A UK based artificial intelligence radiology company is to launch a new pilot with Apollo Radiology International, part of the Apollo Hospitals Group, across India.
The hospital group across India will be testing Behold.ai’s ‘instant triage’ AI-based chest X-ray technology to triage suspected COVID-19 patients. The technology is hoped to speed up the diagnosis process across 71 hospitals and 12,000 beds.
The algorithm will also be deployed in some local government-run hospitals in India as part of the pilot programme. The service is expected to go live when the lockdown measures are eased by the government of India.
The company said the technology is able to diagnose chest X-rays as ‘normal’ or abnormal in 30 seconds.
Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group “Our comprehensive and integrated COVID-19 response plan called Project Kavach has brought together all the resources of Apollo Hospitals against this pandemic. The use of AI has been a critical part of this plan and our AI-powered BOT helped individuals to assess their risk of contracting coronavirus. We look forward to working with Behold.ai to further enhance and accelerate our radiology reporting for COVID-19 patients. This will help us evaluate patients with speed and accuracy.”
Dr Sreenivasa Raju Kalidindi, CEO, Apollo Radiology International “Radiology reporting for COVID-19 has to be easily accessible, quick and accurate so that immediate decisions can be made on the next steps. To achieve these goals, Apollo Radiology International is setting up a dedicated centralised COVID-19 reporting service. Behold.ai’s chest X-ray algorithm will be an important component of this service. The instant triage provided by this algorithm will be a key factor that will allow our radiologists to provide immediate reports for these patients.”
Chairman and Chief Executive Simon Rasalingham, Chief Executive, Behold.ai said “If successful, this infinitely scaleable pilot programme could make a significant difference to hospitals across India and the rest of the world struggling to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.”
