Siemens Healthineers & IISc Launch CDS Collaborative Lab for AI in Precision Medicine

The CDS collaborative laboratory will develop open-source AI-based tools to automate the segmentation of pathological findings in neuroimaging data.

Siemens Healthineers and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have joined hands to launch the Siemens Healthineers-Computational Data Sciences (CDS) Collaborative Laboratory for AI in Precision Medicine at IISc Bangalore.

The CDS Collaborative Laboratory is dedicated to creating open-source AI-based tools to precisely automate the segmentation of pathological findings in neuroimaging data.

Moreover, the newly launched lab will specifically focus on accurately diagnosing neurological diseases and analysing their clinical impact at a population level.

Prof Govindan Rangarajan, director, IISc, said, “This lab marks a crucial step forward in unlocking the potential of AI for precision medicine. Together, we are accelerating the future of healthcare for everyone. This collaboration is a powerful example of how industry and academia can come together to tackle complex challenges.”

Additionally, this partnership seeks to combat neurovascular diseases and pioneer breakthroughs in healthcare.

CDS Lab's Core Focus

The focus of this collaborative laboratory will be to work closely with neurologists, radiologists and Siemens Healthineers. It will further integrate the developed computational models into their regular clinical workflows.

Established through support from Siemens Healthineers CSR initiative, the laboratory also encompasses six M.Tech fellowship programmes for women, as part of an effort to augment female representation in AI. Reportedly, Vaanathi Sundaresan of IISc’s Department of CDS will lead the programme.

Speaking on the partnership, Peter Schardt, CTO, Siemens Healthineers, said, “The collaboration with IISc solidifies our commitment to advancing precision medicine through AI using state-of-the-art, data-driven deep-learning techniques.’’

He noted that by leveraging IISc’s academic excellence and harnessing Siemens’ medical imaging, smart solutions, the partnership aims to save lives through precise diagnoses and evidence-based treatments.

Germany-based Siemens Healthineers is a leading medtech company that enables healthcare providers worldwide through its regional companies to increase value by empowering them on their journey towards expanding precision medicine, transforming care delivery, improving the patient experience, and digitalising healthcare.

Earlier, Siemens Healthineers partnered with several institutions including HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd (HCG), and Narayana Health (NH) to make India an innovation centre for Siemens Healthineers globally.

IISc’s Recent Collaborative Endeavors

Founded in 1909, The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) aims to advance the scientific capabilities and revolutionise the research landscape in the country. Since its founding, IISc has remained India’s premier institution for research and education.

Recently, American technology giant IBM extended its research collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) and the IISc, Bengaluru. The collaboration's main focus is ML for time series data, particularly deep generative AI models for multivariate data and self-supervised representation learning models.

These innovations have the potential to significantly enhance healthcare by improving predictive capabilities, personalising treatment plans, and ultimately benefiting patient outcomes.

In December, IISc researchers, in collaboration with Aster-CMI Hospital, developed an Al tool that can identify the median nerve in ultrasound videos and detect carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

This AI tool is an ML model that works by segmenting the nerve in individual frames of the video and measuring its cross-sectional area. Further, it can help doctors diagnose CTS faster and more accurately, especially for people who have repetitive hand movements that can compress the median nerve.

Days back, Wipro GE Healthcare, a global leader in medical technology, diagnostics, and digital solutions, inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IISc. This strategic collaboration aims to spearhead healthcare innovation, research, and technology development within India. It involves co-developing solutions, validating technologies, and local manufacturing to bring innovative healthcare solutions to the market swiftly.