AI has the potential to completely transform the healthcare industry and has already started to do so. However, to safely incorporate AI tools into healthcare, multiple factors must be considered. This is nothing new to Digital Diagnostics, which was built on an ethical foundation of doing AI the right way, which has since become our tagline. But what does doing AI the right way mean and why does it matter? For Digital Diagnostics, it means decades of research, setting precedents, and improving healthcare for the better, and it matters for one very significant reason: patients.
A Vision for Better Healthcare
Digital Diagnostics was founded in 2010; however, the idea behind our flagship product, LumineticsCore™ (formerly IDx-DR), has been in the making since the 1980s. Digital Diagnostics’ founder Michael D. Abramoff, MD, PhD, theorized that a computer might be able to mimic the way physicians think, which he wanted to use to help patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy (DR) get diagnosed at an earlier stage and avoid blindness.
The Pursuit of Perfection
To put his theory to the test, Dr. Abramoff relied on his background in machine learning, neuroscience, and software development and spent years creating algorithms that could mimic how clinicians make diagnoses; however, he never lost sight of what mattered most – the patient. Dr. Abramoff knew he must remain mindful of the fact that this new type of technology required special consideration regarding the safety and equity involved in trusting a computer, rather than a doctor, to make a diagnosis.
Autonomous AI and Assistive AI | What’s the difference?
After decades of research, rigorous testing for safety, efficacy, and equity, and a pivotal clinical trial, LumineticsCore (as IDx-DR) was brought to market as the first autonomous AI diagnostic platform in healthcare. Unlike assistive AI, which requires human overread to achieve a diagnosis, autonomous AI functions without human oversight of the diagnosis, enabling the LumineticsCore system to make medical decisions without physician input.
Improving Patient Outcomes
Since the development of LumineticsCore, Digital Diagnostics has continued to advocate for the safe application of technology in the medical diagnosis and treatment process. Digital Diagnostics has remained committed to becoming the world leader in developing safe, effective, and equitable AI platforms that enable disease detection at the point-of-care and, above all, improve patient outcomes. From becoming the first autonomous AI diagnostic platform in healthcare to receive FDA clearance, to being included in the American Diabetes Association’s Standard of Diabetes Care, to the publishing of Dr. Abramoff’s ethical framework for autonomous AI after decades of research, AI the right way continues to advance.
Today, Dr. Abramoff along with the 100+ employees of Digital Diagnostics, continue to do AI the right way by designing AI systems that are, clinically aligned, rigorously validated, and explainable – all in the service of creating a future where ethically founded autonomous AI systems improve access to quality healthcare for all people, leading to improved patient outcomes, which is, of course, what it’s all about.