GE HealthCare and the University of Debrecen have completed a two-year joint research and development project based on artificial intelligence, supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (NKFIA).
The project has resulted in an artificial solution that enables research of diagnostic image and text findings using newly developed Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms in Hungarian, reports Világgazdaság. It can be used to identify patients who meet specific criteria in a targeted manner, resulting in more patients being involved in healthcare research.
The project, with a total budget of around HUF 1.5 billion (EUR 3.9 million), was supported by the NKFIA with around HUF 800 million (EUR 2 million) and involved more than 50 research and development staff.
GE HealthCare’s domestic headquarters is one of the company’s seven global strategic units and the second largest in Europe in terms of headcount. Its leading European data science team is also in Hungary. It is home to a number of personalized healthcare applications available worldwide, including oncology, cardiology, and neurology solutions. Its highly skilled professionals in Budapest, Szeged (southern Hungary), and Páty (central Hungary) perform development and support functions for global, regional, and local markets.
To make more use of the exponentially growing amount of healthcare data, we need an IT solution that allows us to connect the digital systems used in healthcare institutions. By automating time-consuming activities, healthcare workers can be relieved of the burden, improving the overall efficiency of clinical care and research.
The new solution, developed with researchers from the University of Debrecen, not only enables and makes available structured data sets, but also allows text-based analysis of diagnostic images and their combined interpretation.
This development can greatly contribute to more effective research on specific drugs and more accurate diagnosis of patients, helping healthcare professionals and researchers,” Lehel Ferenczi, GE HealthCare’s Chief Data Officer and Managing Director stressed.
With the rapid advances in artificial intelligence, natural language processing solutions taught using deep learning could revolutionize healthcare by improving the efficiency of analyzing medical findings. Clinical trials, essential for drug development, require the identification of specific patient populations worldwide. The solution developed with GE HealthCare will make it possible to research a wider range of findings faster. This also creates the opportunity to involve Hungarian patients in more international research projects,” emphasized Zoltán Szilvássy, Rector of the University of Debrecen.
Source: hungarytoday.hu