'AI will help radiologists take timely, informed decisions'

Being at the core of innovation, technology connects data and people. It helps us understand the customer pain-points to provide personalized solutions, says Arvind Vaishnav, Vice President, Head of Philips Innovation Campus, in an interview to Sujatha Vishnuraj. Excerpts of the interview:

What are the technological breakthroughs that PIC is working on?

 Philips Innovation Campus (PIC), Bengaluru is at the forefront of the digital transformation of Philips as a healthcare leader-shifting gears from an acknowledged software powerhouse to an end-to-end digital solutions partner for our business units, markets, and customers.

Today, with rapid digitalization and a more empowered consumers, we see new opportunities and challenges to address. We are looking at a future where organizations like us will orchestrate a digital health ecosystem, with connected digital propositions for hospitals, governments, patients, and families. We are already on this journey, becoming a 'need seeker' type innovator and integrator, offering solutions of increasing richness to a given customer.

Examples are Operational and Clinical Command Centers, integrated ICU solutions, tele-radiology services, monitoring-as-aservice or ICU of the future.

Describe PIC's role in helping healthcare providers improve patient care with the help of AI, ML, and deep learning.

Like other industries, digital acceleration is now evident in healthcare too. The digital architecture of hospitals will change significantly, adopting wireless technologies, interoperability, and a seamless shift of monitoring from hospital to home. This transition will enable hugely meaningful innovations, such as continuous monitoring using wearable or implanted medical devices, incorporating smart cameras for vital sign measurements, or linking to contextual information from non-medical consumer devices such as thermostats, voice interfaces, fitness trackers, smart phones, etc. Healthcare providers already using AI and ML are assisted in various ways. Al increases their ability to better understand the day-to-day patterns and patient needs through proactive and timely diagnosis.