DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MedCognetics, Inc., founded in early 2019, has developed an unbiased advanced imaging algorithm that leverages AI and Machine Learning (ML) to detect the earliest manifestations of cancer in all ethnicities, today announced it has received a $750,000 grant from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity, or AIM-AHEAD program. The company is a subaward from the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC) at Fort Worth, Texas.
“One of the main reasons for establishing the AIM-AHEAD grant program is to address health inequities and disparities,” said Dr. Jamboor Vishwanatha, Regents Professor at the University of North Texas, Health Science Center at Fort Worth, TX and, the principal investigator of the AIM-AHEAD coordinating center. “We selected MedCognetics as one of our grant recipients because of its focus on developing technology aimed at addressing the data bias of historically ignored populations, especially regarding breast health and imaging. We are encouraged by the company’s initial success and look forward to collaborating towards the mutual goal of improved healthcare, prevention, diagnoses and overall better outcomes.”
MedCognetics was founded on research that originated from the Quality of Life Technology Laboratory at The University of Texas at Dallas. Its partnership with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) provided the clinical data that assisted in the validation of its unbiased AI algorithm.
The AIM-AHEAD program was created to close the gaps in the AI/ML field, which currently lacks diversity in its researchers and in data, including electronic health records (EHRs). These gaps pose a risk of creating and continuing harmful biases in how AI/ML is used, how algorithms are developed and trained, and how findings are interpreted. This objective dovetails well with the company’s mission to leverage technology to improve efficiencies and reliability in the field of medical imaging. In the case of mammograms, its product reduces the amount of time a radiologist needs to review a case, by 30 to 50 percent, which directly translates into more saved lives. This is especially vital in underserved communities and areas of the world where medicine and diagnostic imaging are scarce.
“This is a prestigious honor and the recognition validates MedCognetics’ mission to provide unbiased AI-enabled healthcare services around the world,” said Debasish Nag, chief executive officer, MedCognetics, Inc. “The future of AI in healthcare is providing unbiased services and improving cost and efficiencies in medical facilities. We are developing the technology that will unequivocally reduce burnout in the radiology community and in turn, improve patient outcomes across diverse populations. This NIH grant will play an important role in future product development as well as helping us further expand our global market penetration.”
Useful Links:
MedCognetics: www.medcognetics.com
NIH - https://www.nih.gov/
AIM-AHEAD: https://datascience.nih.gov/artificial-intelligence/aim-ahead
Quality of Life Technology Laboratory at UT Dallas: https://ecs.utdallas.edu/research/researchlabs/QoLT/index.html
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/
About MedCognetics, Inc.
MedCognetics provides an advanced AI software platform which integrates into radiology workflow. In addition, the AI algorithm is trained on a diverse global patient dataset to mitigate data biasing. The future of AI in healthcare is unbiased services and MedCognetics is at the forefront of creating a more predictable medical outcome and ultimately saving lives. Founded in 2019, the company is based in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit our website at www.medcognetics.com.
