Singapore startup launches radiology enhancement software
Singaporean healthcare startup Claritas HealthTech Pte Ltd has created new propietary software to improve the clarity of all types of radiology images.
Imaging specialists, scientists and mathematicians at Claritas HealthTech have worked together to develop Claritas iRAD, an image enhancement process that preserves the finest details by individually enhancing each pixel to produce an image of high precision. Whether the image is unclear due to radiation, low light or tissue absorption, the tool has been designed to improve clarity without distorting, exaggerating or compromising the details of the original image.
It is estimated that the average rate of diagnostic errors involving radiology images is between 3% and 5% worldwide , which amounts to around 40 million errors a year. This has been a longstanding problem in the diagnostic process, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for fast and accurate diagnosis even more important, placing increasing demand on radiology departments.
The Co-Founder and COO of Claritas Devika Dutt has firsthand experience of a mistaken diagnosis from a scan. “My son was suffering from recurring stomach pains, and after getting a CT Scan just to rule out any issues, the first set of results suggested that he needed surgery" she explained. "I was horrified and distressed but after a second round of tests and scans, it turned out the first scan was simply unclear, and to my huge relief there was absolutely no need for any surgery. It was just a misdiagnosis and the infection was easily treated with medication."
Claritas iRAD can be easily integrated into existing radiology platforms. Additionally, as the platform is accessed through the Cloud, Claritas HealthTech provides fast image processing that is user-friendly, without the need for lengthy training, even for first-time users.
It is hoped that improving diagnostic performance will reduce potential harm to the patient, as the software aims to support medical professionals to better identify the nature of a patient’s illness. This should also reduce costs and time spent by patients re-testing, as well as prevent insurance and malpractice claims that may occur after a misdiagnosis.
Healthcare professional Dr Vas Metupalle commented: “In my 12 years as a healthcare entrepreneur in Asia, I find that Claritas HealthTech has an extremely unique proposition that supports doctors and radiologists in reducing missed diagnosis. It is a potential aggregator when it comes to the many AI tools in medical imaging that show better accuracy with the proprietary image enhancement solution from Claritas HealthTech, which results in improved patient outcomes and reduces further unnecessary tests for the patient”.