Ep 104 – Leveraging Autonomous AI to Close Care Gaps and Improve Quality and Equity, with Dr. Michael Abramoff and Seth Rainford

What this episode covers

Have you ever had an idea that you just had to make real? No matter what it took… no matter what obstacles were in your way… no matter how many times people told you no… you just couldn’t stop until it existed? Well, this is one of those stories. It begins with an idea in 1988 and leads to the first-ever autonomous AI to be approved by the FDA for diagnosis without physician input. Dr. Michael Abramoff, MD, Ph.D. is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Digital Diagnostics, the autonomous AI diagnostics company which was the first in any field of medicine to get FDA authorization for an autonomous AI.  Dr. Abramoff is a neuroscientist, a practicing physician, and holds a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. In 1988, Michael was working on artificial intelligence during his residency and began to think a computer could diagnose diabetic retinopathy. Given the technology available at the time, this idea may have been a bit of a stretch. Still, Michael set out to prove it could be done. Joining him in this interview is Seth Rainford, the President and COO at Digital Diagnostics.  Seth focuses on expanding market opportunities and driving operational excellence within the company. He brings more than a decade of executive experience to Digital Diagnostics including the successful management of large-scale P&L’s, strong organic & inorganic business development expertise, as well as complex multi-site operations leadership within the healthcare industry. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Abramov and Seth about the 30-year journey that led to the founding of Digital Diagnostics, and the first-ever FDA-approved Autonomous AI in healthcare. Plus, we explore the challenges they continue to work through as they commercialize their product to support organizations looking to win in value-based care! Episode Bookmarks: 01:30 Introduction to Dr. Abramoff and Seth Rainford and how the first-ever autonomous AI solution became FDA-approved for diagnosis without physician input 03:30 The scalability of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare and the recent failure of IBM Watson Health 06:00 “We are at an inflection point with AI…specifically with Autonomous AI.” 06:30 The parallel paths between AI and the discovery of DNA and its eventual use in the courtroom. 07:45 Why should we limit diagnosis to human cognition when autonomous AI has been proven to be safe and effective? 08:45 An overview of the history of AI, from advancements in neuroscience and sensory processing, ML, artificial neural networks, to autonomous AI in healthcare. 10:45 Where IBM Watson failed – it started with “glamour AI” (i.e. winning at Jeopardy) instead of trying to solve problems in healthcare 12:00 Most of what we hear about in healthcare is assistive AI -- not autonomous AI. 13:20 There is no need for human oversight in autonomous AI for making FDA-approved diagnoses in healthcare. 15:15 Referencing a recent NEJM Catalyst Op-Ed that criticizes autonomous AI in healthcare 16:30 Lessons learned from the challenges of assistive AI and how the develop of a completely autonomous AI solution started with FDA approval 18:30 “In considering the best ways to improve population health outcomes, we must include autonomous AI.” 19:00 Humans are not necessarily better than AI when it comes to diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy 19:20 Referencing NEJM study using assistive AI diagnosis of breast cancer and how radiologist involvement with AI didn’t improve outcomes 22:00 Health inequities with diabetic retinopathy in various minoritized populations 23:00 Recent CMMI focus to advance health equity in value-based care