic diagnosis, evaluation of culture growth, prediction of antimicrobial resistance and strain typing.

"Application of artificial intelligence-based methods in multidisciplinary studies will open new horizons in the field of microbiology"

Rector Deputy Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ from Near East University noted that artificial intelligence-based systems will guide science and that in future these methods could be used in clinical microbiology laboratories for diagnosing infectious agents. Emphasizing that these methods also contributed to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ stated that increasing cooperation between research centers and applying artificial intelligence-based methods in multidisciplinary studies would bring an innovative approach to the field of microbiology. Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ remarked that mathematical modeling, which is equally important as artificial intelligence applications, was also addressed at the event, saying: "Particularly from our experiences during the COVID-19 period, we saw that mathematical modeling produced groundbreaking results in monitoring and controlling epidemic diseases. At this event, we also shared with the scientific community our experience regarding the mathematical modeling we applied to monitor COVID-19 in Northern Cyprus."