Israel-based Zebra Medical Vision, a machine-learning imaging analytics company, has announced the launch of new platform that allows people upload and receive analysis of their medical scans from anywhere with an internet connection.
Profound, which is available to users in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific Rim, can read imaging scans such as CTs and mammograms to Zebra’s online platform. The company has a huge collection of anonymized patient data from hospitals and clinics around the world, which it has used to create this open platform that is accessible to anyone.
“We are all anxious about our health. Undergoing an imaging scan such as a CT or a mammogram is stressful for many people, and often compounded by a long wait for results, with additional follow-up tests and examinations,” Elad Benjamin, Zebra Medical Vision’s CEO and cofounder said in a statement. “Profound can help alleviate some of the anxiety involved by providing a second opinion for certain scans, or discovering key findings which were overlooked in others.”
Zebra launched in 2014 with a mission to teach computers to automatically analyze medical images and diagnose various conditions, from bone health to cardiovascular disease. The company has steadily built up an imaging database, which they are combining with deep learning techniques in order to developing algorithms to automatically detect and diagnose medical conditions.
Recently, Zebra announced two software algorithms that automatically quantifies the amount of calcified plaque in coronary arteries and detects the presence of fatty liver in a patient’s CT scan. Potentially, this could help physicians predict and even prevent major cardiovascular. The company also claims it has developed an algorithm that has the potential to improve breast cancer detection.
Zebra has established partnerships with Dell Services and has received funding from Intermountain Healthcare. In the past five months, Zebra has raised $12 million, bringing the company’s total funding to $20 million.
With Profound, the company aims to strip away barriers to information in the medical world and instead allow people to instantly receive accurate imagery analysis from the comfort of their own homes. Currently, people can use a smartphone, tablet or computer to upload scans including those for osteoporosis, compression fractures, fatty liver, coronary calcium, emphysema and aortic aneurysms, and the company is continuously working to add more image-analyzing algorithms in the future.
“Our analysis does not replace a physician or proper medical examination,” Benjamin stated. “We urge anyone who is suspicious in any way of their health condition to seek professional medical advice. But with Profound, we hope to empower users to better manage and understand their health, promoting a better discourse with their physicians, which will lead to better care for everyone.”
