Open the mobile App, you can get many medical-grade health indicators such as your heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, mental stress and so on. At the same time, these health indicators can also be introduced into medical AI to monitor personal health at any time. If there is any abnormality, you can inform the doctor at any time. To achieve this, just turn on your mobile phone and shoot a short video for 30 seconds.
This crazy idea has come true. Binah, an artificial intelligence medical startup from Israel, is trying to connect the artificial intelligence system with the cameras of mobile phones and laptops. By monitoring the alcohol content in blood, even the contents of glucose, cholesterol and hemoglobin, we can know people's health status.
"Anyone who wears a smart watch knows that the flash behind the watch can detect tiny color changes in the skin. Thereby reflecting the blood flow under the skin. " Recently, in a project called TechFirst hosted by John Cosel, David Mamam, CEO of Binah, introduced how the application works. The health sector has sorted out the interview points.
John Cosel: Please share how it works.
David Mamam: If you pay attention, from the perspective of wearable devices, there is a flashing indicator light on the back of any smart watch. These flashing lights actually emit infrared beams, which can monitor the tiny color changes of the skin and reflect the blood situation.
This technique, called PPG imaging plethysmography, first started in 1938. Apple can analyze blood flow and monitor heart rate. Fitbit can monitor oxygen saturation. Samsung can measure the level of mental stress.
However, we are slightly different from them. What we do is not to emit a light beam, but to analyze the light intensity reflected from the cheek to the camera lens. We can do this on smartphones, laptops, tablets and even smart TVs. This application has been put into production for more than a year, but our products are not for the public. We are a provider of B-side digital health solutions.
John Cosel: What are the requirements for the camera?
David Mamam: 30 frames per second. Of course, any webcam produced in 15 is 30 frames per second, so basically all iPhone7 and later versions and any Android device in 5 years can run normally. We have more than 7 million devices running our technology around the world.
John Cosel: Is there a color requirement?
David Mamam: It applies to any skin color. We have verified this technology in India, Nepal, Poland, Russia and other places for a long time. , from extremely white to dark black; The subjects ranged in age from 4 to 92. This product is suitable for all ages, the only condition is reasonable lighting conditions, and then you can get the effect.
John Causel: Can you measure your blood pressure?
David Mamam: At present, we have applied for a patent for the function of measuring blood pressure. Different from the extraction of other vital signs, such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, mental tension and so on. , are pure signal processing capabilities, and blood pressure is based on modeling.
In order to create a database, we have cooperated with seven hospitals around the world. We need to take invasive blood pressure measurement, or blood pressure measurement based on cuff, and record audio through our own recording application. From this, we established a database of nearly 13000 people, thus establishing a correct model. We made 1400 features with PPG signal. This is the core of this technology.
John Causel: What is the actual experience?
David Mamam: Every indicator is different. In order to get the accurate heart rate, we need 10 to 12 seconds; Oxygen saturation for 25 seconds; The breathing rate is 32 seconds. The psychological stress level, the official Bayevski stress index, can be completed in 45 to 50 seconds. The whole reading takes 55 to 60 seconds.
John Cosel: Besides, what other special applications are there?
David Mamam: Recently, we are studying how to measure hemoglobin level to judge whether there is anemia. We are still studying the blood level of alcohol and expect to release the first version before the end of this year. This is very good news for transportation companies, which can ensure that truck drivers don't drink and drive, and can also help passengers know whether Uber drivers drink and drive.
John Cosel: Everyone cares about health. Many people collect health data through wearable devices, including heart rate, exercise level and so on. But it seems that it is difficult for us to convey these health information to doctors. How do you solve this problem?
David Mamam: Yes, AppleWatch checks the user status every 20 seconds, which means there are thousands of readings. We are generating countless data. However, according to the data of the World Health Organization, there will be a shortage of 654.38+05 million doctors in the world in the next decade, which means that we don't have enough doctors or trained professionals to browse all the data generated by wearable devices.
AI is a popular word now. But all technical resources are aimed at establishing personalized health conditions. But it doesn't make any sense for users to see a doctor, even if the doctor gets the vital signs. But this information will help insurance companies, medical service providers, especially telemedicine providers to understand the situation. All of us need remote patient monitoring instead of seeing a doctor every other quarter when we have a cold.
John Causel: Who is your client?
David Mamam: Now we have customers from five insurance companies all over the world. For example, Sompo, the largest insurance company in Japan, is our partner. Whether it is health insurance or life insurance, insurance companies are discussing how to manage risks correctly. They all want to know the user's vital signs during the underwriting period, so as to add them to the actuarial system and determine what the risks are.
Suicide is a very big problem in Japan. A major cause of their suicide is depression. If we can measure the level of mental stress, we can see whether a person's condition is good or bad, and whether it will deteriorate into depression or worse. They released an application called Linkx, which can measure the stress level, heart rate variability and heart rate of all users to determine the risks they are insured.
For another example, there are also telemedicine providers using our technology. Imagine that if you can check your pulse, blood pressure and other data while talking to the doctor by video, you can create a better diagnosis and treatment environment.
As a final example, we created a system called "Reworking". Everyone can scan themselves before leaving home in the morning and get the answer immediately. For example, your blood oxygen saturation is below 92 and your breathing rate is above 30, which may mean that you should not go to work today, but see a doctor.