16/11/2023
AI is fueling transformative new brain-health technology to
detect and prevent cognitive decline..
Identifying postoperative delirium before it hits
Elsewhere, PIPRA AG, a medtech startup in Zurich, has developed an AI-based tool called PIPRA to predict postoperative delirium in people over 60 undergoing surgery.
"POD is a terrible condition, with symptoms that include agitation or profound inactivity, as well as changes to a person's attention, awareness, and cognitive ability," PIPRA CEO John Klepper told Business Insider. "It is also associated with an increase in postsurgery falls, longer hospital stays, increased nursing-home admissions, hospital readmissions, cognitive decline, dementia, and increased mortality."
It was Klepper's mother's experience after surgery that led him to his research. "For days, she saw monsters coming out of the hospital walls and thought the hospital staff were trying to kill her," he said. "While she was fortunate enough to 'recover fully,' she has a type of PTSD from the experience and, to this day, is still terrified of hospitals."
PIPRA's predictive tool uses AI algorithms that analyze clinical information routinely collected by healthcare professionals.
"In an ideal world, I would like to see our solution being integrated into healthcare facilities in every country," Klepper said. "That way, we will be creating measurable global impact and improving and saving the lives of millions.
"POD is one of the biggest and most expensive problems in healthcare. For scale, POD costs 60% more to healthcare providers than diabetes and affects at least 60 million around the world each year. However, it is often ignored."