News/Healthcare
75 AI-discovered molecules are entering clinical trials
A new generation of artificial intelligence tools is accelerating drug discovery and development, with multiple AI-discovered molecules now entering clinical trials. The big picture: The pharmaceutical industry is witnessing a transformation as AI-driven drug discovery companies compete to develop new treatments for difficult diseases, potentially reducing the traditional 10-15 year, $2 billion development timeline. Insilico Medicine, a US-based startup, has developed an AI-discovered drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that has shown promising results in early clinical trials At least 75 AI-discovered molecules have entered clinical trials, marking a significant milestone in pharmaceutical development Major tech companies like Alphabet have...
read Jan 9, 2025AMD is investing in Absci to accelerate AI drug discovery
AMD and Absci Corporation have formed a strategic partnership worth $20 million to accelerate AI-driven drug discovery, with AMD providing advanced computing technology and making a significant investment in Absci. Key partnership details: AMD will integrate its Instinct accelerators and ROCm software into Absci's AI drug discovery platform to enhance the development of new therapeutic antibodies and biological drugs. The collaboration includes a $20 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) from AMD to Absci Absci will utilize AMD's high-performance computing solutions to power its de novo antibody design models The partnership aims to reduce infrastructure costs and accelerate innovation...
read Jan 8, 2025This smart ring maker is rolling out a chatbot trained on medical research
The Evie Ring maker Movano has launched EvieAI, a specialized healthcare chatbot trained exclusively on peer-reviewed medical journals, setting it apart from general-purpose AI assistants. Core innovation: Movano has developed a bounded Large Language Model (LLM) that relies solely on over 100,000 medical journals and FDA-approved sources, aimed at providing accurate health information. The chatbot cross-references data with reputable institutions like Mayo Clinic, Harvard, and UCLA before providing answers According to Movano, this specialized training enables 99 percent accuracy in responses The system is designed to acknowledge when it lacks information rather than provide potentially incorrect answers [caption id="" align="alignnone"...
read Jan 6, 2025Eli Health launches smartphone hormone test Hormometer
The Hormometer by Eli Health transforms smartphones into portable hormone testing devices using saliva samples, with a planned launch at CES 2025. Breakthrough Technology: Eli Health has developed a first-of-its-kind system that converts smartphones into hormone analysis tools using advanced bioassay and AI technology. The FDA-registered system combines microfluidics, bioassay technology, and artificial intelligence to deliver lab-grade hormone test results Initial testing capabilities focus on cortisol and progesterone measurements The technology represents five years of development work and includes 12 patent-pending innovations Testing Process and Accuracy: The Hormometer achieves clinical-lab precision through a simple three-step process that takes minutes to...
read Jan 6, 2025How AI breakthroughs reshaped the healthcare landscape in 2024
A continued series of major advancements in healthcare technology occurred throughout 2024, primarily driven by artificial intelligence applications and new digital health solutions. Key technological shifts: The intersection of health and technology saw significant evolution in 2024, building upon pandemic-era innovations and expanding into new digital health territories. AI-powered medical scribes emerged as a transformative tool, saving physicians an average of one hour daily by automatically summarizing patient visits Healthcare executives ranked AI as the most promising emerging technology for the fourth consecutive year Digital health innovations expanded beyond traditional medical settings into everyday consumer products AI integration in healthcare:...
read Jan 4, 2025Doctolib’s AI agents streamline healthcare support without sacrificing security
A healthcare technology company Doctolib has developed an AI-powered support system called Alfred that functions like a digital butler to handle routine customer inquiries while maintaining strict security protocols. The big picture: Doctolib's implementation of an agentic AI system represents a practical application of artificial intelligence in healthcare support, designed to process approximately 17,000 daily messages. The system, named Alfred, operates as a network of specialized AI agents working together, each with defined roles and specific tools at their disposal By handling routine support queries, Alfred enables human agents to focus on more complex cases requiring personal attention The system...
