November 5, 2020

Intouch & Athenex Oncology Talk AI at Frontiers Health Global Hybrid Conference

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From smartphone apps that use facial recognition to classify facial features associated with certain congenital and neurodevelopmental disorders, to predicting cancer response to immunotherapy or speeding a rare disease diagnosis, to assessing the need for treatment in arthritis patients … artificial intelligence (AI) is being put to use in ways that seem almost science fiction-like sometimes.

Although some industries have been quicker than others at adopting AI, pharma remains somewhat reluctant. There are a number of reasons for this, says Abid Rahman, VP of innovation at Intouch:

  • There’s a misconception that AI can only exist in a large, multichannel ecosystem that requires massive investments.
  • Due to the newness of the technology, there’s a perception of high risk associated with the return on investment.
  • There’s often misalignment between the needs of marketing/customer experience teams and those of the IT team with respect to technology and platform, as well as the company’s tech and AI roadmap.
  • AI is hard to do right.

Artificial intelligence may be hard to do right, but the global pandemic has made it even more important for every industry to adopt new technologies for business continuity and improved efficiency. So, how do you identify the best approach for investments in AI-based implementations?

In a presentation for the upcoming Frontiers Health Global Hybrid Conference, which takes place November 12 and 13, 2020, Rahman will be joined by Intouch director of innovation, Brendon Thomas, and Kristin Schriver, director of customer marketing at Athenex Oncology. Together, they’ll review several examples of AI that Intouch has implemented with promising results, including:

  • Automation
  • Natural language processing
  • AI-based predictions and recommendations
  • The team’s approach to implementing AI
  • Typical challenges that should be expected and how to overcome those challenges to build data-driven and robust business solutions.

Empathy can make a world of difference for patients who face lives encumbered by symptoms – or side effects of treatments — others couldn’t imagine without the assistance of technology. Schriver will present a case study on an exciting computer-vision-based AI implementation that Athenex developed in partnership with Intouch Group: The team combined AI with 3D technology to create an augmented reality (AR) experience that would generate empathy among healthcare providers (HCPs) for patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

Frontiers Health is changing its usual format and instead combining online and offline events, along with other activities in Italy, Germany, Finland, Spain, the United States and other locations. Register for the conference today.