IT vendors specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning were quick to make news at HIMSS18. The vendors include Zebra Medical Vision, Orbita, Pieces Technologies and NTT DATA Services.

Zebra Medical Vision unveiled at HIMSS18 its newest algorithm to be included in its growing Deep Learning Imaging Analytics platform. The algorithm, capable of detecting intracranial hemorrhages – or brain bleeds of different kinds – is the latest addition as part of its “All-In-One” AI1 business model, among them algorithms that automatically detect low bone mineral density, vertebral fractures, fatty liver, coronary artery calcium, emphysema and more.

The timely detection of brain bleeds is critical. Research has shown that such bleeds are missed anywhere between 12 percent and 51 percent of the time, and nearly 6 million people die every year of brain bleed-related conditions. Such wide variability results in a significantly reduced quality of patient care.

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Zebra Medical’s algorithm can identify such bleeds and provide a safety net for physicians in acute care settings, the company said.

“This new algorithm is an important addition to Zebra’s Analytics Engine,” said Mike Phillips, MD, a neuro-radiologist and chief of clinical and outreach services at Intermountain Healthcare, a Zebra Medical client. “The ability to alert radiologists and surgeons to the presence of brain bleeds is critical, and will bring significant benefits in patient care to healthcare organizations.”

On another AI front, Orbita announced major enhancements to its Orbita Voice platform for creating healthcare applications using voice assistive and conversational AI technology such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, chatbots and others.

The latest enhancements to Orbita Voice build on the omnichannel, “create once, publish to all” capabilities of the platform by providing new, pre-built web and mobile app templates to accelerate development, new analytics tools for measuring user engagement across multiple voice and chat bot interfaces, seamless switching between user interface modes, integrated search features and templates to make healthcare content more accessible through voice and chat bot apps, and security enhancements that expand use of voice assistive technology for applications that include sensitive but useful user data including Protected Health Information regulated under HIPAA, the company said.

Also, Pieces Technologies, a clinical artificial intelligence company, and NTT DATA Services, a global technology services vendor, announced at HIMSS18 the next step in their partnership by launching a joint readmissions system.

The system will combine the Pieces Decision Sciences platform with NTT DATA’s clinical transformation services to help providers reduce readmissions and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, the companies said.

“Reducing readmissions and avoidable hospitalizations can have an immediate, positive impact to a hospital’s bottom line,” said Mary Piepenbrink, senior vice president of sales and client success for Pieces Technologies. “We have seen multidisciplinary teams try to tackle readmissions, but many still lack the actionable insight needed for noticeable results.”

With the Pieces DS platform, the readmissions system compiles a more comprehensive predictive risk score that includes not only the traditional medical and physical attributes but also the consideration of social determinants of health. The risk score is based on real-time data and presented within 24 hours of a patient being admitted, in enough time for the care team to take appropriate clinical interventions needed to reduce the risk of readmission, the companies said.

NTT DATA Services complements the Pieces AI technology by providing clinical transformation services aimed at process re-design and clinical interventions, the companies said. The combination aligns people, process and technology to achieve sustainable results, they added.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com