Mar 2, 2023 | Business
Novice laypersons with no prior experience underwent two-weeks training to acquire echo images among individuals with suspected heart failure using point-of-care ultrasound combined with AI-based image analysis, disease detection and reporting from Us2.ai. The study showed that AI-assisted point-of-care echo enables novices to perform accurate echo screening for heart failure in most cases. The results will be presented in the Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Valvular Heart Disease, Special Topics session on March 6, 2023 at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With World Congress of Cardiology.
“This study enables cardiovascular clinicians to create new care pathways for heart failure screening, diagnosis and management,” said Huang Weiting, Consultant and Associate Professor for National Heart Centre Singapore, who has led this study along with a renowned academic group from her institute. “With just two weeks’ training using Us2.ai decision support software on EchoNous KosmosTM handheld ultrasound devices, novice laypersons could perform echo and produce a complete report – this could prove vital in task-shifting from cardiologists to primary care and potentially even home-based care.”
These results were part of the PANES-HF trial, whose key findings showed, (1) two weeks of training in novice laypersons in AI-enhanced echo yielded interpretable results in 96% of patients, (2) 30% integrated discriminant improvement of AI-echo over NT-proBNP and (3) the median time required for novice echo was 11 minutes and 28 seconds per study and (4) there was good agreement between clinician and AI pathway detection of LVEF<50%, Cohen Kappa 0.742 (95% CI 0.586-0.897).
“Us2.AI’s software creates a complete and fully automated patient report1 with editable annotations, conclusions and comparisons to the established ASE/EACVI guidelines, giving users confidence in interpretation and enables customising of reports to suit different care needs,” added Weiting.
Madhav Swaminathan, Professor & Vice-Chair for Faculty Duke Anaesthesiology for Duke University School of Medicine and Consultant for Us2.ai, added, “This study shows that the concept of home hospitals is getting closer. Artificial intelligence-powered platforms such as Us2.AI can accelerate the uptake of heart failure screening in clinics by nurses and, in time, home settings. These developments in technology may decrease waiting times at hospitals thereby allowing heart failure specialists to prioritize care for more urgent cases, eased by less urgent patients being seen at clinics or self-monitored/monitored by a caregiver at home.”
Us2.AI’s automated measurements include 2-dimensional (cardiac volumes, all 4 chambers of the heart), M-mode (e.g. tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion), spectral Doppler (blood flow across all valves, both PW and CW measurements) and tissue Doppler; thus covering the vast majority of standard measurements for adult transthoracic echocardiography recommended by the ASE/EACVI. Fully automated Us2.AI measurements were shown to be completely interchangeable with expert human measurements. Furthermore, Us2.v1 measurements were completely reproducible for a given patient study, with image processing/analysis algorithm computation time of approximately two minutes per study.2
1. Measurements validated at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital:
Left ventricle: DecT, MV-A, MV-Adur, MV-E, e’ lateral, e’ septal, a’ lateral, a’ septal, s’ lateral, s’ septal, LVEDV MOD biplane, LVEF MOD biplane, LVESV MOD biplane, LVSV MOD biplane, IVSd, LVIDd, LVIDs, LVPWd, E/e’ mean
Left atrium: LAESV MOD biplane
Right ventricle: RVIDd
Right atrium: RAa
Tricuspid valve: Tr Vmax
2. Total time for interpretation of a study can depend on other factors such as the interpreting physician and preparation for uploading DICOMs for analysis.
About Us2.ai
Us2.ai uses machine learning to automate the fight against heart disease. The company’s software tools improve clinical decision-making and cardiovascular research for clinical trials using echocardiography, the safest and most common cardiac imaging modality. Us2.ai connects institutions and imaging labs around the world on a platform of ready-to-use automation tools for view classification, segmentation and federated learning across diverse, anonymous patient and disease cohorts. Us2.ai is a fast-growing startup backed by IHH Healthcare, Heal Partners, Sequoia India and EDBI.
Us2.ai
Christine Gouillard
0065 6232 7857
https://us2.ai
Contact
Feb 2, 2023 | Business
The Retreat has launched the Curtis Carlson Nelson Research Institute, a new initiative that will focus on research, thought leadership and advocacy in the areas of substance abuse and recovery. The Retreat is the Wayzata, Minn.-based continuum of care that provides education, programs, services and community for individuals and families looking to live free from addiction to alcohol and drugs.
