Predicting the preventable: Using machine learning to lower the risk of blood clots in patients with cancer
Navigating a cancer diagnosis is an overwhelming experience for a patient. The possibility of complications from treatments is an added layer of stress for both the patient and healthcare team. One common life-threatening complication from cancer treatments is blood clots. The blood vessels act like highways and streets that deliver oxygen and nutrients to every…
Read MoreAll’s fair in health and AI: Building fairness into health AI models from the start
When AI entered real-world settings in the 2010s, a hard truth emerged: AI is not neutral. It can reproduce and even amplify bias for marginalized and underserved groups. But bias doesn’t live only in the data. It also arises from how the data were collected, the assumptions built into model design, and the social and…
Read MoreInnovation isn’t enough: Why health tech needs to be meaningful
The mantra, “move fast and break things”, reigns supreme in startup culture, particularly in the technology industry. Famously coined by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, the mantra encourages speed and innovation over perfection. Like many sectors, Canada’s health systems stand at a crossroads on how to enter a new era of digital and AI-enabled healthcare.
Read MoreClicking into healthcare: How newcomers to Canada perceive and experience virtual care
“There’s no algorithm for compassion. There’s no predictive model for compassion. And the only thing that technology will not be able to do is human compassion”
Read MoreAlgorithms with heart: Using machine learning to improve health care and patient outcomes
Healthcare innovation often begins at the crossroads of curiosity and necessity. For Dr. Amol Verma, a General Internal Medicine Physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, it started with a simple question: How can we deliver better care to our patients? In the mid-2010s, Dr. Verma and his colleagues sought to measure the quality of care being…
Read MoreCompassion beyond the screen: Dr. Laura Desveaux’s research shows how compassionate health care can thrive in virtual care
Ontario’s health care system experienced a seismic shift in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology-based primary care visits soared 56-fold while in-person visits dropped by nearly 80%. Amid the rapid pivot to virtual care and the near immediate decline in social connectivity, a pressing question emerged: can compassionate care translate through a screen? After…
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