Bengaluru: From AI-powered clinical assistants and virtual surgical training to smart yoga mats, personalised genomics and digital pathology, experts at the Healthcare and Artificial Intelligence (HAI) Conclave 2026, organised by the Global Healthcare Academy on Friday, showcased technologies they believe will redefine medicine over the coming decades, while stressing that artificial intelligence must support—not replace—clinical judgement and human oversight.Dr Shravan Subramanyam, Managing Director and Group CEO of BPL Medical Technologies, illustrated the future of healthcare through the life of a hypothetical child. Reflecting on how medicine has evolved, he noted that the “average life expectancy has gone from the mid-30s to 70s,” and argued that healthcare is moving from reactive treatment to continuous, personalised care.He said the child’s healthcare journey could begin even before birth, with affordable genetic sequencing and editing making it possible to study—and potentially modify—genetic traits within hours instead of years. As the child grows, AI could create a “digital twin” of the human body, enabling individuals to continuously monitor their health, predict disease risks and receive personalised treatment recommendations.According to Dr Subramanyam, adulthood would see AI supporting fertility management and long-term health planning, while middle age would mark a shift from hospital-based care to connected healthcare delivered at home through smart medical devices and personalised medicine. These advances, he said, could allow people to live well beyond 100 years with a better quality of life, although they also raise important ethical questions. “We are all the human in the loop,” he said, stressing that technology must always be used responsibly.The convergence of traditional wellness and artificial intelligence was another major theme at the conclave. During a session titled Ancient Science Meets Data Science, Muralidhar Somisetty, Founder and CEO of Wellnesys Technologies, demonstrated Yogifi, an AI-enabled smart yoga mat developed in India. The rechargeable Rs 12,000 device uses embedded sensor fabric to monitor balance, posture and alignment in real time, while its companion mobile application generates personalised yoga routines.“I built my startup for my own personal recovery. I had chronic neck and back pain which required spine surgery. Fortunately, I got into yoga practice and that made me realise the power of ancient science,” Somisetty said.The summit also highlighted how AI is increasingly being integrated into everyday clinical practice. During a session on AI-enabled physicians, Dr Harsh Atul Hirani, clinician and co-founder of DocYantra, said nearly 75% of healthcare AI startups never make it into doctors’ cabins because they fail clinical validation. He showcased AI-powered clinical agents capable of analysing 24 hours of patient data and generating dosage recommendations in under 30 seconds, compared to the four to six minutes typically required by clinicians.Dr Hirani emphasised that AI systems must operate within legal frameworks and uphold patient confidentiality. “AI does not create better doctors, but better doctors use AI to create a greater impact,” he said.The conclave also featured innovations including AI-powered patient simulators for communication training, virtual reality platforms that allow surgeons to practice procedures without risking patient safety, digital pathology systems that enable remote diagnosis through scanned tissue samples, and AI-assisted hospital documentation tools that automate discharge summaries and digitise handwritten medical records.(By Ananya Bhat)
