Pune-based health tech company, In-Med Prognostics, has launched a cloud-based Clinical Decision Support Tool for neurological disorders called NEUROShield. The company believes that the clinical decision support mechanisms offered by this technology can help hospitals and clinics take early calls as preventive health measures.
Powered by AI, NEUROShield utilizes 3D based MRI images to extract data and provide volumetric analysis for the brain and its various structures. The NeuroShield technology uses pattern recognition and deep learning for the development of clinical biomarkers for early prognosis and differential diagnosis. Using the volumetric information, the tool provides neuro-quantitative analysis such as age expected atrophy, atrophy percentage, asymmetry index, among others.
According to the company, NEUROShield helps neuro-radiologists, neurophysicians, psychiatrists and general physicians better understand the brain, and the impact of different conditions on the brain, thereby making it easier to predict early-onset dementia and help in epilepsy diagnosis.
The privacy breach of patient health data and medical images has become a matter of major concern. Recently, TechCrunch reported that over a billion medical images of patients worldwide are readily accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
Talking about the safety of patient health data and steps undertaken by taken by In-med Prognostics to ensure the same, Dr. Latha Poonamallee told Analytics India Magazine, “We treat our patient data with utmost safety and their privacy is maintained at all times. We receive ethical committee permission with every site and consent from every patient for research. All data for analysis and research is de-identified and anonymized. All our staff members are trained in HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliance and all Indian data is stored in AWS (Amazon Web Services) server located in Mumbai.”
Incorporated in early 2018, In-med Prognostics is a social venture that develops affordable AI-based brain health diagnostic and prognostic tools for India and other emerging markets. The company, co-founded by Rajesh Purushottam, Dr. Latha Poonamallee and Dr. Al Curran, has a team of experts in the fields of Medical Image Analysis, Deep Learning, and Bio-Medical Engineering.
“The launch of NEUROShield is a step closer towards making mental health more acceptable by dissolving the stigma around it and making it more acceptable across age groups and geographies. Our aim with this initiative is to make brain screening mainstream like any other diagnostic screening available today,’’ said Purushottam.
The company claims to have strategic alliances with hospitals and screening centers that have agreed to collaborate and leverage the use of NEUROShield. Some of these hospitals and screening centers include Sahyadri Hospital, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Arthi diagnostic center, NM Medical, P.H diagnostic Center and Noble Hospital, among others.
“I have started using NEUROShield in my clinical practice in patients with neurological disorders. While a traditional 2D MRI imaging provides only a limited understanding of mild atrophy changes, NEUROShield provides differential diagnosis on visualization and volumetric analysis of 3D MRI images. This analysis could help in assessing conditions like MCI, dementia, MS, epilepsy, and TB more efficiently and arrive at optimal evidence-based clinical decisions,” opined Rahul Kulkarni from Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune.
Early last year, the company received a Biotechnology Ignition Grant of INR 50 Lakh for a duration of 18 months from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). According to the company, the grant was used to develop technology that will label, visualize, and quantify the volumes of brain structures using 3D MRI images.
