Chapter 122: It's Still Too Early for Medicine (1)

Suhyuk followed Shin Hyun-tae into his research lab. As expected of someone with the title ‘Manager,’ the room was quite spacious. However, unlike Lee Hyunjong, he didn’t have a secretary.

In any case, Suhyuk always felt envious whenever he entered this space.

“U-um, please sit down. You like Americanos, right? Here is an iced one.”

“Yes, thank you, Professor.”

As Suhyuk plopped down on the chair indicated by Shin Hyun-tae, the professor handed him a coffee. The ice had already melted significantly, suggesting it might have been purchased from a cafe beforehand. Even the paper cup holder was soaked due to condensation.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I forgot about it.”

“No, no. Understandable considering your workload with patients. Despite using Ecmo, some outcomes are inevitable.”

Suhyuk offered an apology, and as he did so, Shin Hyun-tae became increasingly pleased, chuckling softly.

‘Yes… He isn’t someone who takes liberties just because we’re close.’

Of course, being friendly allowed some casualness to show through. Shin Hyun-tae wasn’t uncomfortable with this type of interaction either. However, it felt good when his authority as a manager was acknowledged by others.

“Anyway, regarding what Pfizer is doing…”

“Yes, Professor.”

“I looked into it a bit… Nowadays, they aren’t making only medicines?”

“Is that so? I didn’t know,” Suhyuk genuinely expressed surprise on his face.

Baruda had a similar reaction.

[If not medicines, then what does a pharmaceutical company produce?]

‘I don’t know. But Manager Shin Hyun-tae doesn’t make baseless statements.’

[That… That’s true.]

Baruda checked his evaluation of Shin Hyun-tae based on accumulated data. Although there were times when he seemed incompetent, compared to Lee Hyunjong, Shin Hyun-tae’s words and actions carried more weight.

“Look at this. This is from the conference held recently.”

“Hmm…”

“It seems about 70 percent focused on pharmaceuticals, but the rest was different.”

“Oh… Artificial intelligence?”

“Yes, artificial intelligence.”

In truth, considering any field without thinking about artificial intelligence had become difficult in these times. How could one exclude AI from the cutting-edge medical industry? It made sense for global pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer to be involved in AI. However, neither Baruda nor Paul knew that Pfizer had invested in or acquired several artificial intelligence firms as subsidiaries.

In any case, it was clear that their interest had shifted towards this area.

“It would be great if I could reveal myself at such a time,” Baruda muttered proudly as he scanned various topics online.

Honestly, his appearance wasn’t particularly appealing, but appearances aside, facts were facts. This AI boasted superior performance compared to Watson.

‘Well…that makes sense.’

Watson’s capabilities were limited to data from affiliated hospitals. Its diagnostic accuracy had only been validated by consistency with those hospital doctors, not necessarily making it the best diagnostic tool worldwide. It couldn’t compare to Baruda, who rapidly learned and adapted from cases across the globe.

[However, there is no other way.]

‘Indeed.’

If Suhyuk removed Baruda, he would die. Moreover, it was uncertain whether Baruda would continue to function properly even if they did remove it.

As their interests aligned, both agreed not to reveal its true nature.

“The development of artificial intelligence like Watson has declined.”

During their conversation, Shin Hyun-tae continuously pointed at various topics on his screen. As he mentioned, the illusion of creating a versatile artificial intelligence similar to Watson seemed to have faded for many researchers. While it might be possible someday, it appeared that they had concluded it wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

“Instead, there’s been a significant focus on… highly specialized areas…”

“Yes. Especially for medical imaging… it seems amazing right now.”

“Indeed. Hmm.” Suhyuk nodded and looked at the section Shin Hyun-tae had pointed out earlier.

[X-ray diagnosis of lung nodules… Lung cancer from chest CT, colorectal cancer from endoscopy… Hmm.]

Baruda appeared very interested as well. Despite being another artificial intelligence, its purpose was significantly different.

“It is entirely focused on diagnostic assistance. It would be challenging to make standalone diagnoses with this alone.]

‘Yes, but…it appears some technologies have already been commercialized.’

Shin Hyun-tae seemed genuinely committed to attending this conference. He had meticulously added annotations referencing the latest insights on each topic.

Among these technologies, some hospitals were already using programs for diagnosing lung nodules to some extent. According to the report, when employed by less experienced radiologists, this program provided significant assistance.

‘Even first-year residents can improve their diagnostic accuracy.’

[Still, it doesn’t match the professors’ diagnosis accuracy.]

Of course, as an auxiliary tool, it couldn’t dramatically alter the overall results. However, there were reports indicating that even professors found it beneficial, enhancing their diagnostic efficiency to some degree. Regardless of the level, it meant that the technology was indeed helpful. Reducing the physical time required for medical diagnoses alone made this tool quite significant.

The report also highlighted a significant improvement in burnout symptoms among medical professionals.

