Telerad Group, NIMHANS sign MoU for AI-enhanced radiology diagnostics to improve diagnosis of stroke, head trauma

Speaking with The Indian Express, Dr Arjun Kalyanpur, Founder CEO and Chief Radiologist, Telerad Group, said, “Stroke and head injury are both serious public health issues in the Indian setting and both result in significant loss of life as well as chronic disability. In both conditions, the early detection of bleeding within the brain using CT scanning is an important determinant of the eventual outcome. There is currently a nationwide (and global) shortage of radiologists for reporting of scans and Artificial Intelligence has shown the potential to deliver value in this scenario.”

“The purpose of the MoU between Telerad Group and NIMHANS is to evaluate the role of Artificial Intelligence in the imaging detection of intracranial haemorrhage (bleeding within the brain) and related pathology in stroke and head injury, as a proof of concept for future deployment of AI technology into clinical workflow and protocols. The purpose is also to deploy an Artificial Intelligence system at NIMHANS for the same and to assess the benefits of AI deployment from the perspective of quality and timeliness of reporting in the emergency setting. Another major purpose is to publish articles/ whitepapers based on the observed outcomes and the utility of such algorithms,” he elaborated.

Meanwhile, Telerad in a statement said, “As part of the agreement, Telerad Tech will deploy NeuralAssist – a proprietary deep-learning based software device that uses the power of AI to analyse head CT scans. The stand-alone cloud-based software system consists of an on premise module and a cloud module. NeuralAssist is integrated into RADSpa, a next generation AI-enabled radiology workflow platform with in-built Radiology Information System-picture archiving information system (RIS-PACS), which is scalable and designed to meet the requirements of Teleradiology. Both NeuralAssist and RadSpa are proudly Made in India.”

Kalyanpur further added that the Telerad Group entities will be engaged in this MOU. “TeleradTech, the technology division of the Telerad Group, will provide the AI algorithm Neural Assist free of charge to NIMHANS. Image Core Lab, the research division of the Telerad Group, will provide the research support. The Telerad Foundation which is the not-for-profit social enterprise of the Telerad Group will provide the financial support and the IT infrastructure for the project. This MOU was first envisioned during a meeting at NIMHANS held between the Head of Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, NIMHANS,” he said.

Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director of NIMHANS said, “NIMHANS, as an institution, is continuously strengthening its capacity to meet the increasing demand for diagnosing stroke and head injuries. We are pleased to announce the implementation of Telerad Group’s cutting-edge technology in this endeavour and are committed to collaborating on further research and development to enhance the capabilities of this product.”