By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

Artificial intelligence represents the advent of many different possibilities for the world, let alone healthcare. Like all markets, healthcare is bound to be transformed by AI and other technologies of the future. One area of healthcare facilities that is test piloting different applications of AI is architectural design. 

The applications of AI in healthcare facility architecture 

Artificial Intelligence is in its infancy in healthcare architecture, as firms are testing the technology’s potential use cases. For example, the firm Abramson Architects is still in a “research and development” phase with AI and running small experiments so they can test it and gain confidence in it, says Danny Abalos, AIA, senior project manager at the firm. 

However, this doesn’t mean firms aren’t taking advantage of what’s available to them. According to David Moon, FAIA, FACHA, principal at Abramson Architects, there are entire software applications designed to use AI to assist with the design process. 

“Like a lot of other architects, we are currently using AI as another available design tool at several levels,” Moon says.  

For visualization, the firm uses a program designed for creating virtual backgrounds to augment conceptual building design. For a more generative AI, they tend to use a text to image tool.  

“It’s cool but highly abstract and creates conceptual images, though useful for visualizing ideas,” Moon says. “In any case, the takeaway is that the design currently still needs to be conceived and developed by the architect.” 

Moon adds that AI in the context of facility design is similar to the course AI has taken in healthcare delivery. That is, with the common denominator being that currently available tools lend themselves to reducing time spent on otherwise repetitive tasks. This includes developing variations of design alternatives and visual comparisons of various options. 

This in turn benefits healthcare facility design, as Abalos says AI is good at generating multiple options to consider, meaning there are many choices on how to optimize specific operations within a facility. Some areas this helps with are space utilization, operational flow, efficiency and operational costs. 

“We've had a lot of tools that did this before without AI, but parametric tools definitely can help with test sets and things like that,” Abalos says. “We're just starting to see AI powered tools that take this to the next level and can also analyze rather than just generate. This is so we can give it the criteria and it'll give us a little bit more input on what the most efficient method is. However, we haven't really seen one tool that's been developed yet that we could constantly use in our everyday practice. Though, we have seen a lot of tools being developed.” 

The limits and ethical concerns of AI designs 

Even with its vast potential, AI is rather limited in what it can currently do for architectural designs in healthcare. Abalos says that human oversight is still needed to ensure that AI’s recommendations all align with the unique needs of each client and each project.  

In addition, AI would also have to work its way through regulatory compliance for the individual projects. 

“Navigating those complex and sometimes subjective landscapes of regulatory compliance presents another layer of difficulty for AI,” Abalos says. “AI doesn't always have the most current information, so we always need to have our eyes on it and double check the sources that the AI is pointing to are correct.” 

The concerns don’t end there for AI, either, as Moon says that while it is currently in a large data gathering mode, it could eventually become intelligent enough for self-determination. 

“Much of that discussion, though, tends toward the bigger question of the ethics surrounding the use of AI,” Moon says. “As an example, if an architect could design an entire hospital using AI, who owns the design? More importantly, would it still need human oversight? No one really has the answers to those questions, but the conversations around that have already started.” 

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor for the facilities market.