Francis Marion University will use AI research to modernize South Carolina health care

FLORENCE — Three Francis Marion University professors believe artificial intelligence will change the way doctors assess wounds, determine antibiotic dosages and performance of prosthetic devices.

Professors Ivan Dungan, Michael Potter and Jesse Sargent will be leading research projects to modernize health care treatment and diagnostics in South Carolina through the use of artificial intelligence, which is commonly referred to as AI.

The five-year research project is funded through a $416,800 National Science Foundation grant. Francis Marion University is a part of an 11-institution coalition that received $20 million in National Science Foundation grants in May to create AI-enabled medical devices and train an AI-ready workforce.

Coalition members presented their research projects to Clemson University, which put them together for the $20-million grant application to the National Science Foundation.

Each of the 11 institutions will be working independently on their projects, Dungan said.

Over the next five years, the $416,800 will establish the FMU AI Research Group, which will be comprised of the three professors and student researchers in mathematics, mechanical engineering and psychology.

The five-year grant will provide up to 30 FMU students with research experience in developing and applying artificial intelligence and machine learning. It will help South Carolina prepare more researchers and developers of artificial intelligence devices.

What is AI?

A broad definition of artificial intelligence is a digital computer or computer-controlled robot that can perform tasks commonly associated with human beings or animals — learning, interacting, reasoning and decision-making.

Most of us use basic AI everyday, but may not know it.

When someone asks Siri or Alexa a question, artificial intelligence forms the answer.

In the last year or so, the AI-powered language model, ChatGPT, has been receive lots of attention for its ability to generate human-like writing based on context and past conversations.