By Bassey Udo
A foremost Computer Scientist and scholar from the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) specializing in Soft Computing, Prof. Uduak Umoh, on Thursday unveiled her groundbreaking research discovery of how healthcare practitioners can deploy artificial intelligence to detect, monitor, and treat several preventable and life-threatening medical conditions.
Prof. Umoh, who is currently the Dean, Faculty of Computing in the university, is reputed to be an artificial intelligence expert in computational reasoning, with research experience spanning over two decades and contributed more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in globally recognized journals to crown her international scholarly acclaim.
The research discovery, she said, would also useful in the fields of engineering, finance, education, and smart governance systems.
Addressing a capacity audience composed of senior management staff, academics and students of the university as well as top government officials, policymakers, Prof Umoh said the 165-page lecture titled: “Teaching Machines to Think in Shades of Grey: The Fuzzy Logic of Intelligent Decisions,” highlighted more than two decades of her pioneering research in hybrid intelligent systems to help simplify complex medical operations and other fields.
In a world where diagnosis of diseases and health challenges are limited by human capacities, the foremost computer scientist and expert said artificial intelligence, which is driving technological advancement in different fields today, enables machines to learn, reason, understand, and make decisions like humans on how to handle these complex health issues with certainty and clinical precision.
She said Soft Computing, which is an area of artificial intelligence she specializes in, helps to breakdown complex real-life problems through clinical approximation, flexibility, and human-like judgment, rather than strict true false logic.
The computer application, she said deploys Fuzzy Logic, a branch of artificial intelligence that allows machines to deploy key soft computing techniques to reason in shades of grey to offer precisive solutions to many of the healthcare diagnostic challenges Nigerians and others around the world are facing.
“My research journey has allowed me to revolutionize medical diagnostics by applying fuzzy logic and hybrid intelligent systems to diverse, high-impact domains, leading to models that improve the accuracy of antenatal triage and support timely clinical decisions as well as enhancing early detection of pregnancy-related complications and other health challenges,” she explained.
Other areas of complex health challenges the research findings have provided solutions to include achieving clinical and reliable screening for prostate cancer in men to reduce unnecessary biopsies, an issue which today poses one of the most challenging diagnostics involve in the health problem.
Besides, she said fuzzy-driven diagnostic system was developed by her research team to help in evaluating uncertain symptoms with precision,” a development particularly relevant in tropical regions where febrile illnesses are mostly prevalent.
Using technology-enabled sensors, Prof. Umoh said her research also supports real-time remote monitoring of vital signs and early detection and prediction of shock levels, which is an advancement that is crucial for rural healthcare and telemedicine practices in Nigeria.
“The beautiful thing about fuzzy logic is that it enables machines to reason the way humans naturally do in shades of grey, not absolutes,” she declared.
“Fuzzy logic now underpins many intelligent systems humans interact with daily in the fields of engineering, in terms of automatic control of washing machines, cameras, and vehicles, and healthcare, in the area of diagnostic systems that assess patient symptoms expressed in qualitative terms.
“Other fields fuzzy logic is applicable include finance, in terms risk analysis and stock market prediction, and education, in terms of adaptive tutoring systems that personalize learning experiences, and smart governance, in terms of decision support systems for policy formulation in uncertain socio-economic environments,” Prof Umoh added.
In her citation at the occasion, Prof Uyinomen Ekong, a professor of Computer Science in the university, who specializes in Cyber Security and Information Technology, described Prof Umoh as one of Nigeria’s foremost and celebrated authorities in Artificial Intelligence, Soft Computing, Fuzzy Logic, Machine Learning, and Database Systems.
He said over the last 26 years since the beginning of her professional career at the university in 1999, Prof Umoh, a mother of five who combines with ease scholarly pursuits and family development, has demonstrated excellence in teaching, leadership, mentorship and research, rising through the ranks to become a Professor of Computer Science on January 1, 2022.
In addition to being the first product of the Department of Computer Science, University of Uyo to earn a PhD in Computer Science, Prof Umoh is also the first female in Akwa Ibom State to earn a PhD in Computer Science, as well as the first female Head of the Department of Computer Science in the university.
Apart from teaching a wide range of courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including Artificial Intelligence, Database Management Systems, Microcomputing, Systems Analysis and Design, Data Structures, Computer Networks, Logic and Digital Circuits, Research Methods, Project Supervisions, Prof Ekong said Prof Umoh, widely respected for her mentorship, academic rigour, and dedication to student success, has supervised over 150 undergraduate projects, numerous Master’s dissertations, and several Ph.D. theses.
