RMIT Vietnam students develop AI-powered medical information system

RMIT Vietnam students develop AI-powered medical information system

HealthLight, an innovative AI-powered medical information system developed by team Healium from RMIT, is expected to address a critical gap in public health information accessibility in Vietnam.

The team of Software Engineering students - Ho Le Minh Thach, Truong Nhat Anh, Dinh Gia Huu Phuoc and Nguyen Duc Minh, was awarded Best Software Engineering and IT Project in the School of Science, Engineering & Technology capstone projects showcase, which featured 49 projects including 31 from industry partners. Students collaborated with 21 industry partners which resulted in 20 Industry Awards and five School Awards, highlighting the quality and real-world applicability of the students’ work.

Alt Text is not present for this image, Taking dc:title 'news-1-healium' Team Healium (left to right) Ho Le Minh Thach, Dinh Gia Huu Phuoc, Nguyen Duc Minh and Senior Program Manager of Software Engineering and IT programs Tran Ngoc Quang

The project stands out for its use of cutting-edge AI technologies. HealthLight is a medical Question-and-Answer (QA) system that uses Large Language Models (LLMs) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to provide healthcare information. It features a Q&A session for medical enquiries, references medical papers for fact-based summaries, personalised knowledge expansion through user-uploaded papers, and multilingual capability. The system also has a popular TLDR (Too Long; Didn't Read) feature to grasp information quickly and transparent sourcing with citations from trusted databases.

Team member Ho Le Minh Thach said, “RAG allows our system to pull current information with real-time access from up-to-date, peer-reviewed medical research. This ensures that the responses generated by HealthLight are grounded in the latest research and are accurate”.

“We focus on reducing incorrect information by citing answers directly from trusted databases like PubMed, Semantic Scholar, and user’s local sources,” Thach said.

“We also offer citation-backed responses where users can see the original sources of the information provided, adding a layer of transparency that some current AI-powered tools might lack.”

Team member Truong Nhat Anh said the project was inspired by personal experiences within the team.

“We have noticed the challenges to access up-to-date and reliable medical information in Vietnamese.

“This gap inspired us to leverage AI to create a solution that could improve people’s access to more reliable knowledge in their preferred language,” Anh said.

Alt Text is not present for this image, Taking dc:title 'news-2-healium' HealthLight full working flow

Team member Nguyen Duc Minh explained the system: “Users can ask medical questions in Vietnamese through a web interface. It then searches trusted medical databases for relevant research papers, generates a simplified and accurate answer, and translates it into Vietnamese if necessary,” he said.

The team encountered several difficulties during the development of HealthLight, such as AI hallucinations, data integration, and Vietnamese language adaptation.

“Handling Vietnamese language was particularly challenging due to the limited availability of high-quality Vietnamese medical data,” team member Dinh Gia Huu Phuoc said.

“We built a translation wrapper to adapt English medical data for Vietnamese users and used specialised embedding models to better handle queries and responses in Vietnamese.

“This approach enabled the system to overcome the resource limitations of Vietnamese medical content.”

The gap in translation is where the team saw an opportunity for development if the project can be expanded further in the future.

Associate Lecturer in IT and Software Engineering and the team supervisor, Mr Tom Huynh said that the students’ understanding of LLMs evolved significantly and their project made important contributions to this field and its applications, especially through its innovative use of RAG.

“HealthLight showcases the successful adaptation of RAG systems to low-resource languages like Vietnamese, addressing the scarcity of open-source resources and expanding LLM applications beyond English. By making complex medical information accessible in Vietnamese, it bridges the healthcare communication gap and highlights the potential of LLMs for niche, domain-specific needs,” Mr Huynh said.

“HealthLight also introduces an innovative evaluation method using Vietnamese medical tests, setting a new benchmark for assessing LLMs in real-world healthcare contexts. Additionally, the RAG architecture developed has broader applications beyond healthcare, potentially benefiting fields like law, education, and finance.”

Healium’s members have gained valuable skills in full-stack engineering, AI, natural language processing (NLP), and cloud computing, along with hands-on experience in addressing AI challenges like hallucinations and adapting AI systems in low-resource languages.

All team members have secured full-time employment with top companies, including NAB, ANZ, and Shopback, even before completing their capstone projects.

RMIT Vietnam's School of Science, Engineering & Technology has developed strong partnerships with industry leaders over the years, significantly enhancing the educational experience and career prospects of its students. These collaborations provide students with access to cutting-edge technologies, real-world project experience, invaluable industry insights and job placements.

One of the most recent and exciting partnerships is with Katalon, a leading provider of software quality management solutions. Katalon is now sponsoring their software licenses to two courses at the School, bringing their industry expertise directly into the classroom.

As RMIT Vietnam continues to nurture such innovative projects and forge strong industry partnerships, it reinforces its position as a leading institution in producing graduates who drive technological advancements that benefit society. The success of projects like HealthLight demonstrates RMIT's commitment to providing a world-class education that prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Story: Ha Hoang

14 October 2024
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