Cardiologist Eric Topol: 'AI can restore the care in healthcare'

The doctor, geneticist and author talks about his new book on the future of our relationship with medicine

Eric Topol is an American cardiologist and geneticist - among his many roles he is founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. He has previously published two books on the potential for big data and tech to transform medicine, with his third, Deep Medicine, looking at the role that artificial intelligence might play. He has served on the advisory boards of many healthcare companies, and last year published a report into how the NHS needs to change if it is to embrace digital advances.

Your field is cardiology - what makes you tick as a doctor?
Well, the patients. But also the broader mission. I was in clinic all day yesterday - I love seeing patients - but I also try to use whatever resources I can, to think about how can we do things better, how can we have much better bonding, accuracy and precision in our care.