The Siemens Healthineers-Computational Data Sciences Collaborative Laboratory for AI in Precision Medicine was recently inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore. This partnership between Siemens Healthineers and IISc signifies a significant step forward in healthcare innovation. The lab's focus is on developing open-source AI tools for neuroimaging analysis, aiming to revolutionize precision medicine in neurological diseases.
In an exclusive interview with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Dileep Mangsuli, Executive Director and Head of Development Center at Siemens Healthineers, sheds light on this collaborative effort. The interview explores Siemens Healthineers' commitment to AI in precision medicine, their CSR initiatives, and the joint framework with IISc to address clinical challenges and improve patient outcomes. It delves into the vision and potential impact of this partnership on the future of healthcare.
Can AI revolutionize how we diagnose and treat neurological diseases? Read the full interview to learn more.
Q&A
Q. Can you outline Siemens Healthineers' long-term commitment to leveraging AI in precision medicine, particularly in the development of AI tools for neuroimaging, and how this aligns with the company's broader strategic goals?
A. The burden of chronic diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide, with chronic disease deaths projected to rise from 41 million in 2020 to 52 million by 2030.
We are committed to help fight the world’s most threatening diseases: cancer, cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases. Our customers' major pain points regarding Stroke Pathways include the need for actionable and transparent stroke-related data and information, as well as demands for rapid neuro-rehabilitation and remote monitoring. The economic burden associated with stroke, along with the significant reliance on trained stroke emergency experts, underscores the importance of ensuring rapid and accurate stroke diagnosis without disparities in regions lacking specialists. Early diagnosis is crucial for other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as it allows for the delay of onset.
The Computational Data Science (CDS) laboratory at IISc will develop open-source AI-based tools to precisely automate the segmentation of pathological findings in neuroimaging data. They will focus on accurately diagnosing neurological diseases and analyzing their clinical impact at a population level.
Q. What are the details of Siemens Healthineers' CSR initiatives, particularly in relation to the establishment of the collaborative laboratory with IISc?
A. Our CSR initiatives are founded on the principle of enhancing lives and fostering more just and equitable communities. We concentrate on several key areas such as preventive healthcare, to enhance access to healthcare services. Additionally, we focus on skill-building for unemployable youth, providing sustainable livelihoods in the health sector. We are contributing to building and equipping schools in remote areas, ensuring access to quality education for all children.
We have collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and have launched the Computational Data Science (CDS) collaborative AI laboratory at IISc. The laboratory, established with the support of our Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. The focus will be on accurately diagnosing neurological diseases and analyzing their clinical impact at a population level.
The lab will engage 20 M.Tech./Ph.D. students over 5 years. We are humbled that through this CSR initiative, we can give back to society as well. This collaborative laboratory will prioritize close collaboration with neurologists, radiologists, and medical professionals. The aim is to seamlessly integrate the computational models developed into their routine clinical workflows.
Q. How will the laboratory address potential biases in AI algorithms, ensuring fair and equitable application of these tools for diverse populations?
A. AI, being a data-driven technology, presents numerous ethical concerns, including algorithmic transparency, clarity on culpability, accountability, oversight, bias, and discrimination. Bias in data selection is crucial in medical AI compared to other applications like ChatGPT. Quality annotation and preparation are vital for effective learning.
The AI research laboratory will address potential biases in algorithms through rigorous testing, diverse dataset curation, and continuous evaluation. By integrating fairness and equity principles into algorithm development, the lab will strive to mitigate biases across diverse populations. Collaborations with interdisciplinary experts and ongoing monitoring will ensure that AI tools uphold ethical standards and inclusivity. We have experts in fields such as oncology, neurovascular, and cardiovascular medicine to help us identify gaps in patient management. These skilled professionals comprehend both the engineering and outcome aspects, ensuring the purpose aligns with the task and mitigating any biases.
Q.Can you elaborate on the collaborative framework between Siemens Healthineers and IISc, including the roles of each partner, and how this collaboration aims to address clinical challenges in neuroimaging and improve patient outcomes?
A. When faced with challenges such as access to healthcare, which are inherently complex, it is imperative for organizations with similar DNA and ethos to come together to find solutions that might otherwise remain elusive. By leveraging IISc's academic expertise and our strong imaging core, smart solutions generated through this collaboration will help expand our capabilities in neurovascular care, ultimately saving lives through precise diagnosis and evidence-based therapies. Our collaboration with IISc will create new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations between engineers, scientists, and medical professionals to pave the way for a better future by ensuring enhanced healthcare research. This is a CSR initiative aimed at facilitating research and developing AI applications that can create a societal impact.
Q.Can you elaborate on the "six M.Tech fellowships for women" initiative? How will it specifically contribute to enhancing female representation and leadership in AI for healthcare?
A. The laboratory has been set up with the backing of our Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, which comprises six M.Tech fellowships for women, designed to bolster female participation in Artificial Intelligence. Over the course of five years, we will engage 20 M.Tech./Ph.D. students at this facility, including six M.Tech fellowships for women spanning a three-year period. Prof. Vaanathi Sundaresan will be leading the lab at IISc's Department of Computational and Data Sciences. Prof. Vaanathi's leadership not only will provide an excellent example for aspiring female researchers but also will enable candidates to build tools and diagnostics for the future. Initiatives like this are crucial for fostering diversity and inclusivity in scientific research, especially in fields where female representation has historically been lower. The laboratory's extensive infrastructure provides an optimal environment for developing AI algorithms. Additionally, it extends seed grants to researchers, supporting their pursuits in AI and medical imaging research to advance neurovascular care.
