The Smartest AI Based Healthcare Startups To Watch For In 2018
Feature Image Source: iStock.com/Aleutie
The recent opening of Amazon’s cashier less store ‘Go’ has been making crazy rounds in the news lately. The store boasts of kind of bizarre atmosphere where visitors are welcomed by a terribly huge number of cameras and sensors keep a robotic eye on the public that is automatically billed before leaving the premises, nervously.
Amazon might get to new heights for this venture but for now it seems that the public might take a decent amount of time before getting used to cashier less stores. But yes, it is a very smart attempt at introducing the people to the power of artificial intelligence where machines and computers are very much into the thinking game. As a cherry on the top, cars without dashboards and steering wheels are also set to be unveiled next year.
With all the AI based inventions, the mankind, finally, has entered an era where human intelligence is set to be outclassed by artificial intelligence (in some sectors, of course). But, before we take you to the never ending list of AI successful uses in the improvement of quality of a healthy life, let us shed a light on what artificial intelligence actually is.
What Is Artificial Intelligence
Well, as per the Wikipedia saying, “Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn.” Pretty smart, right? The word smart here reminds me of smart computers that are very much in process. And artificial intelligence is a part of the same study that is trying to introduce the mankind to smart computers.
John McCarthy coined the term of artificial intelligence back in 1955, after the publication of a paper by English mathematician Alan Turing, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” in 1950.
As the human race progresses, it has developed multiple ways to play with artificial intelligence as well. In present age, the term AI is being used for understanding human demands and speech, in strategic game systems, self-driving cars, with healthcare being the top area of investment in AI.
Also Explore: Mobile App Frenzy Storms the Healthcare Sector
Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare
With the plethora of non-treatable and fatal disease challenging the health experts around the world, artificial intelligence is being proved to be a sigh of relief in many instances.
The basic purpose of healthcare AI applications is to analyze relationships between treatment techniques and patient survival rates. Such applications are knitted around practices such as diagnosis, treatment, drug development, personalized medicine and patient monitoring and care, among others.
There are a number of healthcare companies that are developing AI based solutions for the healthcare industry. Listed below are 15 companies in healthcare sector to look out for in 2018 as far as AI based healthcare solutions are concerned.
1. AiCure
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Founders: Adam Hania, Laura Shafner
Claim to fame: Bringing revolution in patient monitoring
Major Investors: Tribeca Venture Partners, Biomatics Capita Partners, New Leaf Venture Partners
AiCure claims its AI can validate and optimize patient behavior by monitoring their medication taking schedules and helps reduce hospitalization time. No doubt, AiCure is raising the bar both for the management as well as patients by helping them spend less time at hospitals and increase their life expectancy.
2. Flatiron Health
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Founded in: 2012
Founders: Nat Turner, Zach Weinberg
Claim to fame: Cloud-based technology for cancer treatment
Major investors: Google Ventures, First Round Capital, Roche, Allen & Co.
Flatiron Health is one of Google Ventures, a company which develops cloud-based technology for cancer clinics. The concept behind the venture is to collect patient data from cancer clinics for pharmaceutical companies without disclosing their identities. To date the company has served more than 260 clinics, raised millions of dollars and help enhance clinical research on cancer patients.
3. Zocdoc
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Founders: Cyrus Massoumi, Nick Ganju, Oliver Kharraz
Claim to fame: Language specific healthcare provisions
Major investors: Jeff Bezos, Khosla Ventures, Goldman Sachs
A seasoned healthcare company now, Zocdoc provides a rich database of healthcare providers and through its app allows users to check their reviews, select a provider and book appointment online. One of the best features that Zocdoc offers is allowing users to type or speak their symptoms and match it with the right healthcare provider “such as a doctor, dentist, nurse practitioner, or physical therapist.” Healthcare made easy!
4. Babylon Health
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Founders: Ali Parsa
Claim to fame: AI powered chatbot
Major Investors: Vostok New Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Mustafa Suleyman
Initially a telemedicine company, London-based Babylon Health allowed patients to get diagnosed for their illnesses through video calling. Lately, the company has been in the limelight for its pilot program and that is “an AI-powered chatbot that analyzes a patient’s condition using a database of symptoms.” Its automated triage service allows is being used by 80,000 users worldwide who text their symptoms to the app and get responses from A1 operated software engine. The service cost £5 a month and £25 for a one off consultation.
5. Arterys
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Founders: Albert Hsiao, Fabien Beckers, John Axerio-Cilies, Shreyas Vasanawala
Claim to fame: Web-based medical imaging platform
Major Investors: Emergent Medical Partners, Temasek Holdings, Asset Management
With a vision to a better world loaded with data-driven clinical care, US based healthcare startup, Arterys is all set to an intelligent and patient focused approach. With Arterys MICA, “a web-based medical imaging analytics platform powered by AI”, Arterys is one startup amongst many to look out for in 2018.
