See-Mode Technologies, a MedTech start-up based in Singapore and Australia has announced in December 2019 that it has achieved regulatory approval for its debut product.
The artificial intelligence (AI) software is used for automated analysis of vascular ultrasound, it is able to provide reporting of vascular ultrasound scans, one of the most common scans used for patients with cardiovascular diseases.
See-Mode’s first product, AVA (Augmented Vascular Analysis), has been approved as a Class B medical device by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA). See-Mode’s AVA uses deep learning, text recognition, and signal processing technologies and is intended to be used as an assistant to the clinician interpreting and reporting vascular ultrasound studies, which are commonly reported through a manual, time-consuming, and error-prone process.
To report a vascular ultrasound scan, a clinician, usually a sonographer or radiologist, has to manually review and analyse 50 to 150 individual images for each patient, consisting of various types of ultrasound images and doppler waveforms. The end result is a hand-written, paper-based template filled with drawings, numbers, and measurements, which can take as long as 20 minutes per patient for severe cases.
“During our collaboration with different hospitals, we have observed cases where the mistakes in hand-written ultrasound worksheets could potentially result in the wrong treatment plan for a patient, for example, surgery on a wrong vessel. Given that these reports are produced by clinicians who acquire and review hundreds of images per day, human error is inevitable. Our intention with AVA is to give an assistive tool to clinicians to improve efficiency and minimise potential errors without making any changes to their established clinical workflow,.” said Dr Sadaf Monajemi, co-founder of See-Mode Technologies.
The product uses multiple deep learning models for image analysis, as well as text recognition and signal processing algorithms. It will then put together a computer-generated report in less than one minute by a single click. After the report is handed over to the clinician, they are able to review it make adjustments before confirming the final report. Through this, See-Mode’s AI tool is able to complement the clinical workflow and increase overall productivity, accuracy and improve patient outcomes.
See-Mode announced its seed funding round of US$1M in early 2019, with participation from SGInnovate and Cocoon Capital in Singapore, and Blackbird Ventures in Australia.
“At SGInnovate, we firmly believe Artificial Intelligence, as a group of technologies will be vital in helping medical professionals perform their jobs more effectively and efficiently. Receiving this regulatory approval is a significant milestone for See-Mode. As one of the earliest investors in See-Mode, we are proud to know doctors and clinicians will be able to improve patient care using the AI systems being built by the team,” said Steve Leonard, Founding CEO, SGInnovate. [APBN]