New funding from Congress’s Accelerated Procurement and Deployment of Innovative Technologies initiative will enable the Defense Department’s Rapid Assessment of Threat Exposure project with additional investment. , which builds on the project’s success in demonstrating that using artificial intelligence to leverage data from wearables can predict COVID-19 and other infections 2.3 days before testing diagnose.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
Developed in partnership with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the DoD trained, tested, and validated a prediction algorithm, according to the Defense Innovation Unit announcement.
With data from more than 11,000 individuals tracked during the COVID pandemic, the DoD could release a commercial wearable “to non-invasively monitor military health and provide early warning of possible transmission.” infected before it spreads,” said Jeff Schneider, RATE’s program director, in a statement.
The Defense Innovation Unit will add 4,500 pieces of equipment to its existing research and will distribute them to new groups, including Air Combat Command First Sergeants as part of the Plan. ACC’s new Diamond Care Initiative to bring them better health and fitness.
Chief Sgt. Sgt. Christopher Gradel, Air Combat Command.
“Technology has finally created a product that enhances overall health and wellness for a community of first-time sergeants who repeatedly prioritize their own people before their own well-being.”
According to an email from a Philips representative, this announcement marks the first commercial use of the technology after two years of field trials, the publication of a peer-reviewed clinical study, and the RATE classification of FDA as a healthcare device.
Philips is focused on algorithm development and will accelerate commercialization and scaling.
The DIU says that while the aim is for technology to be device agnostic, RATE has released Garmin watches and Oura rings. The Philips-DIU team aims to add three more wearables in the next phase of development.
Navin Natoewal, head of integrated technology solutions at Philips, explains: “Because our algorithm is device agnostic, we can use biomarker data from any commercially available wearable devices”.
“We then run those markers against our clinical data sets in the cloud to generate a Health RATE score. This score has been shown to be indicative of the onset of cases. We can make this available through a licensing model to anyone who wants to add this capability to their device or as a standalone service.”
According to the DIU, the additional funding of APFIT creates a bridge that allows the DoD to leverage this emerging technology towards a record program.
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
The Philips-DIU team started using biometric data from wearable devices in June 2020 to track COVID infections and prevent the spread among service members. Initially, machine learning on 165 biomarkers helps detect corona virus early.
“This is an extremely useful tool for commanders to quickly isolate the COVID outbreak from rapidly spreading within their units,” said Lt Col. Jeffrey “Mach” Schneider, DIU program director. then.
The team envisions the technology could one day monitor patients in the hospital for infections before clinical symptoms appear, and be retrained to detect other diseases early.
Others are also working with AI to assess health, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.
Last month, the FDA removed TytoCare’s Tyto Insights for Wheeze Detection, which uses algorithms that analyze lung sounds to help clinicians remotely diagnose respiratory conditions, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded 1 million dollars for Noze. The Canadian startup is working to further develop breath analyzer technology that detects biomarkers in breath for rapid screening and diagnosis of infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.
“Breath-based diagnostics will be a game changer for access to healthcare and the ability to launch a mobile device and make it available at scale worldwide. Our world can be a powerful new tool to combat the spread of malaria and tuberculosis, among many other diseases,” said Karim Aly, CEO of Noze, in a statement. .
ON PROFILE
“First sergeants serve as the navel of all organizations in the United States Air Force, and this technology can improve their lives and the lives of the pilots they serve.” , said US Air Force Major Michael Vernale, director of the US Air Force’s talent and management division. review at Fort Meade, Maryland, in the grant announcement.
“Not only do they get AI that’s been through years of field testing and peer-reviewed research, it’s a cost-effective way to add technology, while we continue to expand our dataset.” data and research working with leading academics. institutions,” added Natoewal.
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
