Robert Chang

Sirona Medical took a novel approach to reimagining diagnostic radiology. It's an approach I believe we will see future software companies replicate across the various specialties in medicine. First, they built, from the ground up, an "Epic" like operating system (RadOS) for diagnostic radiology, all in one unified cloud native platform. One system, one service provider...eliminating the need for servers, hardware, etc. This also eliminates the need for radiologists to move in and out of countless different software platforms to accomplish the day to day tasks associated with practicing medicine. They then built assistive AI programs into system, making physicians faster, and more effective. And finally, they allowed top 3rd party AI vendors to build the kind of diagnostic AI programs on top of their platform, that are the future product that radiology will provide. This is the path less traveled for sure. It's expensive, and takes a considerable amount of time. But the impact these types of platforms will have on physicians, patients, and the system as a whole is profound. I believe strongly that what Sirona Medical has done will revolutionize this space. Over the next couple weeks, I will post some additional clips to further inform the market on why what they have done is so unique...and just how transformative this technology will be. In the interim, episode 46 of The Bleeding Edge of Digital Health Podcast is now up for viewing on all the major podcast directories, and our YouTube channel (links in comments). Thank you Cameron Andrews for joining on the show, and sharing the incredible tech you and your team have built! Bill Corsten Greg Stock David Paik Kathryn Kovalenko Aidan Andrews Raghavendra Nyamagoudar Nathan Ayers Chris Calder Jon Gallez Francisco Gimenez Perry Kaneriya, MD, MBA Patrice JC Nedelec 🇫🇷🇺🇸🇺🇦 Daniel C. Liem Samir Mehta Kaitlin Daugherty Mark D. Longo, Ph.D. Mike McCormick Ryan Dougherty Fred Ong Tanner Trombly Vijay Yeluri Adam Prater Alex Mc Vey #radiology #medtech #digitalhealth

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As we look toward the future, the implications of integrating AI into mental health care are profound. We're not just adapting our systems; we're revolutionizing the way we think about care delivery. When we harness AI capabilities, we change the dynamics of mental health assistance and bring ourselves closer to a future where everyone has access to the support they deserve, tailored to their unique journey. There's so much to be said about the health systems in our country, but I know one thing to be true: the more personalized we can make individual care, the better. #AI #FutureOfHealthcare #MentalHealth #HealthTech

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I have seen this in two areas I work in. Scanning mammograms for a second opinion and in dental with smart X-rays for early cavity detection. The rapid integration of AI into medical devices offers immense potential for improving patient care and outcomes. However, the growing prevalence of cyberattacks in the healthcare industry casts a shadow over these advancements. Also, many of these companies are startups potentially over hyping to get a valuation, raise money etc - maybe not completely thought out technology With a staggering increase in healthcare data breaches and the vulnerability of implantable devices, the risks are real and potentially catastrophic. The question is: How can we harness the power of AI while mitigating these cybersecurity threats? The future of medical devices hinges on a delicate balance of innovation and security. #AI #MedicalDevices #Healthcare #Patient

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There is a new (substantial) market coming for video games and other forms of media that can positively impact mental health. The Digital Therapeutics Alliance has been working hard with congress to create new reimbursement pathways for media as medicine (Digital Therapeutics) - with a special focus on mental health. Reference Article: https://lnkd.in/gxWwQTks Many commercial video games have been proven to positively impact mental health. One of over 200 Reference Studies: https://lnkd.in/gSYzZKsi The Immersive Medicine Network - a collaborative ecosystem of game developers, experience designers and medical professionals has been created to help media professionals access this new market: The Immersive Medicine Network is building the following resources: - A resource website for creating media as medicine: www.immersivemedicine.org - A LinkedIn support group, the Immersive Medicine Network (IMN) where connections can be made and resources shared: https://lnkd.in/gW8M_vXN - A Podcast to help spread information (first episode coming this week) - A biweekly fireside chat, where questions can be asked and collaborative approaches developed. (Accessible through the IMN) Media holds the key to delivering vital mental and physical health interventions at scale. Now the industries must learn to combine capabilities to create the change we need to fight the #loneliness #stress #anxiety and #depression that are crippling our society. Please join us as we build this new world of Immersive Medicine, recognizing the therapeutic potential of media and bringing accessibility and affordability to mental health care. #videogames #immersivemedicine #powerofplay #stressrelief #resilience

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As Kimberly Powell puts it - Generative AI is poised to impact healthcare more profoundly than ANY other area of life. Everything from accelerating drug discovery to enhancing patient diagnostics and postoperative care is on the table. The only roadblock in front of us is the speed and efficiency with which we can implement AI on scale. Could Nvidia be the answer to these teething issues? #AIHealthcare #Healthcare #NvidiaAI #GenerativeAI #MedicalInnovation

