Israel’s Zebra helps users get second opinion on scans

CT scans don’t always provide all the answers patients are looking for, but getting a second medical opinion costs time and money. Now Israeli startup Zebra Medical Vision has machine learning platform that can provide those second opinions.

Zebra’s online software, called Profound, reads data from CT scans, analyzes the information and produces medical reports with 90 percent accuracy, the company said.

“Usually when you go to the hospital for a visit, for example, if you have a chest pain, you go for that particular symptom. The doctor looks for that specific sign looking for the cause, but there is always something that he can’t find, and often he doesn’t have the time to look at the entire scenario,” said Zebra’s CEO Elad Benjamin.

The company’s aim is to break long-established barriers in the medical world by allowing millions of people to receive accurate imagery analysis instantly, at home.

Profound is based on algorithms designed to detect and analyze specific diseases, based a vast amount of anonymous patient data from hospitals and clinics around the world. The company uses this data to create what it says is a one-of- a-kind open platform for imaging data algorithms that will transform the way doctors diagnose and treat diseases.

“Our engine provides a broader view of the situation and, just looking at the data images caught by the CT scan, in 20 minutes at most can provide a second opinion, often detecting things that a doctor didn’t notice,” said Benjamin.

The service is already available to users worldwide and it’s totally free and automatic on Profound’s website, Benjamin said. Osteoporosis, breast cancer, fatty liver, heart diseases, coronary calcium, compression fractures and aortic aneurysms are among the conditions that the software can detect, he said. Additional algorithms, such as analysis of mammograms, will be added shortly.

“In any case, after the result, we always recommend to go back to your doctor, who knows you and knows how to treat you in the best way,” said Benjamin.

In the past five months, Zebra Medical Vision raised $12 million, bringing its total funding to $20 million, the company said.