read Jan 3, 2025How AI is enabling a new class of organization to address the world’s biggest challenges
AI tools across healthcare, environmental protection, and technological development are creating measurable impacts in addressing global challenges. Healthcare innovations: Advanced imaging and genomic analysis technologies are transforming medical diagnosis and treatment planning. SimBioSys's TumorSight Viz converts MRI scans into detailed 3D breast tissue models, enabling surgeons to better visualize and treat breast cancers The Wellcome Sanger Institute has significantly improved cancer genome analysis efficiency through accelerated computing, reducing both processing time and energy consumption Environmental protection initiatives: AI-driven solutions are tackling waste management and recycling challenges worldwide. Clearbot, developed by University of Hong Kong graduates, deploys autonomous AI-powered boats to...
read Jan 3, 2025AI-powered mental health app surpasses human empathy by 2x in new study
Study framework and methodology: A research team developed and tested an AI-powered mental health application designed to mimic human therapeutic interactions. The study surveyed 290 beta testers during winter 2023-24, measuring both their experiences with human empathy and their interactions with the AI application Participants rated warmth and understanding on a scale of 0-100 for both human interactions and predicted AI performance The app was programmed to mirror professional therapeutic responses, offering understanding, warmth, and cognitive behavioral techniques Initial expectations versus reality: Users initially expressed skepticism about AI-generated empathy but dramatically shifted their views after experiencing the application. Beta testers...
read Jan 3, 2025Defense Department completes pilot program testing AI chatbots in military medicine
The Department of Defense's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has completed a pilot program testing AI chatbots in military medicine through crowdsourced security testing. Program Overview: The Crowdsourced AI Red-Teaming (CAIRT) Assurance Program evaluated Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots for military medical applications through collaborative testing with multiple stakeholders. Tech company Humane Intelligence led the initiative in partnership with the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and Program Executive Office, Defense Healthcare Management Systems Over 200 participants from various military medical institutions took part in the testing The program examined two specific use cases: clinical note summarization and a medical...
read Jan 2, 2025A first-of-its-kind non-invasive AI laser can detect early stage breast cancer
A pioneering study demonstrates how artificial intelligence, combined with laser-based blood testing, can accurately detect early-stage breast cancer and its subtypes. Core innovation: The research integrates machine learning with Raman spectroscopy (a laser-based technique that analyzes blood samples) and liquid biopsy to identify breast cancer in its earliest stages. The technology successfully distinguishes between healthy samples and four major breast cancer subtypes at Stage Ia The AI system achieves 90% sensitivity and 95% specificity in cancer detection The method's cross-validated accuracy rating reaches an impressive 0.98 AUC (Area Under the Curve), indicating exceptional reliability Technical approach: The system employs sophisticated...
read Jan 1, 20252024 was a big year for LLMs — here’s what to expect in 2025
Large language models (LLMs) made significant advances in scientific research during 2024, particularly in psychology, neuroscience, and autonomous vehicle development, setting the stage for expanded applications in 2025. Key 2024 achievements: Several breakthrough studies demonstrated LLMs' growing capabilities in scientific and medical applications. Researchers used Google's BERT model to identify linguistic productivity milestones in child development Studies showed convergence between LLM processing patterns and human brain activity OpenAI's GPT-4 demonstrated comparable performance to human neuroradiologists in diagnosing brain tumors Talk2Drive framework successfully integrated LLMs into autonomous vehicle voice command systems Research methodology developments: LLMs are increasingly being incorporated into the...
read Jan 1, 2025AI predicts health and longevity in groundbreaking study
Study Overview: Scientists at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) conducted a comprehensive evaluation of AI algorithms to determine which ones best predict biological age from blood samples. The research team analyzed 17 different AI algorithms using data from over 225,000 UK Biobank participants The study focused on 168 different metabolites from blood plasma The average age of participants was 56.97 years old Technical Methodology: The research utilized nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to analyze blood plasma samples and evaluate metabolomic markers. NMR spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique that analyzes organic molecules using magnetic fields and...
