From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— A recent study from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health found an AI screening tool for opioid addiction led to cost savings and fewer readmissions.
The study, recently published in the journal Nature Medicine, was led by Dr. Majid Afshar, associate professor of medicine at the UW SMPH in Madison. He says AI “holds promise” in medical settings, but many AI-based screening models have yet to be integrated into actual care.
“Our study represents one of the first demonstrations of an AI screening tool embedded into addiction medicine and hospital workflows, highlighting the pragmatism and real-world promise of this approach,” he said in a statement.
The trial involved screening about 52,000 adult hospitalizations, without about two-thirds happening before the AI tool was deployed and the other third happening after the tool was used across the hospital.
Researchers found patients that received consultations after being flagged for addiction medicine referrals by the AI system were 47% less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days. Over the study period, this resulted in about $109,000 in estimated health care savings, according to a release.
The net cost savings per patient was calculated at about $6,800 for the patient, health insurer and hospital, UW says. That’s after the cost of the AI software itself was taken into account.
The study also showed 1.51% of hospitalized adults received an addiction medicine consultation when the AI screening tool was used, comapred to 1.35% without the tool. A total of 727 consultations happened during the study period.
Afshar says the study “lays the groundwork” for broader adoption of AI screening tools for addiction embedded in the health care record.
Still, UW notes the study also raised the concern of possible “alert fatigue” among providers, as well as needing to test it across different health care systems for further validation.
See more in the release below.
— A recent pitch competition in Green Bay featured a Virginia startup with an automated platform for preparing lab tests for cancer detection.
Rachelle Turiello, co-founder and CEO of Avant Genomics, participated in last week’s TitletownTech Startup Draft Combine, which is being put on by the Green Bay venture capital firm. She touted the company’s automated platform for preparing tests for blood-based cancer detection in a laboratory setting.
It’s focused on the “large and growing” liquid biopsy market, which currently has no automated options for sample preparation, Turiello said.
“It is two times faster than the current alternative, and requires 98% fewer consumables,” she said. “But for our customers, the laboratories, what makes them excited is the 84% reduction in cost.”
Avant Genomics is currently raising a target $3 million in a seed funding round and aims to close by July.
The Startup Draft winner will be announced later this month just ahead of this year’s NFL Draft, also taking place in Green Bay, and will receive a $1 million investment. Other presenting startups are developing technologies around battery manufacturing, software development, advanced image processing and more.
See more coverage of the pitch competition here and listen to a recent related podcast.
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