The first project of the Curtis Carlson Nelson Research Institute, created to honor the legacy of longtime friend Curtis Carlson Nelson, will be a comprehensive, three-year research project studying outcomes for 12 Step, abstinence- and community-based recovery models. The institute also will produce thought-leadership and knowledge-sharing events, and curate research and published works on best practices in recovery.
The outcomes research will be conducted by Dr. John Kelly of the Recovery Research Institute, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. This project, now in the design phase, will include periodic surveys of The Retreat guest population after their time in-residence to assess the quality of their recovery and effectiveness of abstinence-based models of care in supporting long-term recovery.
John Curtiss, co-founder and president/CEO of The Retreat and longtime authority on substance abuse and recovery, said the Curtis Carlson Nelson Research Institute will work to advance the understanding of substance use disorders, and how effectively abstinence-based, Twelve Step recovery models can treat these disorders.
“The goal is to provide clarity and insight into the information that individuals and families struggling with alcoholism and addiction rely on to make the best decisions for themselves and loved ones in determining how to find and live in recovery,” he said.
“Our father was deeply dedicated to his own recovery, and to helping others find theirs,” said Curtis Carlson Nelson’s daughter Juliet Nelson Jackson. “My sister and I are honored that his passion for bringing scientific rigor to addiction treatment can live on through this important work.”
About The Retreat
The Retreat provides affordable, effective recovery programs and educational services grounded in the Twelve Step principles of Alcoholics Anonymous that help to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities affected by alcohol and drug dependency. These include men’s and women’s residential, family, virtual, evening and 55PLUS programs, Spiritual Direction programs, and relapse and renewal programs offered at The Retreat locations in Wayzata and St. Paul, Minn. The Retreat also operates six long-term sober living residences in St. Paul.
About The Curtis Carlson Nelson Research Institute
The Curtis Carlson Nelson Research Institute at The Retreat is a trusted source for research, information, thought leadership, and advocacy in the area of addiction and recovery.
Contact:
John Shaughnessy
The Retreat
952.476.0566
jshaughnessy@theretreat.org
Jan 13, 2023 | Business
Hitachi High-Tech Solutions Corporation, in collaboration with Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences is commencing joint research that uses Materials Informatics (MI) (the Research) to improve the efficiency of the development of small molecule drugs(1).
Hitachi High-Tech Solutions will be using the “Chemicals Informatics (CI)” MI tool not only by developing materials in the traditional chemical materials field but also in the field of drug discovery, to improve quality of care and QoL (Quality of Life) for people.
Background to the Research
Small molecule drugs are mainstream drugs in the modern world, and in recent years, expectations for their use have increased, with the development of drugs such as molecular-targeted drugs that inhibit the action of proteins, which cause cancer(2). Traditionally, the process used to develop small molecule drugs has involved researchers using their knowledge and experience to select several potential compounds from an extensive library of existing compounds and then repeating experiments to adjust the structure of a compound and clarify the mechanism by which it will work, before moving on to clinical trial. As a result, more than a decade’s worth of R&D has been conducted at a huge cost, with a very low success rate. MI is expected to solve these challenges by using information science techniques, such as AI, to improve the efficiency of compound and material development.
Overview of the Research
In the Research, Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences will use Hitachi High-Tech Solutions’ CI to study the development of new drugs to act as selective inhibitors that will block enzymes that produce active sulfur molecules. We know that the production of a large quantity of active sulfur molecules in cells shows antioxidant effects, protein activity control and the generation of energy, etc. The development of small molecule drugs that inhibit the function of these enzymes is expected to lead to the elucidation of biological phenomena and the treatment of diseases such as cancer. The Research will use AI to conduct fast, comprehensive searches for promising compounds and potential structures based on the vast amount of data on compounds recorded in the CI, and then predict how the effects and mechanism will work using molecular dynamic simulations. This will help to improve the development of small molecule drugs in terms of a more efficient process, faster time scales and higher success rates, and will contribute to the development and early commercialization of new drugs.
Through this Research, Hitachi High-Tech Group will provide a practical demonstration of how CI, which to date has helped develop various materials in the chemical materials industry, can be applied to the development of pharmaceuticals and contribute to new drug development initiatives. In so doing, we will provide optimal solutions for creating social value and contribute to improving people’s QoL (Quality of Life).
(1) Small molecule drug: A type of drug that has very small (low weight) molecules that are able to easily enter cells.
(2) Molecular-targeted drugs: A therapeutic agent designed to act only on specific molecules that cause disease.
