RheumaCARE is proud to share that Dr. Sakir Ahmed chaired the Digital Health sessions at the prestigious 27th Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) Conference, held in Fukuoka, Japan from 3rd–7th September 2025.

As co-convenor for the Digital Health Special Interest Group (SIG), Dr. Sakir led key discussions on how emerging technologies are reshaping rheumatology practice and patient care.

He presented his work on (1) Transcriptomics in Reactive Arthritis and (2) AI based screening agents for Rheumatoid arthritis (SARA)

(1) Transcriptomics in Reactive Arthritis: This investigated which pathways in synovial fluid or in blood are related to the pathogenesis of Reactive arthritis and how the chronicity of this disease can be predicted from these pathways. Knowing this can help shape the intensity and duration of therapy for this crippling disease

(2) AI based screening agents for Rheumatoid arthritis (SARA): Where different agentic frameworks based on different large language models (LLMs) such as ChapGPT, Gemini, Deepseek1, et cetera were evaluated on how good they are in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis as compared to trained Rheumatologists. Though these LLMs are satisfactory when it comes to providing the correct diagnosis, the reasoning behind these diagnosis is flawed in up to 50% of the cases.

In addition to the scientific sessions, Dr. Sakir also presented key updates from the Digital Health SIG (2024–25), outlining achievements over the past year along with future strategies to advance digital transformation in rheumatology. By leading conversations in AI tools, EMR optimization, and real-world technology adoption for rheumatology, Dr. Sakir is ensuring that rheumatology in both India and the entire Asia-Pacific is up to date in the digital revolution that is emerging in Medicine.