Mayo Clinic's new investment in Numares will accelerate the delivery of tests addressing kidney function and cardiac risk that are expected to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) approval early next year, according to the announcement.

WHY IT MATTERS

Using algorithms to analyze multiple biomarkers to measure disease progression in patients can help physicians improve care for those with chronic diseases, including kidney and cardiovascular conditions. 

Over nearly two decades, the Woodlands, Texas, and Regensburg, Germany-based company has developed diagnostic tests applying artificial intelligence and advanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

The Numares' tools waiting on FDA approval – Axinon GFR(NMR), which assesses kidney function, and Axinon Lipofit, which measures cardiac risk – may allow for early intervention to slow disease progression, according to the announcement.

The convertible equity investment by Mayo Clinic also supports efforts to develop AI-driven diagnostic testing for other chronic conditions, like liver and neurologic diseases. 

"This significant expansion of our long-standing collaboration with Mayo Clinic has brought us one step closer to our shared goal of improving patient care," Winton Gibbons, Numares CEO, said in the announcement.

"The new investment accelerates our development pipeline and drives research collaborations that fulfill critical unmet medical needs with new clinical utility."

THE LARGER TREND

Though there has been skepticism, physicians have long reported enthusiasm for the ability of AI to improve the quality of care and workflow efficiencies. 

A 2019 survey published by Nature found that most respondents envisioned advanced diagnostics as enhancing decision support, with 66% responding that such tests would dramatically increase diagnostic efficiency.

Concern that AI would replace clinicians was relatively low and appears to have remained a non-issue in practice with AI deployments accelerating in healthcare. 

Today, machine learning applications are reducing administrative burdens on clinicians, enhancing the ability to analyze patient data in electronic health records and fueling precision medicine.

"AI has been proven for many use cases and is able to assist clinicians in making critical patient-care decisions," Sashi Padarthy, assistant vice president at Cognizant Healthcare Consulting, told Healthcare IT News last year. 

"AI is not replacing the clinician, nor is it making the decision for the clinician. AI is generating insights for clinicians from data sources traditionally unavailable to a provider at the point of care," he said.

ON THE RECORD

"The Mayo Clinic mission has always been that the needs of the patient come first," said Dr. Allan Jaffe, cardiologist and former chair of Mayo Clinic’s division of clinical core laboratory services in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology. 

"The expanded research collaboration and financial investment in Numares will help us further understand this new and potentially disruptive test modality, develop new diagnostic tests, and enable Mayo Clinic to better serve our patients and physicians."

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.