The Mayo Clinic launched its artificial intelligence startup program this week with an initial cohort of four participating companies.

The 20-week program, known as Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate, is aimed at giving early-stage health tech AI startups a boost, with additional expert assistance from Google and Epic.  

"Health tech startups are critical contributors to the cycle of innovation," said Dr. John Halamka, president of Mayo Clinic Platform, in a statement. "We are excited to collaborate with these innovators to solve some of the most complex problems in medicine today."  

WHY IT MATTERS  

The program connects participating organizations with Mayo Clinic regulatory, clinical, technology and business experts, with a focus on AI model validation and clinical readiness.   

Google and Epic thought leaders will also provide workshops. The initial cohort, which will begin this summer, comprises four competitively chosen startups:  

• cliexa, which aims to draw actionable insights from patient-centered data for people with cardiovascular conditions and multiple chronic diseases.
• Quadrant Health, which will analyze data from electronic health records and messages to predict patient harm.
• ScienceIO, which has a goal of streamlining care and reducing physician administrative burden through organizational data tools.
• Seer Medical, which says it will use data to refine and test its home-based epilepsy diagnostics and management models, along with spotting digital biomarkers to predict seizures.

Through the program, participants will delineate AI model requirements with the help of data science experts; check for fairness and bias in their models; access de-identified Mayo Clinic patient data in a secure environment; conduct model validation with guidance from data science experts; and plan clinical validation studies.

They'll also learn about Food and Drug Administration clearance pathways and have the chance to potentially partner with the Mayo Clinic Platform.

"The program is integral to our Mayo Clinic Platform mission to enable new knowledge, new solutions and new technologies that improve patients' lives worldwide," said Eric Harnisch, vice president of Partner Programs for Mayo Clinic Platform, in a statement.  

The waiting list is currently open for the second cohort.  

THE LARGER TREND

The Mayo Clinic has made several pushes toward AI-driven innovation in recent years, as in its ongoing 10-year partnership with Google and the introduction of its Clinical Data Analytics Platform in 2020.

In April 2021, it launched a new platform connecting devices to AI resources helping providers with clinical decision support.  

Later that year, it teamed up with Duke, UC Berkeley and others to create a Health AI Partnership aimed at enabling safer, more effective software deployments.

ON THE RECORD  

"We are helping participants take a crucial step in their growth trajectory by providing startups with a disciplined focus on model validation and clinical readiness to show product value," said Harnisch in a statement.

Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Twitter: @kjercich
Email: kjercich@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.