AI & Health News — 2026-09-23 (Wed)

Overview

In terms of mental health, there was a noticeable movement to include ``anxiety about AI'' itself as a subject of research, and in physical health, there were a number of announcements about new wearable products and the use of AI in the areas of heart failure and cancer. In terms of mechanisms, it was reported that the US ARPA-H is injecting public funds into cardiovascular care AI, and that there are delays in regulating medical devices equipped with generated AI.

Mental health

Multiple opinion polls and comments from experts have reported the spread of "AI anxiety," but the headlines in each case only indicate the existence of survey results, and the number of people targeted and the survey method are unknown. The president of Divine Mercy University warns that AI is "causing a mental health crisis" (statement-level claim, no evidence provided). EdSource reported that a survey of Bay Area high school students hoping to attend college found that AI was perceived as both "useful" and "a source of anxiety" (size of survey unknown). There are reports that AI can assist in the detection of ARIA (amyloid-related image abnormalities) from MRI images in Alzheimer's treatment, but this is a story about the detection accuracy of treatment monitoring, and the development stage and target scale are unclear from the headline.

Exercise/physical activity

Peloton unveils first foldable treadmill, adds AI features (CNET/7NEWS) The AI-driven "goal achievement support" tread function is mentioned, but there is no numerical data in the headline to show its effectiveness. There are reports that the Apple camp is considering wearables that do not feature AI (such as installing a camera on AirPods), and the argument is that the product is designed with an awareness of the aversion to AI functions ("AI haters") (analyst observation stage).

sleep

A local US newspaper (Lexington Herald Leader) reported on a case in which an AI chatbot incorrectly advised "no worries" about sleep apnea based on chat records. The specific error rate and verification method are unclear from the headline, and appear to be points made in individual cases. The sleep tracking app development guide article (appinventiv.com) is an introduction to industry trends and is not a report on clinical effectiveness. University of Tsukuba Professor Masashi Yanagisawa (Lasker Prize winner, sleep studies) speaks about Japan's unique research and the possibilities of sleep studies in the AI era (Yahoo! News, lecture/interview basis).

Nutrition/Meals

pharmaphorum reports that AI simulation can be used for "risk reduction" in clinical trials for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. This is a study designed to support the study and does not demonstrate the effectiveness of dietary guidance for individuals. AIBase reports that China's "Ant Farm Afu Health Zone" has been expanded to more than 2,000 supermarkets, but the "AI nutritionist" function has been taken offline (the detailed reason and scale of the move to reduce the service are unclear from the headline).

Prevention/Medical checkup

Focuses on reporting on AI diagnosis and screening in the cancer field. The Guardian published an editorial article asking, ``Big Tech says it can use AI to discover a cure for cancer, but where is the reality?'' (no evidence of the discovery of a cure is provided). A large-scale machine learning study in dogs shows that routine blood tests are unreliable for early cancer screening (Bioengineer.org, observational study in animals, number of animals unknown from headline). An initiative combining a personalized cancer vaccine and AI diagnosis was reported in Edinburgh, Scotland (regional project, clinical stage unknown). There is also a report that AI can detect cardiovascular disease risk in mammography tests (Healthgrades), but the target population and detection accuracy numbers are not indicated from the headline.

Self-management of chronic diseases

At the same time, seven organizations were selected as partners to build a cardiovascular care AI platform (Healthcare IT News). It was reported that Tempus AI is developing a "sleepless AI agent for heart failure," but there are no headlines about clinical outcome data (at the development stage). An article introducing Roseline Olory, an engineer from Benin, who is working on the use of AI for cancer and diabetes detection (We are Tech, initiative introduction level).

Elderly people/nursing care

MIT News reports on research to visualize "zombie cells" in aging tissues using AI-equipped barcode technology (basic research by a single research institution, stage of application to humans unknown). The New York Post reported on a study that found older adults are having a harder time adapting to screens, AI, and algorithms than teenagers (the size and methodology of the study are unclear from the headline). An AI pitch competition in the field of dementia care was introduced on IO+. In Japan, 78-year-old Mr. Okayama entered Nagoya Sangyo Graduate School as the oldest new student and began efforts to utilize AI research in nursing care (Chunichi Shimbun, personal initiative). In addition, ``Tsunagi AI'' and J-Lease have started a private business that supports elderly people without relatives using AI and the community (related to Respect for the Aged Day, tv-tokyo.co.jp, service start stage).

Digital treatment/regulation

Gaps have been pointed out in the U.S. between the FDA's progress in the approval process for medical devices equipped with generated AI and regulations at the state law level (jdsupra.com, an analytical article by legal media). A legal issue was raised on Law360 asking whether patients have the right to access the recorded data of medical examination records (voice) made by AI (no institutional theory, no case law, no specific country specified). Onco-Innovations and Redwood AI announced that they will proceed with the development of the AI-based cancer platform "SynoGraph" with funding from the Terry Fox Research Institute (Canada, at the grant acquisition stage).

Workplace health

A University of Toronto study reports that AI Scribe (AI audio recording and transcription tool) can reduce the administrative burden on doctors and contribute to alleviating burnout syndrome (University of Toronto, research stage, target size, and effect size are unclear from the headline). The Financial Times reports that employees involved in AI development themselves are complaining of mental stress due to concerns that ``AI will become a threat to society'' (the scope and scale of the investigation are unclear from the headline). hcamag.com points out that while the workload of employees is increasing due to the introduction of AI, the development of welfare benefits has not kept pace (research-based opinion article).

Japanese movements

The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reports that products and services that utilize AI and cutting-edge technology are becoming increasingly differentiated in the nursing care industry (industry trend article). University of Tsukuba Professor Masashi Yanagisawa (Lasker Prize winner) spoke about sleep studies and the possibilities of research in the AI era (see above, Yahoo! News). Mr. Okayama, 78 years old, entered the Nagoya Industrial Graduate School as the oldest new student and is exploring the application of AI to nursing care (Chunichi Shimbun Web). In conjunction with Respect for the Aged Day, "Tsunagi AI" and J-Lease have launched a private business to support elderly people without relatives using AI and the entire community (tv-tokyo.co.jp). Furthermore, Korean media (매일경제) also reported on a new service in which AI analyzes ingredient conflicts between prescription drugs and supplements, and pharmacists make the final confirmation, but this is not a trend in Japan.

Remarks from VIPs

- Ankur Crawford (Alger, appearing on CNBC): He expressed the view that "social anxiety surrounding AI is reaching its peak." - Divine Mercy University President warns that AI is causing a "mental health crisis". - Masashi Yanagisawa (Professor, University of Tsukuba, Lasker Prize winner): ``We should do things that only Japan can do,'' he said, and talked about the possibilities of sleep studies and research in the age of AI.

AI video/commentary

No applicable information

Summary note: This group of headlines mainly contains information at the "under development/presentation stage/research observation" level, and I couldn't find anything showing definitive clinical data such as randomized controlled trials. Content that requires a health-related judgment (such as AI false information about sleep apnea) is such that consultation with a medical professional is a prerequisite, and this report does not go into this point and limits itself to organizing the reported content.