“The problem is how to utilize this tool within the Infectious Diseases Department. Developing AI for reading chest X-rays related to pneumonia sounds somewhat ridiculous, doesn’t it?”

As Shin Hyun-tae pointed out, creating an AI specifically for diagnosing pneumonia seemed odd. Additionally, there were technical limitations to consider. It wasn’t just about distinguishing lung nodules; diagnosing nodules versus detecting pneumonia posed vastly different levels of difficulty, akin to comparing heaven and earth.

“Hmm… I need some time to think about this. There must be potential applications within Internal Medicine as well…”

“Ah, it will definitely exist. With such sophisticated artificial intelligence… I think we can achieve some results within a year. Alternatively, we might be able to secure development funds with just the idea.”

It seemed like investors would prefer grand ideas for funding; however, they were less interested than expected. The most important factor for them was whether it could generate money immediately. In other words, simplicity and feasibility of the idea were crucial.

Given Shin Hyun-tae’s experience with several national-level projects, he had a significant competitive edge over Suhyuk in this area.

“Simple ideas… but they must be new as well?”

“Of course. This isn’t research funding given under duress. It won’t just amount to small change.”

“Hmm…”

“Well, I’m not suggesting we start anything immediately. However, if you keep thinking about it, inspiration can strike anywhere.”

“Yes, I’ll give it some thought. By the way…”

Suhyuk nodded and stared intently at Shin Hyun-tae. His gaze wasn’t meant to be rude; rather, Shin Hyun-tae affectionately regarded Suhyuk like a proud father, responding with a smile:

“What’s on your mind, Suhyuk?”

“Have you not thought about medication at all? After all, Pfizer should primarily focus on drugs.”

“Ah… I have some thoughts. Don’t you also wish for certain medications?”

“Yes, there are indeed such medications.”

It was a common sentiment among doctors, especially when they had to discharge patients without any available treatment despite diagnosing their condition accurately. Interestingly, the Infectious Diseases Department often seemed disconnected from advancements in new drugs. Here too, they frequently lost patients due to infections resistant to conventional antibiotics, largely because newer infections were emerging that hadn’t existed before. This could be seen as one of the issues arising with the advancement of modern medicine, allowing immunocompromised patients to live longer and thus exposing them to these novel infections.

“I have a few ideas myself, like medications specifically targeting strains resistant to imipenem.”

“Ah, me too.”

“But… Do you know exactly how it works?”

“Oh.”

The mechanism of action referred to how the drug killed bacteria within the body. It also included details about its metabolism within the body, how it is eliminated after metabolism, and any associated side effects. This wasn’t something typically taught in medical school but rather had strong connections with chemistry.

“I have some knowledge from… Taehwa Pharmaceuticals, right? Although they mainly deal with generic drugs, they do have their own research team.”

“Yes, Professor Shin.”

“When I discussed this topic with them, they just laughed. They compared it to asking engineering students to turn science fiction into reality.”

“Ah…”

“Well, we have basic research labs… I’m not sure about professors who receive training for such facilities, but this area is too difficult. It’s embarrassing to admit, but it feels almost impossible.”

Shin Hyun-tae shook his head as if truly ashamed.

Suhyuk felt similar emotions.

‘I don’t know anything about this field.’

[I will reflect on my actions.]

‘Why do you need to reflect?’

[I focused solely on accumulating clinical data. Now, let me exploit Suhyuk even more…]

‘Wait, hold on. Why are you targeting me?’

[Don’t you want to create medicines? Pfizer became a giant pharmaceutical company through just one drug.]

It was challenging for Suhyuk to respond adequately to Baruda’s somewhat aggressive tone.

Developing new drugs - isn’t that what most medical researchers dream of?

Of course, not all new drugs were miraculous like Viagra or Gleevec. Moreover, creating even such ordinary drugs was incredibly difficult. As a result, most people kept their dreams as just dreams. Nonetheless, Suhyuk had thought about it at least once.

‘I do want to create them… But… I lack knowledge…’

[That can be easily remedied.]

‘No, I haven’t even completed clinical trials yet…’

[Let’s work twice as hard. I have been too complacent.]

Twice as hard?

Suhyuk felt he was already giving his best effort. This conversation made him feel suffocated.

‘Sigh…’

[Do you dislike contributing to humanity’s advancement that much?]

‘Do you always phrase things this way?’

[Is that why you don’t like it?]

‘No… That’s not it…’

[Good. Let’s strive together.]

While Suhyuk experienced internal humiliation due to Baruda, Shin Hyun-tae took a sip of coffee and then stood up. In fact, he was busier than Suhyuk. The meeting was important, but there was nothing more to gain by continuing it.

“Alright, Suhyuk. Let’s get back to work.”

“Oh, yes. Professor.”

“Continue pondering while seeing patients. Surprisingly, the answer may be close at hand. I will also think about it.”

“Yes, Professor. I will do so.”