read Jan 1, 2025Dental AI Association launches to implement AI in clinical practice, education and research
Initial Overview: The Dental AI Association (DAIA) launched globally as the first organization dedicated to integrating artificial intelligence with dentistry, supported by the Global Summits Institute's World's Top Doctors initiative. Core Mission and Structure: DAIA aims to transform dental care worldwide by incorporating AI technology into clinical practice, education, and research. The organization will provide comprehensive AI certification programs through its Dental AI Academy Members will have access to advanced training programs and research opportunities A tiered membership structure has been implemented to accommodate diverse needs within the dental community Leadership Vision and Goals: The organization envisions AI integration across...
read Dec 31, 2024Key 2024 breakthroughs in medicine, space technology, and AI
The year 2024 brought significant advances across medicine, space technology, and artificial intelligence, with incremental improvements building upon previous breakthroughs. HIV Prevention Milestone: A groundbreaking injectable drug developed by Gilead has demonstrated near-perfect protection against HIV infection in clinical trials. The drug, lenacapavir, showed 100% efficacy in trials with South African and Ugandan women and 96% effectiveness in global trials Gilead agreed to allow generic versions in poor countries, though excluding middle-income nations The treatment works by targeting capsid proteins that protect HIV's genetic material, potentially opening new pathways for treating other viral diseases Space Technology Achievement: SpaceX successfully caught...
read Dec 29, 2024Nvidia’s MONAI platform is making AI-powered medical imaging easier for hospitals
Medical imaging leader Siemens Healthineers has integrated Nvidia's MONAI Deploy platform across 15,000 devices globally, dramatically reducing AI deployment time for radiological imaging analysis from months to mere clicks. The big picture: MONAI, Nvidia's open-source platform for medical imaging AI applications, is transforming the processing of 3.6 billion annual imaging tests worldwide to help physicians manage increasing workloads and improve patient outcomes. Siemens Healthineers has implemented MONAI Deploy across its Syngo Carbon and syngo.via platforms, enabling rapid deployment of AI tools for analyzing X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs The integration allows healthcare providers to quickly implement trained AI models in...
read Dec 29, 2024This new AI tool may eventually prevent devastating strokes
A new artificial intelligence tool is being tested in West Yorkshire to identify patients at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) before symptoms appear by analyzing GP records. The innovation at hand; The AI algorithm, developed by researchers at the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, searches through medical records for warning signs of potential AF development. The tool analyzes patient data including age, sex, ethnicity, and existing medical conditions like heart failure, high blood pressure, and diabetes The project, called Find-AF, is being funded by the British Heart Foundation and Leeds Hospitals Charity Initial trials are taking...
read Dec 27, 2024Air pollution from AI tech may cause 1,300 US deaths annually by 2030
AI data centers could cause 1,300 premature deaths annually in the U.S. by 2030 due to air pollution, according to new research from Caltech and UC Riverside scientists. Key findings: Air pollution from data centers supporting artificial intelligence operations poses a significant public health risk, with environmental impacts comparable to the commercial airline industry. Data centers produced at least 106 million metric tons of emissions in the previous year Training a large language model like Meta's Llama-3.1 generates pollution equivalent to over 10,000 cross-country car trips Computing power dedicated to AI is doubling every 100 days according to World Economic...
read Dec 26, 2024How AI is set to transform mental health care in 2025
Mental health care is being transformed by artificial intelligence applications that range from diagnostic support to personalized treatment planning, offering new solutions to address global mental health challenges. Current landscape: The World Health Organization reports that approximately 800 million people worldwide suffer from depression, with women affected 50% more frequently than men. Mental health disorders rank among the leading causes of disability globally Persistent barriers include stigma, limited access to care, and shortages of mental health professionals AI-driven tools are emerging as scalable, cost-effective solutions to these challenges Key AI applications in mental healthcare: Artificial intelligence is being deployed across...
