DeepHealth, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RadNet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDNT) and a global leader in AI-powered radiology and health informatics, has announced the opening of its office in Bengaluru. The technology hub will spearhead ground-breaking innovations to advance DeepHealth’s mission of empowering breakthroughs in care delivery. The company’s India headquarters will be established in Cignus Tower, Bengaluru, serving as the hub for DeepHealth’s operations across the Indian subcontinent. The new office has commenced operations in Q3 2024.
AI in Radiology
“Radiologists look at pictures and we try to analyse those and find the diagnosis – in terms of, a fracture, cancer or any other problem. Sometimes a fracture is a difficult task to see. In the case of cancer, it can be subtle or the image can be confusing,” said Dr. Greg Sorensen, Chief Science Officer, DeepHealth. According to him that is where AI can help the radiologists do their job better by identifying abnormalities, and making them clearly visible by highlighting them. This makes the radiologist’s interpretation of a higher quality and can also make them more efficient.
Accelerating investments
“We see that now is the time that technology is ready to enter clinical practice. If we invest, we can accelerate and we can do that by coming into an ecosystem like this,” said Sham Sokka, Chief Operating and Technology Officer, DeepHealth. He also said that they can work with partners, who can help them, as they are already doing some of the things that they need to do, though not in the way they need to do them, but they help them and that is how they accelerate.
Workflow and automation
Sham Sokka also stated that, “AI will enable to make a radiologist faster, remove mundane tasks and automate them. For example, medical coding, in which after you do a procedure you so that you can get built. AI is doing this very deeply. In the past it was people doing it.” He added that workflow in terms of speeding up people doing their everyday tasks is what they want to achieve holistically and in a very effective method. Prevention or early detection of a problem helps the doctor and patient in a huge manner for obvious reasons.
DeepHealth’s strategy
DeepHealth's integrated portfolio aims to address challenges across the entire radiology value chain, from referral management, scheduling, and patient engagement to technologist and radiologist workflow. Advanced AI is deeply embedded, to improve operational efficiency, clinical confidence, and patient outcomes, with a focus on breast, lung, brain, and prostate health.
The portfolio is anchored by a cloud-native operating system (DeepHealth OS) that unifies data across clinical and operational workflow and personalises AI-powered workspaces for everyone across the radiology continuum. DeepHealth has operations, partnerships, and customers in the US, UK, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. The DeepHealth office in Bengaluru will serve as the company's technology hub in India, enabling purposeful innovation with global impact.
DeepHealth in India
DeepHealth’s expansion in India reinforces its commitment to enhancing healthcare outcomes through cutting-edge technology solutions. Through their operations in India, DeepHealth will continue to leverage the power of AI to empower radiologists in the detection and diagnosis of diseases, expanding the boundaries of what we can do with imaging technology in healthcare.
“India represents a fundamental part of the DeepHealth story. We recognise the country’s exceptional tech capabilities and its dynamic innovation landscape. This presents a great opportunity for us to drive the development of meaningful health tech solutions in India that benefit clinicians and patients worldwide,” said Sokka. He also commented on the fact that as they expand their presence in India, they also look forward to establishing new partnerships to advance innovation in health informatics.
The affordability factor
Sham Sokka stated that, “Affordability is one area where we do think that the benefits of AI come in again. Many times when we do these screening programmes we need a lot of radiologists. We need a lot of scanning and other aspects of the treatment or detection.” It is very labour intensive, so AI helps reduce the labour cost so that it is scalable. They are working relentlessly towards getting more inexpensive equipment, the scanning machines, etc.
They do the software to analyse the images but to have an actual imaging software, the imaging hardware, the machines and more is what they are working on it to get lower cost products. Hence they can make it very affordable for the common man. Sokka signed off by saying, “My call to the youth also is that there are a lot of career opportunities in healthcare and we want to encourage the population to come into this space as well.”
A broad vision
As a part of its India expansion, DeepHealth will leverage local expertise and a network of strategic partners to enhance the development of AI-powered health informatics solutions. DeepHealth has already an established presence in India through its partnerships with Persistent and Infinx, focused on product development and service. As the company forges ahead with its ambitious expansion plans, it aims to broaden its collaborations and establish affiliations with prestigious institutions to undertake research projects and propel the Indian healthcare landscape to the forefront of global innovation. DeepHealth also plans to multiply hiring in the region, with the goal of expanding its team by the end of 2024, and a broader vision to increase its employee base 10-fold in the next five years.
