Israeli MedTech powerhouse Zebra Medical Vision and Scottish digital transformation consultancy Storm ID announced that they won a UK-Israel research and development competition by proposing a potential revolutionary machine learning-driven model for early detection and prevention of osteoporosis.
Early detection can save millions in hospital expenses
The project is co-funded in part by the UK and Israel under the EUREKA framework to foster industrial research collaboration between the UK and Israel. EUREKA is an intergovernmental initiative aimed at supporting R&D and innovation projects across all sectors. By winning the competition, EUREKA will provide Zebra with "a few million dollars" to achieve early detection POC.
Osteoporosis is a major public health concern that continues to grow in worldwide importance. Fragility fractures, defined as insufficiency fractures not related to high-impact trauma, are the major complication of this underdiagnosed and undertreated condition. Major osteoporotic fractures result in substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly for hip fractures, which is a major concern for an aging population.
Paul McGinness, Director at Storm ID said: “We’re aiming to combine the powerful data exchange capabilities of our own Lenus Health Platform with the machine learning models developed by Zebra Medical Vision to transform osteoporosis screening. By predicting ahead of time the potential risk of bone fracture, we can intervene earlier to treat and manage the risk, which is better for the patient and for the health system.”
Israeli startup Zebra Medical develops AI-powered imaging analysis solutions, and while working with Storm ID are developing a preventative care service to identify people at risk of osteoporosis. Using ML/AI methodologies, the service will analyze medical imaging data and patient records to help clinical teams identify and treat people with risk of fractures before they happen.
Through this multinational partnership an international, multidisciplinary team of clinicians, data scientists and AI wizards will collaborate over a period of 2 years, running clinical trials, implementing the service in both NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Assuta Medical Centers, aiming to improve patient care and reduce healthcare cost burdens.
Ohad Arazi, CEO at Zebra Medical Vision said: “We’re honored to enhance our collaboration with the NHS and Assuta Medical hospital through this incredible initiative, allowing Zebra Med’s solutions to even more widely spread in the UK and Israeli healthcare facilities to bring earlier identification and treatment of patients at risk of a break, which in turn will help healthcare payers and providers.”
David Lowe, Emergency Consultant, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Clinical Lead, West of Scotland Innovation Hub, said: “We are pleased to partner on the development of this innovative new service for osteoporosis patients through the expertise of the West of Scotland Innovation Hub. This is another example of a successful collaboration between industry and the NHS to move forward innovative healthcare. Our clinical teams at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will support the aim of this project to ultimately identify and treat patients with increased risk of bone breakage before it happens.”
