August 12, 2022

‘Transforming healthcare’ - How AI is helping save lives

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AI is able to not only speed up the process of diagnoses, but also procure the healthcare system with higher quality and more precise results.

An Oxford company specializing in developing artificial intelligence (AI) is making major advancements in the healthcare industry and is helping to save people’s lives.

Brainomix has developed its efficiency in diagnosing its patients and in delivering the right treatment.

The company, which is a spinoff from a project at the University of Oxford, saves countless lives proving that university work and research can bring actual worldwide change.

Launched back in 2010, it has since developed an award-winning AI software and has gone from focusing on strokes to also now working on AI based solutions for Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) and cancer.

Its work has been recognised by figures in the NHS, including Dr William Mukonoweshuro. The lead consultant of the NHS Trust said: “Using the Brainomix software means more people can access the best treatment.”

The heart of Brainomix’s advancements is e-Stroke – a software developed by Oxford University academics and physicians which detects through AI the affected area by a stroke.

This software is now used in over 300 institutions worldwide, with over 890,000 patients treated across more than 30 countries due to it being recognized by the NHS (National Health System) as an important software to have.

Jerome Galbrun, Chief Revenue Officer, told Harbingers Magazine: “It’s definitely a revolution in the way you do stock management for two reasons. One, the speed; second, the accuracy of what the software provides.”

E-Stroke reduces the diagnosis of a stroke from 20-40 minutes minimum, if done manually, to just a few minutes due to its ability to generate critical information from simple brain scans using advanced imaging.

“We are truly saving lives of people every day”

The software has grown since its launch and is able to provide a direct clinical pathway for the patient, which is crucial as this minimizes the amount of time spent on diagnosis and inaccuracies.

In treating strokes, this is especially critical as Mr Galbrun explains: “Time is brain: the more you save time, the more you save brain and brain functionalities.”

According to UNC Health Talk, the importance of reacting to strokes is critical. For each minute the stroke is untreated, and the brain doesn’t get blood; 1.9 million neurons die. For that reason, it’s very important to clearly identify where the clot is, and which areas are impacted as fast as possible.

On AI as a whole, Mr Galbrun highlights that it is in itself a “revolution” in the medical field. Digitalisation provides “real time diagnosis as well as support for precision medicine”.

He says AI is able to not only speed up the process of diagnoses, but also procure the healthcare system with higher quality and more precise results. All while being able to assure its patients with secure medical classification.

But use of AI in the medical field has raised concerns from those within the profession, with hospitals across the world still in doubt over the potential benefits it could bring.

This is why Mr Galbrun feels it is important to raise awareness and knowledge about what AI actually presents to this specific field in order to help break ‘misconceptions’ over its use.

Mr Galbrun added that in order for our society to overcome these barriers of mistrust, individuals are encouraged to speak up about this issue and for professionals to educate as “this is how policymakers at the national or regional level can start acknowledging the importance of the adoption of such important technology”.

The future of AI can be dictated from its present achievements: it has seen “a higher use in other industries at scale” and is only just “starting to transform healthcare”, as also noted by Mr Galbrun.

The Oxford spinoff is one of such examples which are transformative to the industry because it demonstrates an idea properly executed. This is why, according to Mr Galbrun, the recipe for innovative success in medical technology is “a true collaboration between research centers and industry players”.

Brainomix envisages a big future ahead of itself. It wishes to improve and bring its company to a higher level of expertise, which can be seen through their receival of regular feedback from collaborations using e-Stroke in daily clinical practices across the UK, Europe, USA, and South America.

The company also sees its solution of “saving time is saving lives” being adopted globally as the effects of its use are believed to be ‘life-changing’ for both patients and the medical field as a whole.

Written by:

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Sofiya Suleimenova

International Affairs Section Editor 2023

Geneva, Switzerland

Born in 2006 in Barcelona, Spain, Sofiya currently studies in Switzerland. She aims to study law, preferably in the United States. In her free time, Sofie practices karate – she won a silver medal for kata and a bronze in sparring. She speaks French, English, Russian and Spanish.

She started her collaboration with Harbingers’ Magazine as a Staff Writer. In 2022, she assumed the role of the International Affairs Correspondent. Sofiya created and manages the collaboration with LEARN Afghan organisation, under which teenage girls from Afghanistan receive free education in journalism and English. In recognition of the importance of this project, in September of 2023, she was promoted to the role of the International Affairs Section editor.

 

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