First AI Nurse in Taiwanese Indigenous Language Unveiled, Speaks 18 Languages
Photo Caption: Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan interacts with the iBodhi AI Assistant, praising its ability to reduce nurses’ workload, describing it as “really smart”.
[Taipei, Taiwan, July 18, 2024] The global nursing staff shortage has become increasingly critical with the rise of super-aged societies. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a yearly 8% increase in nursing graduates until 2030 to meet this growing demand. Taiwan, expected to become a super-aged society by 2025, faces severe challenges with heavy workloads and insufficient staffing, leading to only 60% of licensed nurses practicing. To address these issues, Taiwan AI Labs has partnered with Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital to develop innovative AI applications to assist nurses, enabling new staff to quickly become effective.
Invited by the Ministry of Labor, Taiwan AI Labs showcased pioneering generative AI nursing applications, including the “iBodhi Nursing AI Assistant” and the “Indigenous Language Virtual Nurse,” at the 54th National Skills Competition themed “Creating Dreams.” Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan attended, experiencing firsthand how the iBodhi AI Assistant, powered by FedGPT, can generate nursing care records and significantly enhance the work environment for healthcare professionals.
AI-Assisted Nursing for Efficient and Human-Centric Care
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital highlighted the challenges faced by frontline nursing staff, including manpower shortages and the significant time required for medical documentation. New nurses need several months to become proficient, and the inconsistency in manual records further complicates care, especially for patients with complex conditions.
To address these challenges, Taiwan AI Labs implemented local AI speech recognition technology “Yating” and generative AI “FedGPT” to create the iBodhi Nursing AI Assistant at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. In just one month, the AI was trained to generate precise nursing summaries, recognizing Chinese, English, and Taiwanese, with a strong focus on medical terminology. Nurses can interact verbally with the AI, which then automatically generates textual summaries of patient admissions and handovers.
Extensive testing revealed several benefits of the AI assistant. It improved the detail in nursing records, capturing important information often missed in manual entries, including patient emotional states. This comprehensive reporting would take 2-3 times longer to produce manually. The AI ensures efficiency while maintaining “human-centered intelligent care.”
Additionally, FedGPT standardizes nursing records, facilitating quicker and more effective handovers between senior nurses and new staff. Developed as an on-premise Traditional Chinese language model, FedGPT ensures patient privacy and data security within the hospital.
Photo Caption: The iBodhi Nursing AI Assistant uses natural conversation to record audio, with FedGPT generating precise nursing summaries compatible with the hospital’s system. (Image for illustration purposes.)
Addressing the challenge of health education for patients speaking different native languages, Taiwan AI Labs also developed a virtual nurse modeled after Chung Hui-chun, the Director of Nursing at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. This virtual nurse is proficient in 18 languages, including Chinese, Taiwanese, and English, and is the world’s first to speak the Truku language. Nurses can input health education text, and the AI generates multilingual videos within minutes, ensuring smooth communication with patients and marking a milestone in Taiwan’s smart care.
Photo Caption: Taiwan AI Labs’ virtual nurse, modeled after Chung Hui-chun, is proficient in multiple languages, including Truku
Photo Caption: Chung Hui-chun, Director of Nursing, with the virtual nurse.
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital emphasized that the collaboration with Taiwan AI Labs to develop the nursing AI assistant aligns with President Lai Ching-te’s assertion that “AI power is national power.” This partnership aims to reduce the workload of middle-aged and senior nurses. Taiwan AI Labs’ founder Ethan Tu stated that the organization will continue to develop AI medical services and collaborate with top domestic hospitals to establish federated learning AI models, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of healthcare workers and advancing intelligent medical assistance.
