Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health is moving to expand the use of AI to improve early diagnosis of strokes, cancer, and other high-impact diseases. Officials say the rollout aims to reduce mortality, increase diagnostic accuracy, and ease the workload of healthcare professionals.
According to the ministry, a list of priority AI initiatives has been compiled to help detect socially significant diseases at early stages and support clinical decision-making. The targeted areas include stroke, lung cancer, breast cancer, and dental diagnostics through the analysis of medical imagery using machine learning algorithms. Several platforms are already operational and are being integrated more widely into the national healthcare system.
Among the current AI platforms in use:
- Cerebra – deployed in nine category II and III stroke centers across five regions, capable of identifying stroke symptoms in under three minutes;
- WDsoft – used in 190 healthcare facilities in 10 regions to assist in the early detection of cancer and pneumonia;
- AIDENTIS – adopted by 65 dental clinics and three medical universities to analyze X-ray imagery;
- ALIMA – an AI-based medical assistant now active in over 700 clinics nationwide.
The ALIMA platform processes patient complaints, medical records, and images to suggest potential diagnoses, recommend examinations, and propose treatment plans aligned with clinical protocols.
These AI initiatives rely on computing resources provided by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, including eight graphics processors, and are supported through API-based integrations.
Looking ahead, the Ministry of Health intends to introduce AI tools to evaluate pharmaceuticals and medical devices and to launch a project for early detection of chronic heart failure using the Smart ECG system. This technology enables remote interpretation of electrocardiograms in clinics that lack specialized functional diagnostics staff.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstani surgeons recently conducted the region’s first joint replacement surgeries in Tashkent using the MAKO robotic system, another example of the country’s growing investment in med-tech innovation.