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What makes a video game therapeutic? The folks at Gizmogo took the time to go deep on the therapeutic design behind DeepWell DTx’s Zengence. “At the core of Zengence, we have a very precise combination of movement, breathing and sensory mechanics – not a random combination of sacred idols, but a careful ensemble of experiences for engaging the gamer beyond the physical plane of the gaming session.” Their analysis is spot on in many ways, noting that it is not just the addition of a breath mechanic to the game but the use of the subtle narrative, play loops, mechanics and sensory stimulation that provides the therapeutic benefits. “Zengence’s innovative use of sensory interference, embedded in a compelling therapeutic framework, is a halting step in a new direction for psycho-therapeutic approaches. The technique targets memory-retrieval cues to attempt to rewrite painful memories by altering their emotional valence and fuelling resilience and greater mental and emotional wellness through the power of motion.” #videogame #VR #mentalhealth #therapy #zengence #powerofplay Article: https://lnkd.in/gsFbeUJ7

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M13 is thrilled to lead the Series A in RadiantGraph which is focused on personalization in healthcare. As we continue to invest in early stage companies it is abundantly clear that the biggest indicator of success is the founder and his or her ability to execute on their vision of the future. In this case, I don't think I have seen much better founder-market fit than we have with founder and CEO Anmol Madan. We believe in his vision: in order to have the best patient outcomes in healthcare we need increased personalization and AI is the breakthrough to get us there. Anmol started one of the pioneering digital health companies Ginger and then was Chief Data Scientist at Livongo and Teledoc. He has done it all: early stage, late stage, public company. And he deeply understands the nuances of the healthcare market from all angles which is critical for success. While there are many players building healthcare-specific AI capabilities, RadiantGraph is focused on outcomes: The platform is already processing personalization models for more than 3.5 million people, despite launching just last year. Excited to partner with my friend Adam D'Augelli and the great True Ventures again and Morgan Blumberg who has been deep in the healthcare market with me for many years. More on our thesis in the blog below. https://lnkd.in/evDDmC3W

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On October 10th I'm diving deeper into what makes MedTech startup projects unique and difficult to manage with traditional methodology, as well as sharing my tips for avoiding the most common pitfalls in MedTech product development.

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good to see 'remote patient management' (I prefer this term to 'monitoring') gaining investment traction from big names. It is however worth mentioning that only a very small portion of home care patients truly require 'continuous monitoring'. Also here, the concept is evolving to near-time monitoring and proactive prevention. Next is to see payors supporting this new stream outside of the US with focus on wellbeing as opposed to on 'acvoiding readmissions'. The latter being just another pothole in the sick care process. BARMER in #Germany is leading in this context.

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Can AI enhanced health technology trained on data in rural Georgia be used in a large city like NYC? If there was another pandemic and volumes in hospitals changed, could the AI algorithm adapt or would it not work anymore? Earlier diagnosis, better access to care and improved communication can be results of AI solutions in our broken healthcare system. And from a clinician burnout perspective, generative AI stands to make a difference in helping doctors and nurses get time back with the patient. But with over 1000 AI enhanced health innovations being approved by the FDA, how can we ensure best products, data diversity, unbiased solutions and safety? The Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), VALID AI and other organizations are discussing safety guardrails, assurance labs and maintenance monitoring of ML powered technologies. Physician leaders such as Anthony Chang, MD, MBA, MPH, MS Brian Anderson, MD Ashish Atreja, MD, MPH Juan Espinoza Ami Bhatt, MD Daniel Kraft, MD and many others are enhancing education around this. This week the FDA issued a Comprehensive Draft Guidance for AI-enhanced medical devices. The aim of this? To ensure that the best product is developed and maintained with an eye to safety, transparency, maintenance and outcomes. As we integrate AI into health, we must ensure guardrails and understanding to reduce negative consequences. Take a look at the FDA draft and let me know your thoughts ! #health #ai #innovation FDA Healio Austin Lee Chiang, MD MPH Aditi U Joshi MD, MSc, FACEP Tina Shah MD MPH Mara Schenker, MD, MBA Navin Goyal MD Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA https://lnkd.in/ewyuY6Vz

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🚀 Unpacking the Biden Administration's AI Executive Order: Insights for Radiology 🚀 In their detailed analysis, Drs. Vrushab Gowda, MD, JD, Dr. Keith J. Dreyer, and Bernardo Bizzo provide a nuanced look at how the recent executive order on AI will impact radiology. Their findings highlight: ➡ A new "security by design" mandate requiring AI tools in healthcare to adhere to high safety and equity standards. ➡ Increased federal scrutiny on AI tools, especially those used in patient care. ➡ A significant push towards interagency coordination to streamline AI regulations and support innovation. Radiology professionals: it's time to gear up for these regulatory changes and contribute to shaping future policies. Dive into the full discussion here: https://lnkd.in/gr9BkgHT #AI #Radiology #HealthTech HOPPR #GenAI Marty Stempniak Radiology Business Woojin Kim