6. Insilico Medicine
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Founder: Alex Zhavoronkov
Claim to fame: World’s first personal data market place
Major Investors: A-Level Capital, Deep Knowledge Ventures
If latest news are to be believed, one of the most hyped AI based healthcare startups, Insilico Medicine has joined hands with the Bitfury Group to create. Powered by artificial intelligence, the aim behind the efforts is to empower patients with control of their own health and medical data.
According to Jack Barrette, CEO WEGO Health, “Patients will get control of their data and invest it where they see a return. It may be donating their Genome to a non-profit research project or they may be compensated for their data by pharma companies doing drug research.”
7. Recursion Pharmaceuticals
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Founded in: 2013
Founders: Blake Borgeson, Chris Gibson, Dean Li
Claim to fame: Fastest drug discovery through AI
Major Investors: Felicis Ventures, Data Collective, Lux Capital, Square 1 Bank
Homepage of the pharmacy company reads, “Drug discovery, reimagined through artificial intelligence.” The very tagline makes it to our list of the most valuable Al based healthcare startups to watch for in 2018. The company boasts of their research in drug discovery as one of the fastest in the pharma industry, transforming new medicines by leveraging the speed of automation with the intelligence of computers.
8. NeoLight
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Founded in: 2014
Founders: Chase Garrett, Deepakshayam, Sivakumar, Vivek Kopparthi
Claim to fame: Newborn healthcare
Driven towards engineering solutions for newborns related healthcare problems, NeoLight is one startup that claims to be a redesign for newborn healthcare. With the mission to reinvent newborn health care, the company designs technologies for infants with life threatening medical conditions.
9. Tempus Labs
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Founded in: 2015
Founders: Eris Lefkofsky
Claim to fame: Precision medicine
Major Investors: Revolution, New Enterprise Associates
The company is all set to take healthcare sector to an era of precision medicine. CEO Tempus Labs says, “we built a system to help physicians analyze incredible amounts of data and make real time decisions to more effectively treat patients.” Mayo Clinic + Comprehensive Cancer Center + Northwestern Medicine + Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
10. Orthly
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Founders: Patrick Y Lee
Claim to fame: Invisible aligners
We can’t be wrong in saying that Orthly has all the right elements to become the future of cosmetic dentistry with their product, invisible aligners. Orthly has made aligner treatments more affordable and convenient with the app that is A1 based, smart enough to predict your future smile after the treatment. The processes requires you to tap to request your snapshot for a 30-minute appointment with a doctor in your area, get scanned and get X-rays done and if you are a good fit, you will be able to see results in 24-hours to see your future smile.
11. Modern Fertility
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Founded in: 2017
Founders: Afton Vechery, Carly Leahy
Claim to fame: Finding key fertility hormones
Major Investor: First Round Capital
Modern Fertility changes the way we look at fertility diagnosis and hormones monitoring. With its Fertility Measurement Index, the company claims it can track almost all aspects of our living lives including your ovarian level, ovulation cycle, body functional system related to fertility. It can also track your cholesterol, genetics and body reserves. Those are power packed information.
12. DrDoctor
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Founded in: 2012
Founder: Perran Pengelly, Rinesh Amin, Tom Whicher
Claim to fame: Bridging the gap between patients and hospitals
Major Investor: Bethnal Green Ventures
Dr.Doctor’s claim to fame is giving users, especially doctors the ability to solve the problem of short-notice cancellations by patients. Instead of juggling empty appointment slots, now doctors can create an automatic queue which bring up patients in the waiting list to move in the empty slot thereby help doctors maximize their appointment time.
The app is also useful for patients because they can see live changes in appointment cancellation and communicate with hospitals to key in their appointments via SMS or online scheduling. To date the company has generated around £15,000 investment funding.
13. OurPath
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Founders: Chris Edson, Mike Gibbs
Claim to fame: Helping patients with type 2 Diabetes
Major investors: 500 Startups, Bthnal Green Ventures
OurPath is a London based startup popular for its “digital behavioral change program”. This program helps type 2 diabetes patients to maintain active yet healthy live styles by allowing them to monitor their behavioral patterns such as activities, sleep, heart and weight. This is done through a wrist band which can be connected via SIM and Bluetooth to sync with a phone, which gives live updates of user’s health’s status. NHS has already commissioned this technology for its patients.
14. CareSkore
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Founded in: 2014
Founders: Jas Grewal, Puneet Grewal
Claim to fame: Predictive Population Health Management
The Chicago based company uses predictive analytics through personalized, real-time interventions of diverse patient populations. The result: an improved clinical and financial outcome.
The promising system secured 4.3 million dollars to finance its operations. Based on combination of clinical, labs, demographic and behavioral data, its Zeus algorithm driven Careskore predicts the likelihood of a patient’s chances of re-admittance to a hospital. The data is helping the hospitals improve healthcare facilities and qualities along with helping patients to get a clearer picture about their health through CareSkore’s personalized, AI-based communication service platform.
