Artificial Intelligence in Infectious Disease Diagnostic Technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI), as an emerging interdisciplinary field dedicated to simulating and extending human intelligence, is increasingly integrating into the domain of infectious disease medicine with unprecedented depth and breadth. This narrative review is based on a systematic literature search in databases such as PubMed and Web of Science for relevant studies published between 2018 and 2025, with the aim of synthesizing the current landscape. It demonstrates transformative potential, particularly in the realm of diagnostic assistance. Confronting global challenges such as pandemic control, emerging infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, AI technologies offer innovative solutions to these pressing issues. Leveraging its robust capabilities in data mining, pattern recognition, and predictive analytics, AI enhances diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, enables real-time monitoring, and facilitates the early detection and intervention of outbreaks. This narrative review systematically examines the application scenarios of AI within infectious disease diagnostics, based on an analysis of recent literature. It highlights significant technological advances and demonstrated practical outcomes related to high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for pathogen surveillance, AI-driven analysis of digital and radiological images, and AI-enhanced point-of-care testing (POCT). Simultaneously, the review critically analyzes the key challenges and limitations hindering the clinical translation of current AI-based diagnostic technologies. These obstacles include data scarcity and quality constraints, limitations in model generalizability, economic and administrative burdens, as well as regulatory and integration barriers. By synthesizing existing research findings and cataloging essential data resources, this review aims to establish a valuable reference framework to guide future in-depth research, from model development and data sourcing to clinical validation and standardization of AI-assisted infectious disease diagnostics.