Artificial Intelligence in Traditional Chinese Medicine: Machine Learning and Deep Learning Applications for Modern Healthcare

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been practised for thousands of years and remains an important component of global healthcare systems. Its therapeutic approach is fundamentally different from modern Western medicine, relying on multi-component herbal formulations and multi-target mechanisms. While this holistic nature offers advantages in treating complex diseases, it also poses significant challenges for understanding its pharmacological mechanisms using conventional scientific methods. In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL), has emerged as a powerful tool to address these challenges. AI techniques enable the analysis of complex biological systems, the prediction of drug efficacy and toxicity, the identification of herbal materials, and the optimisation of therapeutic formulations. This review provides a comprehensive overview of AI applications in TCM, including data mining, drug discovery, diagnosis, quality control, and personalised medicine. Furthermore, it addresses current challenges, including data standardisation, model interpretability, and integration with biological experiments. Finally, future res