Q. While open-source tools are commendable, how will the sustainability of this project be ensured beyond the initial funding period? What are the plans for long-term maintenance and development of these tools?
A. Continuing this collaboration, our objective is to scale the innovations stemming from the collaborative lab. Such partnerships will contribute to realizing our overarching vision for Digital Twin, Precision Medicine, and Access to Care. This initiative is part of our CSR efforts aimed at facilitating research and developing AI applications that can generate societal impact. Once these innovations attain a certain level of maturity, including clinical validation, we will assess the best approach to scale them.
Q. How will the collaboration address the potential ethical concerns surrounding AI in healthcare, such as data privacy and patient consent?
A. We uphold stringent data privacy regulations to securely safeguard patient information. Before utilization in research projects, data undergoes meticulous anonymization to eliminate any personally identifiable details, ensuring the preservation of patient privacy. We adhere to rigorous global protection standards, prioritizing data breach prevention, continuous monitoring, and swift incident response in our data protection management systems. We strictly follow fundamental legal principles outlined in the GDPR, such as permissible and lawful data processing, purpose limitation, the "need to know" principle, as well as data minimization and economy, across all global operations.
Q. What are the key challenges you anticipate in translating laboratory insights into intelligent solutions for neuroscientific progress, and how does Siemens Healthineers plan to address these challenges?
A. AI-powered tools are transforming the analysis of medical images. These tools utilize deep learning algorithms to automatically identify and segment pathological findings in the brain, including tumors, strokes, and lesions. Such advancements can greatly enhance workflow efficiency and diagnostic accuracy for radiologists and neurologists. The laboratory aims to enhance the robustness of deep-learning tools by addressing practical challenges in AI-based tool development and implementation. The collaboration between Siemens Healthineers and IISc signifies a milestone in Indian digital health, aimed at combating the world's most dangerous neurovascular disorders and pioneering healthcare discoveries, with a particular focus on strokes.
Q. Can you share any specific examples of ongoing research projects or potential applications of AI tools developed within this laboratory?
A. The ongoing research endeavors to identify anomalies across various imaging modalities and accurately classify and quantify them. Following the launch, the Computational Data Science (CDS) collaborative laboratory will focus on developing open-source AI tools aimed at automating the precise segmentation of pathological findings in neuroimaging data. The primary objective is to facilitate accurate diagnosis of neurological disorders and assess their clinical significance at a broader population level. It's important to note that the research is in its early stages, and it will take time to realize its full findings and impact.
Q. What steps are being taken to bridge the gap between AI research and clinical practice? How will healthcare professionals be trained and equipped to effectively utilize these AI tools in their workflows?
A. Our commitment extends to cultivating expertise in healthcare, AI, and related domains, transforming big data into precision medicine, and developing scalable AI solutions for diagnostics and therapies. At Siemens Healthineers, we are not only developing AI and numerous algorithms, but we also have teams dedicated to training these AI models. Data preparation is a crucial aspect of this process, with our radiologists meticulously identifying issues in images to facilitate training. The developed algorithms are deployed across different centers, and our teams ensure their integration into radiologists' workflows. We focus on streamlining workflows to benefit doctors, conducting trials in various hospitals to gauge effectiveness.
Q. Beyond neuroimaging data, are there plans to expand the scope of this laboratory to utilize AI for precision medicine in other areas like oncology or cardiology?
A. Research in AI is a strategic focus for us, particularly in applications related to cardiology, neurology, and oncology. The current focus of the CDS collaborative laboratory is to develop open-source AI-based tools to precisely automate the segmentation of pathological findings in neuroimaging data, with a focus on accurately diagnosing neurological diseases and analyzing their clinical impact at a population level.
AI plays a crucial role in digitizing healthcare, helping to enhance care, advance precision medicine, and improve the patient experience. We have developed a portfolio of more than 84 AI-powered solutions that not only streamline tasks but also automate complex diagnostics, tailored to individual patient needs.
AI applications are automating clinical tasks, analyzing extensive data, and uncovering hidden patterns. This allows doctors to make more accurate diagnoses and provide targeted treatments based on evidence-based medicine. In simpler terms, this groundbreaking technology in medicine has the potential to save lives. For instance, Siemens Healthineers is presently researching tumor markers to build computer models that will allow lab equipment to evaluate and diagnose cancer more individually, precisely, and quickly, enhancing recovery possibilities.
Q. Considering India is one of the four global innovation hubs for Siemens Healthineers, how does the company plan to further catalyze interdisciplinary research and innovation in the healthcare sector in the country?
A. We are committed to catalyzing interdisciplinary research and innovation within India's healthcare sector and have strategically forged numerous collaborative partnerships with esteemed institutions and organizations across the country. These collaborations serve as pivotal platforms for fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas, expertise, and resources aimed at driving transformative advancements in healthcare technology and delivery.
We collaborate with academic institutions and governmental bodies to drive innovation and tackle pressing healthcare issues. In collaboration with the nasscom Center of Excellence, we have launched a Startup Accelerator Program, demonstrating the company's dedication to fostering the growing Indian startup ecosystem. This joint effort focuses on fostering innovation to propel healthcare forward in India. Recently, we entered into a Master Research Collaboration (MRA) with Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) to further solidify our future collaboration efforts. SAMEER, India's premier R&D Institute of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), signed a memorandum of understanding with Siemens Healthineers, contributing to the development of new, improved, and innovative technologies for advancing healthcare and diagnostic access in India. These partnerships will play a pivotal role in achieving our broader vision for digital twin, precision medicine, and enhanced access to care.
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