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A Common Pitfall for MedTech / Medical device manufacturing Companies: 🚫 Mistake: Investing heavily in a product without customer feedback. 🚫 Risk: Channeling resources into development without a deep understanding of the target market, including cultural and societal norms. 📉 It's a frequent, costly error driven by arrogance and preallocated capital. ✨ Smart Strategy: Start with your MVP (Minimum Viable Product). 🌱 Why Gradual Growth? The most successful companies grow gradually because they take time to tailor their products to the markets they serve. Do not waste your time and efforts. Be quick to go to market but do your HW. Are you in Sales or Marketing and Part of the medtech/medical device manufacturing industry? Join our group! https://lnkd.in/g-EYhbSd #medicaldevice #medtechsales #medicaldevicemanufacturing #medicalsales #b2bsales #healthtech

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Very interesting article on enabling technologies in Orthopedics... the proliferation (arms race) of Robotics (big and small), AR, AI and other technologies will have some BIG winners and a lot of "whatever happened to...". My good friend Sharat Kusuma, MD, FAAOS and Zimmer Biomet Chief Innovation Officer Nitin G. are both interviewed. Interesting perspective around the potential improvement (needs study) for lower volume Surgeons who typically are working in institutions who are less apt to purchase or ASC where any additional cost or time is less likely to be considered. https://lnkd.in/ggBhHQWH #vestiaconsulting #orthopedics #orthopedicsurgery Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors #DoctorCFO #wealththatmatters

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The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Orthopedics 🔑 The FDA witnessed a 39% increase in AI/ML submissions from 2019 to 2020. 🔑 AI is showing promise in reviewing implanted devices before revision surgery. A study in Arthroplasty found a deep-learning model accurately predicted knee implant types 99% of the time. This could save time in pre-op planning and improve procedure efficiency. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g_wGp2kz #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #healthcare #ImagingData #MedicalDevices #orthopedics #radiology #RevisionSurgery

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This is a very exciting development offering advanced voice assessment in an innovative ambient listening solution. We will be presenting at HLTH 2024 next week in the AI Pavilion with Microsoft "How Ambient Technology Detects Health Risks in Real-time by Canary Speech In this presentation, Canary Speech CEO Henry O'Connell and Kathy VanEkenvort, Microsoft’s Industry Leader for Payor & Provider in the Americas, will explore the evolution of ambient listening technology from a basic note-taking tool to today's solution for real-time health screening. Canary Speech's new ambient listening feature analyzes vocal biomarkers during natural patient conversations, identifying conditions like depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline without relying on the words spoken. O'Connell will share real-world stories of how this technology is transforming routine healthcare visits, such as identifying hidden depression in a patient with an ankle injury and easing cognitive assessments for elderly patients. By offering objective insights through voice analysis, Canary Speech's technology is enabling earlier diagnoses, reducing patient anxiety, and streamlining care."

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Based on what we've seen from the introduction of other technologies (digital and analog) into medicine and other industries over many decades, this is a dialogue/negotiation/argument that we're going to be seeing a LOT of in the coming years: Kaiser's nurses: "Human expertise and clinical judgment are the only ways to ensure safe, effective, and equitable nursing care," stated Cathy Kennedy, RN, a nurse at Kaiser Permanente Roseville (Calif.) Medical Center and a president of the state nursing association. "We know there is nothing inevitable about AI's advancement into healthcare. No patient should be a guinea pig and no nurse should be replaced by a robot." Kaiser management: "At Kaiser Permanente, AI tools don't make medical decisions — our physicians and care teams are always at the center of decision-making with our patients," the spokesperson said. "We believe that AI may be able to help our physicians and employees and enhance our members' experience. As an organization dedicated to inclusiveness and health equity, we ensure the results from AI tools are correct and unbiased; AI does not replace human assessment." I can't comment about the specifics of the deployment of clinical AI at Kaiser Permanente. However, I will say that the future success of healthcare outcomes will depend heavily on a successful negotiation of these differing perspectives between clinical professionals and "the bean counters."

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As the discourse shifts from models to compound AI systems / agents, we need better AI benchmarks to evaluate multi-modal and multi-step task performance, especially in healthcare and life sciences. When we wrote the first paper demonstrating ChatGPT's performance on the USMLE, we chose the US Medical Licensing Exam as a benchmark for accessibility, speed, and ease. This benchmark was never intended to represent AI model performance on real-world clinical tasks. Today, I still see so many research teams and startups using benchmarks (like the USMLE) that are ill-fitted for assessing the true clinical or scientific performance and utility of the models they are developing for real-world contexts. Benchmark development may be seen as a "less sexy" area of research, but it is of paramount importance. Years after the rise of the transformer, we still lack adequate benchmarks for so many single-step tasks in biomedicine. With compound AI systems (i.e., architectures that integrate multiple AI models to perform complex tasks) emerging, we need new benchmarks for agentic behaviors. I'd argue that developing an agent with novel capabilities without at least proposing a companion benchmark (if an industry standard does not yet exist) may hinder the adoption of said agent, especially for high-stakes workflows. Designing more benchmarks that capture/simulate real-world clinical and scientific workflows will help us mitigate the major discrepancies observed between in silico and in vivo performance and better support safe + effective deployment of AI in biomedicine. There are already brilliant people focused here, and we need more. DMs are open if you're researching or working in this area of multi-step/multi-modal benchmarking in healthcare and life sciences! #healthcare #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeai

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