GE Healthcare to use Israeli tech to help doctors assess stroke
US conglomerate has started integrating MedyMatch AI-based software into its imaging products
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
MedyMatch Technology, an Israeli startup that has developed an artificial intelligence based software to help clinicians assess head trauma or stroke, has entered a partnership with GE Healthcare to integrate its products with the US giant’s imaging solutions.
This is the third industry partnership for MedyMatch, which has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) software that aims to be more accurate than the human eye and help physicians more quickly assess patients suspected of head trauma or stroke, ruling out the presence of a bleed in the brain. In March this year the company said IBM Watson Health and the healthcare unit of Samsung Electronics would integrate its platforms into their medical imaging products.
Working with GE, MedyMatch will integrate the intracranial hemorrhage detection platform into GE’s CT imaging solutions. The US multinational conglomerate is making a push to integrate artificial intelligence software into its products: the firm this week said that it will update some 500,000 of its medical devices around the world with technologies from NVIDIA and Intel.
The goal of the initial application is to help clinicians in their assessment of patients suspected of acute head trauma or stroke, where intracranial hemorrhage is suspected.
“Non-contrast CT remains the primary imaging modality for the initial evaluation of patients with suspected stroke for traumatic brain injury.” said Gene Saragnese, Chairman &CEO of MedyMatch in a statement. “MedyMatch is bringing to market a new category of medical solutions that leverages deep learning, machine vision, and the full richness of 3-D imaging and other relevant patient data.”
“MedyMatch is pushing the boundaries with the use of real-time data in the emergency room,” said Mike Barber, CEO of GE Healthcare MICT. “MedyMatch’s acute care clinical decision support products are aligned with the needs of the marketplace, supplying clinical decision support tools, with the goal of improving patient outcomes, and processed at the point of image creation.”
Upon regulatory approval, the platform will be implemented as an image-based decision support tool, enabling physicians to get an automated, second set of eyes on their readings of images when intracranial hemorrhage in stroke and head trauma patients is suspected. Separately, MedyMatch’s technology will also be deployed to aid in patient case prioritization, the statement said.
“Technical integration of MedyMatch’s technology into GE products is already underway,” said Michael Rosenberg, Chief Commercial & Financial Officer at MedyMatch said in an email to The Times of Israel. “Commercial deployments occur after regulatory approval”, which he expects in the first or second quarter of 2018.
He added that the firm hopes to nab added partnerships very soon: “The pipeline is very strong and we expect to announce a few more major deals with global players,” Rosenberg said.
There are currently no automated tools in emergency or radiology departments that are used to help physicians detect intracranial hemorrhage.
According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and one of the top causes of preventable disability in the United States. Affecting four percent of U.S. adults, it is forecast that by 2030, there will be approximately 3.4 million stroke victims annually in the U.S., costing the healthcare system $240 billion on an annual basis.
