Biocogniv & Research Partners Detail First Artificial Intelligence Tool to Help Laboratories Rule-Out COVID-19
Summary
Their study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research is available online at https://www.jmir.org/2020/12/e24048 “Nine months into this pandemic, we now have a better understanding of how to care for patients with COVID-19,” says lead author and University of Vermont Assistant Professor Timothy Plante, MD, “but there’s still a big bottleneck in COVID-19 diagnosis with PCR testing.” PCR testing is the current standard diagnostic for COVID-19, and requires specific sampling, like a nasal swab, and specialized laboratory equipment to run. “For example, a low D-dimer blood test can help us rule out clots in certain patients, allowing providers to skip expensive, often time-consuming diagnostics such as chest CT scans,” says Dr. Tapson. “This enables the model to achieve a high sensitivity of 95% while maintaining moderate specificity of 49%, which is very similar to the performance of other commonly used rule-out tests,” says Biocogniv Chief Scientific Officer George Hauser, MD, a pathologist. Biocogniv CEO Artur Adib, PhD, says, “I’m honored to have such an impressive team of medical scientists from the University of Vermont and Cedars-Sinai as collaborators in validating this timely model. Since 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet the needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, setting standards in quality and innovative patient care, research, teaching and community service.