About Hitachi High-Tech
Hitachi High-Tech, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is engaged in activities in a broad range of fields, including manufacture and sales of clinical analyzers, biotechnology products, and analytical instruments, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and analysis equipment. and providing high value-added solutions in fields of social & industrial infrastructures and mobility, etc. The company’s consolidated revenues for FY 2021 were approx. JPY 576.8 billion [USD 5.1 billion]. For further information, visit www.hitachi-hightech.com/global/
Contact:
Kurokawa, Horiuchi
DX Marketing Dept., Corporate Strategy Div.,
Hitachi High-Tech Solutions Corporation
E-mail: hsl_marketing.dg@hitachi-hightech.com
Copyright ©2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network.
Aug 2, 2022 | Business
The number of people with disabilities in Kenosha County who struggle to afford the basics is far higher than federal poverty indicates — 50% compared to 17% — according to a new report from United Way of Kenosha County and its research partner United For ALICE. This data coincides with statewide reports where data indicates an undercount of 43% compared to 16%.
In 2019, while 17% of Kenosha residents with disabilities were deemed in poverty, 32% — almost twice as many — were ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). ALICE households earn more than the Federal Poverty Level but less than what it costs to live and work in the modern economy. Combined, 50% of Kenosha’s 19 thousand residents living with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold, with income that doesn’t meet the basic costs of housing, childcare, health care, transportation and a smartphone plan.
“On the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we see that residents with physical, mental or emotional conditions who are struggling financially are not only being undercounted but underserved,” says Stephanie Hoopes, Ph.D., national director for United For ALICE. “There is still work to do as having a disability puts individuals at substantial risk for financial instability, more than many other factors. Daily, and even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic, these individuals face barriers to accessing a quality education, secure jobs and critical supports.”
The ALICE in Focus: People With Disabilities report and interactive tools reveal that during the pandemic, people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold were six times more likely to be anxious than those without disabilities.
The new research also shows that outdated federal guidelines prevent the majority of residents with disabilities who are living in financial hardship from accessing critical public assistance. According to the new report, a staggering 81% of residents with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold did not receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The program requires that recipients have income below the poverty level, be unable to work, have a “severe” impairment and have less than $2,000 in their bank accounts, $3,000 if they are a married couple.
“Income eligibility requirements for SSI haven’t been updated in nearly four decades, which is one of the big reasons why more than 234,000 residents across our state were shut out of receiving a much-needed financial lifeline,” says Carolynn Friesch, CEO at United Way of Kenosha County. “By using data that takes into account the true cost of living — we can establish critical supports that help those who need it the most.”
Other findings from ALICE in Focus: People With Disabilities, representing residents statewide, include:
· Black and Hispanic residents with disabilities — 73% and 56% respectively — disproportionately experienced financial hardship compared to 39% of white people with disabilities.
· Females with disabilities struggled more to afford the basics — 48% — compared to 38% of males with disabilities.
· Wisconsin saw 60% of residents with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold spend 35% or more of their income on their mortgage, plus utilities, taxes and insurance.
· Whether working full or part time, people with disabilities were more likely to be living paycheck to paycheck than those without disabilities: 16% of full-time workers with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold compared to 12% of full-time workers without disabilities.
Hoopes also pointed out that rates of hardship are likely even higher than could be counted as data is not available for individuals living in nursing homes, correctional facilities and other group settings.
“Unfortunately, this data isn’t a surprise, we see it in action daily,” says Chris Weyker, chief executive officer at Kenosha Achievement Center (KAC). “There has been a lot of progress related to legislation like ADA and WIOA, and we see a shift where employers are very open to hiring a diverse workforce, yet the system is often the biggest barrier to success for people with disabilities. An employee of KAC described it simply as a system of all or nothing. If you have nothing, you can access everything. If you have something, you can access nothing.”
“Our partners, including Kenosha Achievement Center, play a crucial role in helping us advocate for and address the needs of people with disabilities in our community,” continues Friesch. “Together, we can collectively build a stronger, more accessible, and more equitable community.”
More data is available through the ALICE in Focus: People With Disabilities interactive data dashboard, which provides filters for regional and local geographies, age, race, disability status, living arrangements and household work status. Visit UnitedForALICE.org/Focus-Disabilities. To explore more Kenosha County ALICE reports, visit: kenoshaunitedway.org/ALICE.
ALICE in Focus: People With Disabilities marks the second installment in the ALICE in Focus Research Series, which draws from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). Each installment in the series highlights a specific segment within the ALICE demographic. The first installment focused on children; the next report will feature veterans.
