⚡AI-Enhanced ECG for Better Heart Health : Issue # 9

Plus: 🩺 New AI Model Enhances Medical Imaging

August 06, 2024

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AIHealthTech Insider: Issue # 9 - AI-Enhanced Imaging and ECG for Better Health

Explore how AI is revolutionizing healthcare, from enhancing medical imaging and ECG reconstruction to driving innovations in medtech and drug development.

Image Source: Meta AI, animated on Pika Labs

Discover the latest breakthroughs and their implications for the future of health.

AI in Healthcare News 🩺

New AI Model Enhances Medical Imaging

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed MedSAM-2, an AI model that significantly improves the segmentation of 2D and 3D medical images. Building on Meta’s Segment Anything Model 2 (SAM 2), MedSAM-2 processes entire series of images with just a single manual annotation, treating medical images like video sequences.

Image Source: arxiv.org

Key Points:

  • Advanced Segmentation: MedSAM-2 outperforms previous models in segmenting various organs and tissues in 2D and 3D images.

  • Confidence Memory Bank: Stores reliable predictions to enhance future image analysis.

  • One-Prompt Segmentation: Recognizes and segments similar structures in additional images with a single annotation.

  • Broad Testing: Achieved better results on 15 different medical datasets, including abdominal organs, optic nerves, brain tumors, and skin lesions.

  • Open Source: Model and code are available on GitHub for further development.

How It Works

MedSAM-2 treats medical image series like video sequences, utilizing a "Confidence Memory Bank" to store and refer to reliable predictions. This technique allows the model to weigh new images against stored data, enhancing segmentation accuracy.

Implications

MedSAM-2 sets new standards in medical image segmentation, significantly reducing the workload for medical personnel and improving diagnostic accuracy. This AI model promises to enhance clinical practice and encourages further innovation in medical imaging.

AI Tools & Technologies 🛠️

AI-Enhanced ECG Reconstruction

Researchers have developed an AI algorithm that can reconstruct a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) using just three leads, making it easier to diagnose cardiovascular conditions outside traditional clinical settings. This breakthrough aims to simplify ECG acquisition, enabling more accessible and effective heart disease diagnosis.

An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a quick test used to check the heartbeat and record the electrical signals in the heart. It helps diagnose heart conditions such as heart attacks, arrhythmias, chest pain, and other heart problems. During an ECG, electrodes are placed on the skin to measure the heart’s electrical activity through repeated cardiac cycles.

Features

  • AI-Powered Algorithm: The AI was trained on over 600,000 ECGs to reconstruct a full 12-lead ECG from only three leads.

  • High Accuracy: The reconstructed ECGs are highly correlated with the original, achieving similar performance in detecting acute myocardial infarction (MI).

  • Clinical Validation: Cardiologists achieved 81.4% accuracy in identifying MI features using the AI-reconstructed ECGs, close to the 84.6% accuracy with standard ECGs.

Detection accuracy of the original and reconstructed ECGs in clinical validation.Image Source: AI-enhanced reconstruction of the 12-lead electrocardiogram via 3-leads with accurate clinical assessment

The algorithm uses two limb leads (I and II) and one precordial lead (V3) to generate a full 12-lead ECG. It leverages advanced AI techniques to accurately replicate the electrical signals of a standard ECG. This reconstruction allows for reliable detection of heart conditions like MI, which usually require a comprehensive 12-lead ECG for diagnosis.

This groundbreaking technology marks a significant step towards more inclusive and efficient healthcare, harnessing the power of AI to bring critical diagnostics closer to patients.

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AI Breakthroughs & Innovations🔬

NVIDIA's Edge AI Platforms Revolutionize Medtech Innovation

A surge of medtech companies and solution providers are leveraging NVIDIA’s edge AI platforms to transform healthcare delivery.

  • Arrow Electronics is offering IGX as a subscription-like platform-as-a-service, making it easier for industrial and medical customers to deploy applications rapidly.

  • Among these customers is Kaliber AI, an NVIDIA Inception member that showcased AI-generated insights for surgeons and a large language model to respond to patient questions at GTC.

  • Global visualization leader Barco is adopting NVIDIA's Holoscan and IGX to create a turnkey surgical AI platform. This solution allows customers to concentrate on application development, enhancing efficiency. Barco collaborates with SoftAcuity on Holoscan-based products featuring generative AI voice control and AI-powered data analytics.

  • Magic Leap integrates Holoscan into its extended reality software stack, empowering developers like Medical iSight to provide real-time, intraoperative support for minimally invasive treatments of stroke and neurovascular conditions.

Image Source: Magic Leap

NVIDIA's cutting-edge AI platforms are catalyzing advancements in medtech, enabling companies to innovate faster and deliver smarter, more efficient healthcare solutions.

AI in Reasearch 🧠

Absci's AI-Driven Medtech Innovations: Exciting Plans for 2025

Absci is gearing up for an exciting 2025 with plans to start human trials for its new AI-designed drug, ABS-101, aimed at treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The company expects to share early data on this drug in the second half of next year and is also working on two other promising drugs.

Absci is a generative AI drug creation company that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with scalable wet lab technologies. Their mission is to create better biologics for patients more efficiently. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on existing antibody libraries, Absci designs de novo antibodies “from scratch” using AI. These novel candidates can potentially unlock treatments for traditionally “undruggable” diseases and improve therapeutic possibilities for others.

Image Source: genengnews.com

Key Points:

  • ABS-101: This new drug, targeting IBD, is in the final testing stages. Human trials are set to begin in 2025.

  • AI Technology: ABS-101 was chosen for its effectiveness and safety using advanced computer models and lab tests.

  • Other Drugs:

    • ABS-201: A drug being developed for a skin condition with high needs.

    • ABS-301: A potential new cancer treatment discovered through innovative AI methods.

  • Collaborations: Absci plans to partner with other biopharma companies and expects to sign several new deals this year.

Absci's use of AI technology is helping to create new treatments for serious health conditions more quickly and safely. These advancements could lead to better treatments for IBD, skin conditions, and cancer, offering hope for many patients.

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