read Dec 25, 2024How GE Healthcare used AWS to build an AI model for MRI scans
GE Healthcare has developed the first full-body three-dimensional MRI foundation model, marking a significant advance in medical imaging AI technology. Key innovation; The new AI model processes complete 3D body scans, moving beyond the traditional two-dimensional approach that has limited medical imaging analysis. Built from scratch on AWS infrastructure, the model incorporates over 173,000 images from more than 19,000 medical studies The system achieves training efficiency by requiring 80% less computing power than comparable models Mass General Brigham has been selected as an early research partner to test the technology's capabilities Technical capabilities; The foundation model demonstrates advanced multimodal functionality...
read Dec 20, 2024AI-powered blood testing shows promise in detecting early disease markers
The emerging field of AI-powered blood testing is showing promise in detecting diseases earlier and more accurately than traditional diagnostic methods. Recent breakthrough: Dr. Daniel Heller at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has developed an innovative approach to detecting ovarian cancer using AI-enhanced nanotube technology. The technology utilizes specialized nanotubes that emit fluorescent light in response to molecular markers present in blood samples AI algorithms analyze complex patterns in the nanotube data that would be imperceptible to human observers Early results indicate higher accuracy rates compared to existing cancer biomarker tests, despite limited training data Industry developments: Multiple companies and...
read Dec 18, 2024GE HealthCare is using AI to transform every aspect of patient care
GE HealthCare is aggressively expanding its artificial intelligence capabilities to address mounting healthcare challenges, including the management of unstructured patient data and operational inefficiencies in medical settings. Strategic AI implementation: GE HealthCare has established itself as a leader in AI-enabled medical devices, securing over 80 FDA authorizations with plans to expand significantly. The company aims to more than double its AI-enabled device authorizations to over 200 within three years Current initiatives target the 97% of hospital system data that remains largely untapped due to its unstructured nature Plans include tripling cloud-enabled product offerings to enhance healthcare delivery Cancer care innovation:...
read Dec 18, 2024What experts say about AI chatbots for mental health support
The growing popularity of AI chatbots as informal mental health support tools has sparked both interest and concern among mental health professionals and users alike, highlighting the complex intersection of artificial intelligence and mental healthcare. Current landscape: AI chatbots, including specialized versions of ChatGPT, are increasingly being used by individuals seeking emotional support and therapeutic conversations. 24-year-old Mya Dunham from Atlanta uses ChatGPT twice weekly for emotional support and perspective, preferring its judgment-free nature over traditional therapy Some users report feeling more comfortable sharing personal information with AI chatbots due to the absence of facial expressions and perceived judgment Social...
read Dec 17, 2024AI may soon prevent blindness in diabetic patients
Artificial intelligence in healthcare is showing promise in preventing diabetes-related vision loss, offering hope to millions of people worldwide who are at risk of diabetic retinopathy. The critical challenge: Diabetic retinopathy, a serious complication of diabetes that can lead to blindness, requires regular screening for early detection and treatment. Terry Quinn's experience with vision loss highlights the devastating impact when diabetic retinopathy goes undetected Regular eye screenings are essential for the estimated 537 million adults living with diabetes globally Early detection and treatment can prevent up to 98% of severe vision loss cases AI innovation in screening: Advanced artificial intelligence...
read Dec 16, 2024UnitedHealth AI glitch exposes claims-judging tool to public
The healthcare industry continues to grapple with AI implementation challenges as UnitedHealth Group faces scrutiny over an accidentally exposed claims-processing chatbot. The security breach: A chatbot used by UnitedHealth's Optum Rx pharmacy benefit manager to process insurance claims and disputes was inadvertently made public and accessible to anyone with its IP address. The exposed system, called "SOP Chatbot," was designed to handle standard operating procedure queries for employees Employee interaction logs revealed questions about policy renewal dates and claim determinations Cybersecurity researcher Mossab Hussein, co-founder of spiderSilk, discovered and reported the privacy breach Company response: UnitedHealth quickly locked down access...
read