In a rare case, OpenAI’s ChatGPT could diagnose the chronic pain condition of a 4-year-old boy in the US, after 17 doctors could not in a span of three years.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Courtney’s son, Alex, then 4, began experiencing pain and had “gigantic meltdowns”, which were calmed down by a painkiller, TODAY.com reported.
Soon Alex began chewing things, stopped growing taller, showed some imbalances between his left and right sides, started having severe headaches that were getting worse, and also struggled with exhaustion.
From dentists to paediatrician to neurologist, Courtney visited 17 different doctors for three years, but no one could diagnose his symptoms.
“Our sweet personality -- for the most part -- (child) is dissolving into this tantrum-ing crazy person that didn’t exist the rest of the time,” Courtney was quoted as saying.
She then signed up for ChatGPT and began entering his medical information, hoping to find a diagnosis.
“I went line by line of everything that was in his (MRI notes) and plugged it into ChatGPT,” she said.
“I put the note in there about ... how he wouldn’t sit crisscross applesauce. To me, that was a huge trigger (that) a structural thing could be wrong.”
ChatGPT diagnosed Alex’s condition as tethered cord syndrome. "It made a lot of sense," Courtney said.
To understand better, Courtney joined a Facebook group for families of children with it, whose stories sounded like Alex's.
A new neurosurgeon then confirmed ChatGPT’s diagnosis and looking at Alex’s MRI images said: ‘Here’s occulta spina bifida, and here’s where the spine is tethered.”
