Gene Saragnese, CEO MaxQ AI
Is Artificial Intelligence just a fad – or is it here to stay? That’s the question Gene Saragnese, CEO of MaxQ AI, posed to attendees during a discussion in the Machine Learning Showcase on Monday afternoon.
His answer? AI is with us for the long haul, with the opportunity to help us address some of the toughest medical challenges. “AI is here to stay. It's already having a profound effect on everything we do,” he said.
Saragnese proposed that, as a global society, we can’t afford to ask the wrong questions when evaluating AI solutions for healthcare. For example, globally in 2013 there were 6.5 million stroke deaths, making stroke the second-leading cause of death. On average, every 40 seconds, someone in the US has a stroke. It’s forecasted that by 2030, strokes will cause 3.4 million deaths for a total cost of $240 billion.
According to a 2016 Johns Hopkins study, medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States, driving upwards of 250,000 deaths each year. Despite advancements in medicine, patient care and medical imaging, this rate has remained unchanged for 30 years.
Clearly, said Saragnese, radiologists need solutions and tools that go beyond data and analysis. They need technology that provides answers while seamlessly integrating into their current workflow, PACS systems, medical imaging hardware and healthcare clouds.
But how do radiologists evaluate an AI platform? Saragnese proposes a new set of probing questions that dig deeper to reveal the true value of assessing AI platforms. “There's a lot of confusion out there, so these are they types of real questions you should be asking me and my competitors,” he said.
Instead of asking: Does the application solve an unmet clinical problem? Does it work? How do I really know?
Ask this instead:
Instead of asking: Is it truly integrated in my workflow? How many steps?
Ask this instead:
Instead of asking: Does it create an economic return? Is there a way to pay for it?
Ask this instead:
Instead of asking: Can I trust the company to be there in six months?
Ask this instead:
If we ask the right questions, we can partner with the right AI vendor who can deliver actionable knowledge that will help radiologists make confident decisions. “Today we read images. Tomorrow, we should be interpreting and diagnosing patients,” Saragnese said. “To me, that is the power of the AI in healthcare, and I think it's a tremendous opportunity.”
The Real Questions to Ask an AI Platform Vendor. Appl Radiol.