Northwell Health, Aegis Ventures Launch AI Company Creation Platform

New York City-based Northwell Health and startup studio Aegis Ventures announced the launch of their healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) company creation platform, Ascertain.

The platform aims to launch healthcare AI companies to address quality of care, access to care, and closing the health equity gap.

“Ascertain brings a unique structure, an innovative approach, and a compelling vision to create breakthrough healthcare AI companies that are set up for success,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, in the press release. “We are all driven by the idea that everyone deserves access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. Our aim is clear: to find new, cost-efficient ways to create and accelerate companies that deliver real, equitable solutions.”

One of Ascertain’s first collaborations has been with Northwell’s Center for Maternal Health to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes, including Black maternal health disparities. Currently, data science teams and Northwell’s Maternal and Fetal Medicine team are analyzing thousands of cases of preeclampsia, a serious blood pressure condition that typically develops after the 20th week of pregnancy.

“Existing approaches to the detection of preeclampsia often occur too late in pregnancy, once the condition has begun to manifest. An important enabler for a solution to this challenge is predictive analytics, applying available knowledge of a patient's history to enable action far earlier with simple, yet life-saving clinical interventions. We believe the AI solution Ascertain is currently developing will enable this,” said Burt Rochelson, MD, chief of maternal medicine at Northwell Health, in the press release.

Research indicates that race, place of birth, and duration of residence in the US are significant risk factors for preeclampsia, indicating that Black women born in the US are at a higher risk for the disease. Ascertain aims to create an AI solution that will enable clinicians to predict the risk of a patient developing preeclampsia, allowing them to intervene sooner than traditional risk prediction methods.

Ascertain is planning to launch multiple companies this year focused on AI tools, maternal and fetal health, and chronic disease detection and management.

AI in healthcare is being met with much enthusiasm, but it is not without controversy. Like Northwell’s collaboration with Aegis Ventures, major provider Geisinger is also leveraging a partnership with Eisai to use an artificial intelligence algorithm to detect early signs of dementia. However, some studies suggest that biases in AI algorithms can lead to health disparities and that research challenges can limit the clinical use of certain types of AI.

Despite this, healthcare leaders appear eager to adopt AI. Survey data indicates that 96 percent of senior healthcare executives believe that AI is important for reaching health equality goals, and 94 percent believe that providers have a duty to ensure that healthcare AI is used responsibly. In response to the growing optimism surrounding AI, 98 percent of organizations report that they either have an AI strategy in place or are planning to implement one.