As machine learning gains momentum in healthcare, Google is taking note.
That’s where its Launchpad Studio comes in. The acceleration program teams AI-focused startups with experts from Silicon Valley and Google. Earlier this week, it unveiled its first batch of companies.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Startups that go through the six-month program strive to complete a machine learning project. Throughout the duration of that time, they receive Google Cloud credits, access to datasets, training at Google headquarters and support after the project is finished.
Here are the startups in the initial class.
Augmedix, based in San Francisco, seeks to give physicians more time to focus on patient care. Providers can wear Google Glass and utilize a “remote scribe” application from Augmedix. Instead of taking notes themselves, Augmedix’s platform and medical specialists do the record keeping for them.
The company raised $16 million in 2015 and $17 million in 2016. It’s currently working with systems such as Dignity Health and Sutter Health, among others.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
BrainQ is also part of Launchpad Studio’s inaugural batch. Headquartered in Jerusalem, its website and Facebook and LinkedIn pages are fairly sparse. The company is creating AI-powered technologies geared at helping with the treatment and recovery of patients with neurological disorders.
Based in Antwerp, Belgium, Byteflies develops wearables. Its Sensor Dot device is the size of a quarter and measures various vital signs, including respiration, motion, electrodermal activity and more. The wearables can then be used to accelerate clinical trials, and valuable data can give providers additional insight.
San Francisco-based Cytovale has a microfluidic platform that enables faster analysis of cells. The startup’s approach enables researchers to examine 2,000 cells per second. Initially, Cytovale is using this approach for early diagnosis of sepsis in hospital emergency department patients.
Although Launchpad Studio is currently focused on the healthcare and biotech spaces, it plans to eventually expand its approach and work with AI startups in other industries as well.
Photo: Olivier Le Moal, Getty Images
