du Introduces Innovative Marketplace for AI-Powered eHealth Solutions at GITEX Technology Week 2019

Through its commitment to making the United Arab Emirates the happiest country in the world, du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has unveiled three innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) eHealth solutions during GITEX Technology Week. During the event showcase, du is enabling visitors and government ministries the chance to experience AI’s role in the future of the health and diagnostics space.

Collaborating with three best-in-class AI companies, Infermedica, Infervision and Enbisys, du is showcasing unique AI-enabled healthcare applications at GITEX 2019. Not only do these applications augment du’s eHealth B2B portfolio, they also reinforce du’s eHealth strategy to optimise the UAE’s healthcare industry with particular reverence to increasing access, affordability and efficiency for the key stakeholder – the Patient. 

‘AI to Solve Real World Challenges’

Farid Faraidooni, Deputy CEO – Enterprise, EITC, said: “AI holds unlimited potential for serving breakthrough applications across all industries to solve some of society’s most confounding issues and challenges. The successful integration of AI technology in the UAE health-tech sector is set to have a profound impact on removing the current obstacles for addressing and solving patient wellbeing and physician efficiency. du is proud to be unlocking AI’s full potential to uncover new customer-centric use cases while empowering the nation on its digital transformation journey.”

‘AI Diagnostic Imaging – Diabetic Retinopathy Screening by Enbisys’

According to recent studies, 17.3% of the UAE population have type 2 diabetes, and this rate is only increasing. With the showcase of the AI-enabled diabetic retinopathy screening platform, this solution will assist clinicians and general practitioners with faster decision-making and detection in order to timely refer diabetic patients to eye specialists. 

Visitors to du’s Diabetic Retinopathy Screening solution showcase can experience first-hand how easy it is to upload images and detect eye abnormalities during the live demonstration of the platform. 

Over time, diabetes damages small blood vessels throughout the eye, which causes diabetic retinopathy, increasing the probability of eye blindness. Most diabetic patients do not realise the severity of this condition until later stages.

This solution, in partnership with Enbisys, provides retinal images of both eyes, captured using a compatible fundus camera, which are then uploaded to a secure cloud-based platform for processing. The AI system then automatically analyses the images and returns the result in less than one minute. The solution then provides a report containing the DR screening outcome, a clear indication of image quality, DR severity level, and retinal images.

du will have a specialised team on hand – led by Dr Mansoor Habib, Head of Happiness & Tolerance at du – to present the showcase, which will feature an eye-scanner for patients to have a live view of their eyes.

‘AI Diagnostic Imaging – Chest X-Ray Screening for TB by Infervision’

In partnership with Infervision, a Chinese technology company using deep learning and artificial intelligence to assist and improve medical image analysis, du has revealed an innovative AI-driven solution to assist radiologists in making an Informative Diagnostic Decision about the presence of Tuberculosis (TB) in prospective UAE residents. 

TB screening is a pre-requisite to processing a residency permit in the UAE. Given a large number of population that enters and leaves the country every year, the TB screening process is most often time-consuming and driven by diagnostic errors. 

By introducing an AI-enabled platform that serves as an intelligent alternative to conventional TB screening for new UAE residents, du’s innovation will reduce wait times, increase efficiency, and prioritize worklists in case of emergency overload.

The immersive showcase experience at GITEX Technology Week invites users to see how easy it is to upload images and detect abnormalities during the live demonstration of the platform. The solution will show visitors how the platform can classify abnormal vs normal images for TB, reduce waiting times from one hour to one minute, highlight critical abnormal regions, identify 15 types of abnormalities, and prioritise worklists.

‘AI Primary Care Symptom Checker - Health Assessment by Infermedica’

Innovated in partnership with medical AI start-up Infermedica, du’s AI Primary Care Symptom Tracker Chatbot prevents unnecessary appointments being made by recommending the most suitable health services to patients, prioritising patient cases based on their risk, and establishing a next course of action for treatment.

The AI healthcare solution has been created in line with the Ministry of Happiness’s mandate to make the UAE one of the happiest countries in the world. The AI-enablement of the platform will assist citizens’ access to healthcare and reduce waiting times by enabling them to undergo a comprehensive app-based health assessment prior to meeting a clinician, physician, or specialist.

This will provide clinicians and physicians with faster decision-making capabilities and patients with better access to appropriate medical attention. It does this by collecting structured patient information prior to a patient’s visit and streamlines the documentation process. Additionally, the AI solution assists physicians and clinicians by enabling them to arrive at the correct diagnosis as quick and efficiently as possible.

‘A World-Class AI Partner Ecosystem’

As a leading ICT provider and digital enabler, du is in a unique position to assist clients to drive AI adoption within their respective organizations and build trust when onboarding this type of disruptive technology.

To achieve this, it is imperative for du to onboard partners with applications who exemplify mature and proven enterprise-grade machine learning (ML) capabilities with commercial readiness.

Additionally, these applications can be integrated with current healthcare systems making the on-boarding transition from both patient and healthcare provider perspectives a seamless and convenient experience.

To explore these and other innovations that are shaping the future of digital human experiences, visit du’s GITEX Technology Week stand in Zabeel Hall 2 stand C20.