NTU Study Reveals Most Medical AI Developers Unfamiliar with Singapore's Regulatory Frameworks

Singapore invests heavily in AI-driven healthcare, but the developers building those medical tools may not know the rules that govern them. A new study by Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) has found that the majority of medical AI developers lack familiarity with regulatory frameworks — including Singapore's own AI in Healthcare Guidelines — raising concerns about patient safety and public trust as AI adoption accelerates in clinical settings.

Published by NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and the Centre of AI in Medicine (C-AIM), the study surveyed 122 medical AI developers from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. While 57 per cent of respondents were aware of at least one regulatory framework, more than two-thirds (67 per cent) worked for organisations that had not adopted any regulatory framework at all. Senior developers and those in non-academic settings showed higher awareness, suggesting that experience and organisational culture play a significant role in regulatory literacy.

The gap matters because medical AI is no longer experimental. Across Singapore's public healthcare clusters, AI tools are already analysing medical images, predicting disease risks, and assisting clinical decision-making. Without adequate regulatory awareness, developers may inadvertently deploy models with unchecked bias, hallucination risks, or data privacy gaps — issues that directly affect patient outcomes. Asst Prof Wilson Goh of NTU's LKCMedicine, who co-led the study, noted that while it is reassuring developers feel responsible for the AI they build, the gaps in regulatory awareness are concerning.

The researchers propose a multi-pronged fix: embedding regulatory frameworks into developer training at educational institutions, establishing structured mentorship between senior and junior developers within organisations, and pushing national regulatory bodies to take a more active role in ensuring compliance. They also call for longer-term harmonisation of regulatory approaches across jurisdictions, recognising that medical AI developers often work across borders.

Why it matters for Singapore: Singapore has positioned itself as a global hub for health-tech innovation, with substantial government backing for AI in healthcare through initiatives like the Centre of AI in Medicine and Healthier SG's digital transformation. But building the AI is only half the challenge — ensuring every developer shipping medical algorithms understands the regulatory guardrails is essential for maintaining patient trust. This study makes clear that regulatory literacy hasn't kept pace with technical capability, and closing that gap needs to become a national priority.