KEE YUAN NGIAM

Published by Daniel at March 1, 2023

A physician with a background in engineering is shaping the AI healthcare revolution in Singapore and creating a promising future...

Kee Yuan Ngiam is a surgeon, scientist, and healthcare leader currently residing in Singapore.Most of Dr. Ngiam’s higher education took place in Great Britain; he attended the University College London and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, where he earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Master of Medicine, and a Fellowship and membership to the Royal College of Surgeons. Dr. Ngiam’s subspecialty interest is currently related to endocrine surgery, a challenging and growing field. Furthermore, after his accreditation as a specialist in Singapore, further studies and hard work led Kee Yuan Ngiam to be awarded a fellowship position in Metabolic surgery in Taiwan.(1,2,3)

Staying up- to-date is especially important for this scientist. Furthering his training with robotic thyroid surgery in Seoul,South Korea, and getting certified by the American Medical Informatics Association further convinced him of the essential role of AI implementation on healthcare .(1,2,3)

A VIP for AI

Dr. Ngiam’s research profile is vast. However, his most researched topics are endocrine surgery, robotic thyroid surgery, advanced endoscopy, laparoscopic surgery, and bariatric and metabolic surgery. In addition to his clinical research, he occupies leading positions in the National University Health System Singapore, such as Associate Professor, Group Chief Technology Officer, and Deputy Chief Medical Informatics Officer.(2)

An interesting specialty

One of his most renowned publications, “Performance of a Multigene Genomic Classifier in Thyroid Nodules With Indeterminate Cytology,” published in JAMA, has shown promising results. With a 94% sensitivity and 97% in selected Bethesda categories, this classifier could decrease up to 61% of diagnostic thyroid surgeries in Bethesda III or IV samples and 82% in all benign nodules with indeterminate cytology. Another exciting domain for Kee Yuan Ngiam is metabolic surgery. His review article with Wei-Jei Lee, Yi-Chih Lee et al. published in the Obesity Journal analyzed HbA1c data from 53 different studies and 2,258 patients. This article concluded a weighted mean change in HbA1c of -2.8% in patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with a BMI below 35 kg/m2. Some other research topics covered by this leader are mediastinal parathyroid adenomas, parathyroidectomy in patients with renal failure, interdisciplinary protocols to manage surgical hypoparathyroidism with hypocalcemia, and patient-perspective centered articles (assessment of patients’ understanding and opinions). Examples are preoperative scar perception for thyroid surgery and patient preferences and reasons for choosing different approaches.(4,5,6,7)

Some other research topics covered by this leader are mediastinal parathyroid adenomas, parathyroidectomy in patients with renal failure, interdisciplinary protocols to manage surgical hypoparathyroidism with hypocalcemia, and patient-perspective centered articles (assessment of patients’ understanding and opinions). Examples are preoperative scar perception for thyroid surgery and patient preferences and reasons for choosing different approaches.(4,5,6,7)

Plainly intelligent

Besides his fruitful career as an endocrinologist, one of the main interests of Dr. Ngiam is deep learning. He says that coming from a family full of engineers was a fundamental aspect of his early exposure to science and it shaped how he perceived life. In high school, he built his first PC; this ignited his dream to create tools that could enhance human capacities. During residency training, his first approach to artificial intelligence focused on tracking surgical treatment outcomes. Still, more recently, he represents a prominent figure in the Singapore AI revolution.

Dr.Ngiam has the vision to consolidate AI into his country’s healthcare system. In 2017 he joined the initiative AI Singapore which intends to transform “largely reactive medicine to proactive, predictive medicine.” Another project of Ngiam at the National University Health System in Singapore is overseeing the AI platform Discovery. This platform was designed to share clinical data securely. The algorithm has evolved very quickly, allowing the improvement of clinical trials. Nowadays, it can even diagnose appendicitis from physicians’ notes with an accuracy rate of 90%.(8,9,10,11)

This platform was designed to share clinical data securely. The algorithm has evolved very quickly, allowing the improvement of clinical trials. Nowadays, it can even diagnose appendicitis from physicians’ notes with an accuracy rate of 90%.(8,9,10,11)

"In union, there is strength"

Dr. Ngiam understands one essential aspect of innovation: the importance of collaboration between cross-collaboration between specialties. In recent interviews, he remarked that this technology’s success is only possible with computer scientists and physicians working cooperatively. On his most recent contributions to the world of deep learning, Ngiam is working closely with the NUHS to develop a new tool called Endeavour AI that will complement Discovery AI. He has also led several projects, including a model that predicts glomerular filtration rate up to 40 weeks ahead in patients with chronic kidney disease and a general 30-day readmission predictor that foresees its causes. Still, this scientist’s efforts are broader than Singapore.

The NUHS technology department has joined forces with MIT to organize a datathon created to trigger new ideas for deep learning clinical projects and to provide a platform where data scientists and clinicians interact and find AI solutions that can improve physician performance, enhance safety in the hospital, and facilitate drug discovery. (2,12)

On his most recent contributions to the world of deep learning, Ngiam is working closely with the NUHS to develop a new tool called Endeavour AI that will complement Discovery AI. He has also led several projects, including a model that predicts glomerular filtration rate up to 40 weeks ahead in patients with chronic kidney disease and a general 30-day readmission predictor that foresees its causes. Still, this scientist’s efforts are broader than Singapore.

A pressure for progress

On the topic of the current pandemic, this scientist has expressed his opinion that Covid-19 has done healthcare “a massive favor,” pressing the issue of expanding telemedicine, which has impacted the industry. The department that Dr. Ngiam is part of is adapting to changes and currently uses a chatbot to follow up with patients after their appointments. This allows doctors to monitor patients’ healthy behaviors at home, making healthcare delivery a seamless process.(2,12)

Rewarded and rewarding

Dr. Ngiam is a very accomplished and well-rounded physician. In 2012 he received the Higher Manpower Development Program Award and Singapore’s National Health IT Excellence Award in 2018. Ngiam is also involved in several volunteer projects around Asia.(13)