Sask. AI x-ray project first of its kind in Canada
An artificial intelligence (AI) project is expanding healthcare for remote communities in Saskatchewan.
Synthesis Health has delivered portable x-ray machines to Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. According to the company’s chief medical officer, Deepak Kaura, it’s the first in Canada.
“A lot of these communities have never had x-ray, you know, patients travelled eight or 10 hours for x-ray, and most don't travel,” he told CTV News.
Preventative health manager for the area, Genevieve St. Denis said it was exciting for the community.
“Now that we have these portable x-rays in our communities, with this artificial intelligence platform, we're able to provide instant diagnosis and interventions to our First Nations population and these isolated communities.”
Kaura said it all began in 2008.
“I started thinking about artificial intelligence and its impact that it could have on health care, particularly as a image-based specialist, right, I wanted to see how effective computer vision could be in analyzing the problems that I see on a daily basis, and built the first set of algorithms back then, and you know, it was pretty impressive.”
He started to pursue the idea more in Calgary and then moved overseas to Qatar.
“While I was there, I did a bunch more work in machine learning. And then moved back to Canada,” he said.
He started talks with the then-CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority Scott Livingston.
“He said, ‘Tuberculosis is on the rise, and we don't have enough subspecialists, we don't have enough digitization, and we don't have any extra units.’ So I said, ‘Well, what if we built you an artificial intelligence algorithm, that would allow us to do this work and allow you to do this work?’
“We validated it in Saskatchewan, with 28 doctors. And then we went and got Health Canada approval right in the middle of COVID,” Kaura said. “It was the first AI algorithm, and radiology ever approved by Health Canada.”
He said they reached out to Fuji to build the machines and found a way to put x-ray images up into a cloud so it can be accessed by technicians.
“AI algorithm does a lot this in like, a few seconds, and sends the analysis back to the nurse practitioner or to the doctor at the frontline of care,” Karua said.
“We're able to provide right on-site clinical diagnostic services to our First Nations members who live in isolated communities,” St. Denis said. “So right on reserve, in primary care clinics, we can provide that service rather than having to send the patient out and to drive sometimes six, eight hours to a place like a hospital to receive that x-ray. We can do that day.”
Kaura said they hope to expand the project to other communities, including Onion Lake.
“We think that the future is pretty remarkable because this is just the beginning of all the machine learning work that we're doing with Synthesis right now.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.