A new digital healthcare company called egnite launched Wednesday with the goal of leveraging advanced technologies and analytics to improve health outcomes for structural heart-disease patients.
Egnite originates from the CardioCare platform developed by Edwards Lifesciences, which is already deployed at over 50 hospitals and health systems across the country. The platform is designed to manage patients with structural heart disease by using artificial intelligence to keep patients on track in their care journey, reduce diagnostic variability and streamline clinical workflows.
Based on the adoption of its flagship product, egnite is launching with CardioCare in its portfolio and with plans to develop more digital solutions that harness data science to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
While egnite is a standalone company, Edwards Lifesciences remains involved through investments and leadership seats on the company’s board. Abundant Venture Partners, a digital health-focused investment and venture-creation company, will be a strategic partner and take a seat on the board as well.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The use of artificial intelligence is rapidly growing in healthcare for its ability to help reduce administrative workflow burden, increase clinical diagnostic accuracy, develop treatment recommendations and support patient engagement, among other things.
Its possibilities are a key focus for egnite as it seeks to improve treatment for patients with structural heart disease, according to Joel Portice, the CEO of egnite.
“The healthcare ecosystem of the future will be centered around precision medicine, displaying and utilizing a 360-degree view of patients,” Portice said in a statement.
“Our vision is to create an evolved healthcare landscape in which data, technology, patients and clinical expertise are at the intersection of digital transformation to reduce the cost of care and improved outcomes for patients.”
THE LARGER TREND
Also in the cardiology space is a new research partnership between Mayo Clinic and U.K. health-tech firm Ultromics began to develop a diagnostic and predictive tool that can reduce misdiagnosis and enable the earlier prevention of heart failure.
Cardio-focused digital health company AliveCor recently scored clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for a suite of interpretive ECG algorithms dubbed the Kardia AI V2.
Elsewhere, Google Cloud and the Department of Defense have teamed up to deploy a prototypical artificial intelligence digital-pathology system that improves the accuracy of cancer diagnoses.
But before AI can be widely integrated, health experts stress the need for trustworthy solutions that are reliable, interoperable and transparent.