AI Articles and Analysis in Healthcare

Depression is a leading mental disorder impacting about 16 million Americans. According to the World Health Organization, the annual global economic impact of depression is estimated at $1 trillion and is projected to be the leading cause of disability by 2020.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and currently affects an estimated 28.4 million Americans. According to a report published by the American Heart Association, in 2016, the economic burden of cardiovascular diseases (category of heart and blood vessel diseases) totalled $555 billion and is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2035.  

The recent renaissance of machine learning promises to transform the data-rich world of healthcare, and there are hardly any healthcare segments more excited than the pharmaceutical industry.

Diabetes is a leading chronic disease that affects more than 30 million people in the United States. The disease results from high blood glucose (blood sugar) due to an inability to properly derive energy from food, primarily in the form of glucose. Insulin is a hormone that normally helps process glucose in the body. However, in the case of diabetes, insulin is inadequate (Type 2 diabetes) or obsolete (Type 1 diabetes).

Episode Summary: This week’s episode covers the medical applications of machine vision for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Medical science has integrated AI since the late 90s, and it’s been useful in the fight against cancer. This week’s guest is Dr. Alexandre Le Bouthillier, founder of Imagia. Imagia is a medical imaging company which specializes in using AI and machine learning to detect cancer in its early stages so that oncologists can make quicker, more accurate diagnoses for patients.

Medical devices sector, part of the $3 trillion healthcare industry in the United States, is an area of growth and innovation where researchers and manufacturers are seeking to integrate accuracy with automation. According to the most recent data reported by SelectUSA, (a program within the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce), the United States held 40 percent of the $140 billion global medical device market in 2015.

The healthcare analytics market continues to gain traction as the healthcare industry transitions to a value-based care model. Value-based care focuses on quality of care delivery as opposed to volume of patients served. There are great opportunities for data analytics due to the high volume of information that must be routinely collected, tracked and interpreted, particularly in the hospital setting. Examples of value-based care programs in the hospital setting include the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) Program and the Hospital Readmission Reduction (HRR) Program.

Gunjan Bhardwaj is the Founder and CEO of Innoplexus, a leader in AI, machine learning, and analytics as a service for healthcare, pharma, and the life sciences. He was earlier with the Boston Consulting Group and before that the leader of the global business performance think-tank of Ernst & Young and a manager in the German practice with a solution focus on strategy and innovation.