Chest X-ray diagnosis to rule out normal exams using the Company’s technology could lead to an estimated £100m in cost savings to the NHS per year
LONDON, UK – behold.ai has been issued with a CE Mark Class lla certification in the UK and EU for its AI-based technology that can diagnose chest X-rays as ‘normal’. This is believed to be the world’s first such approval and has the potential to make up to £100m in cost savings for the UK NHS, the Company estimates.
The algorithm’s high level of accuracy in identifying normal chest x-rays exams means that the red dot® platform can be used to speed up the detection of those suspected with Covid-19.
behold.ai and Wellbeing Software recently announced a collaboration to fast-track the diagnosis of COVID-19 in NHS hospitals using artificial intelligence analysis of chest X-rays. A national roll-out would enable a large number of hospitals to triage suspected COVID-19 patients inside and outside of the hospital setting using chest X-rays. This is currently being used as the key diagnostic test for triage of COVID-19 patients. This solution is also useful in dealing with the backlog of radiology cases, such as suspected lung cancer patients.
The CE Mark approval, issued to the company by the British Standards Institute, relates to the full quality assurance system for behold.ai’s AI technology and to the design, development and manufacture of its red dot® platform.
“This is a great result for the company and for our team of quality leaders, AI engineers and clinicians who have worked for years to develop a system that meets the highest quality standards,” said Simon Rasalingham, Chairman and CEO of behold.ai. “There is, quite rightly, a big focus on ensuring that the relatively new technology of artificial intelligence produces solutions that have a high degree of accuracy, reliability and scalability. This first in-kind regulatory approval is a key achievement for companies in this sector, the first autonomous AI algorithm to rule out normal chest X-rays.”
“Crucially, at a time when NHS radiologists are increasingly reporting images from home, our technology is fast, safe and effective both inside and outside the hospital setting. For examinations identified by our algorithm as normal, with a high degree of confidence, our results can be automatically accepted as being as accurate as an experienced consultant radiologist, and much faster,” said Dr Thomas Naunton Morgan, Chief Medical Officer of behold.ai.
The Company estimates that being able to ‘rule out normal’ could save the NHS over £100m per annum through a reduction in outsourcing costs.
Earlier this year, behold.ai received FDA clearance for its red dot® algorithm ‘instant triage’ system in relation to the life-threatening condition of pneumothorax (collapsed lung).
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About behold.ai and radiology
behold.ai provides artificial intelligence, through its red dot® cognitive computing platform, to radiology departments. This technology augments the expertise of radiologists to enable them to report with greater clinical accuracy, faster and more safely than they could before. This revolutionary combination helps to deliver greater performance in radiology reporting at a fraction of the price of outsourced reporting.
Radiology departments play an essential role in the diagnostic process; however, a consequence of fewer radiologists and a growing demand for images has left services stretched beyond capacity across many trusts, resulting in reporting delays – in some cases impacting cancer diagnosis. These service issues have been highlighted by the Care Quality Commission and the Royal College of Radiologists.
Our solution seamlessly integrates into local trust workflows augmenting clinical practice and delivering state-of-the-art, safe, Artificial Intelligence.
The behold.ai algorithm has been developed using more than 30,000 example images, all of which have been reviewed and reported by highly experienced consultant radiology clinicians in order to shape accurate decision making. The red dot® prioritisation platform is capable of sorting images into normal and abnormal categories in less than 30 seconds post image acquisition.
About behold.ai and quality
Apart from its CE mark Class IIa certification, behold.ai has also received FDA clearance for its red dot® algorithm ‘instant triage’ system in relation to the life-threatening condition of pneumothorax (collapsed lung).
In June 2019 the Company was awarded ISO 13485 QMS certification for an AI medical device – the ‘gold standard’ of quality certification.