Introduction
The importance of innovation in the medical field cannot be overstated, as groundbreaking technologies have the power to transform patient care and enhance diagnostic accuracy. In our latest webinar, hosted by Mohamed Elsaid, Medical Project Manager at Humans in the Loop, we had the pleasure of inviting Georgi Kostadinov, Co-Founder and CTO at Kelvin Health. Kelvin Health is at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging advanced AI technology to detect vascular conditions, inflammatory diseases, and oncology-related anomalies through thermography.
Kelvin Health: A Brief Overview
Kelvin Health, an early – stage Bulgarian venture, aims to revolutionize healthcare. Their focus lies in developing a mobile platform for AI thermal analysis, allowing users to screen for and monitor thermally verifiable diseases long before visible symptoms manifest. By combining cutting-edge technology with artificial intelligence, Kelvin Health is reshaping the landscape of vascular diagnostics.
The Challenge: Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects nearly 15% of the global population, resulting in approximately 150,000 lower limb amputations annually. Shockingly, one in three diabetics over 15 years old suffers from PAD. This condition poses a significant health crisis, emphasizing the need for timely diagnosis.
Kelvin Health’s Role in Diagnosing Peripheral Arteries
Kelvin Health has developed a powerful software solution that leverages mobile thermography and advanced visual AI:
- Mobile Thermography: Using a pocket – sized thermal camera attached to a mobile phone or computer, Kelvin Health captures thermal images of the human body. These images reveal critical insights into blood flow, inflammation, and tissue health.
- AI Analysis: Kelvin Health’s AI algorithms meticulously analyze these thermal images. By detecting temperature variations and patterns, the system identifies abnormalities and early signs of vascular conditions. This early detection can prevent limb ischemia – a condition that often leads to limb loss.
The Impact and Future Prospects
Kelvin Health’s approach has the potential to transform healthcare. Imagine routine screenings as simple as snapping a thermal photo with your smartphone. By democratizing vascular screening, Kelvin Health empowers individuals to take control of their health. Their commitment aligns seamlessly with HITL’s mission—to prevent suffering and improve lives.
Challenges Faced by Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI)
Patients with CLI, especially those around 70 years old, encounter significant challenges. Recovery is often incomplete, and shockingly, at least 50% of patients who undergo amputations do not survive. The heart of the problem lies in limited access to vascular diagnostics. Many patients reach vascular specialists too late, initially misdiagnosed as orthopedic or neurological cases. Kelvin Health aims to change this narrative.
Current Diagnostic Methods and Kelvin Health’s Solution
Noninvasive solutions like ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurements or Doppler ultrasound are time-consuming and operator-dependent. False positives are common, especially for diabetic patients with minor artery classifications. On the other hand, invasive procedures like X-ray angiography remain the gold standard but come with risks such as contrast injections and radiation exposure.
Humans in the Loop Medical Annotation
Humans in the Loop played a crucial role in the annotation process, which was key to the project’s success. The project involved collecting thermal scans from five different angles of patients’ legs, along with extensive medical data such as demographic information, clinical profiles, and specific medical conditions. This data helped in the identification of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and other vascular issues.
Humans were essential in annotating over 2,000 graphic images, focusing on segmenting arterial zones in the legs and head. They provided segmentations for 11 arterial zones in the legs, resulting in over 7,000 annotations. This contributed to an algorithm that achieved an 86% segmentation accuracy. Similarly, for the head, humans annotated four arterial zones, leading to 2,000 annotations with a 99% segmentation precision.
These annotations were vital for training machine learning algorithms to accurately classify whether a patient had PAD or other blockages. The algorithms then generated visualizations of the segmented arterial zones, helping specialists determine the patient’s condition and decide on the appropriate next steps in their treatment. This collaboration between human annotators and machine learning significantly enhanced the accuracy and reliability of the diagnostic process.
Conclusion
As we embrace personalized healthcare and telemedicine, Kelvin Health shines as a beacon of innovation. Let’s support this remarkable venture and create magic together!
Thank you all for being part of this exciting journey, and stay tuned for more of our webinar series.