Light AI is a company that is harnessing the power of assistive AI to revolutionize diagnostics, starting with infectious diseases like streptococcal pharyngitis. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Light AI CEO Peter Whitehead to learn more about the company.
Pulse 2.0 (Amit): Healthcare Innovation has become an enormous market. It has generated tons of interest and support globally. How did you get involved in this sector? Can you tell us about your background?
Light AI (Peter): The two most fundamental sectors in existence today are Health and Technology. It’s not up for debate. It’s a matter of fact. Technological innovation is the gateway to the future, healthcare is how we get there, and the area in which these two fields crossover, that’s where I operate.
The driving force throughout my 20+ year career has been that innovation should serve humanity. This belief led me to invent the VELscope in 2003. VELscope is an oral examination tool used to detect oral cancer and dysplasia which is now used in 23 countries.
Prior to 2003, I was using data sets, classifiers, and algorithms to quantify the pathogenesis of disease and biological processes. The combination of VELscope’s imaging technology and my work in algorithm development became the foundation for creating new tools to solve healthcare challenges. Additionally, the rise of supercomputers and the evolution of computational software opened up the world to making these dreams a reality.
In 2014, I began working on what’s now my latest innovation. An AI platform that can detect and diagnose Strep A in under a minute through smartphones — the Light AI platform. Using no swabs, lab tests or expensive equipment. Strep A is a burdensome and costly viral disease. Previously known to cause mild infections we’ve seen a rise in more severe infections since the pandemic. As a result, we’ve seen more fatalities as a result of Strep A infection than ever before.
Quick and timely Strep A detection is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Light AI platform’s capabilities. In the future we plan to expand the platform to detect an array of throat conditions, skin and eye conditions. Our long term vision is to turn the platform into a Digital Clinical Lab.
Pulse 2.0 (Amit): The healthcare sector is at the forefront of discussion on the global stage. It’s going through a transformation and operational shifts albeit gradually. There must have been something that prompted the idea for Light AI. Can you shed light on the company’s origin story?
Light AI (Peter): To understand why Light AI came to be you must first understand the problem at hand.
The rapid growth of the global population has placed an immense burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Many regions struggle to scale their healthcare infrastructure in response to this increasing demand, leading to significant gaps in the delivery of essential services, including diagnostics and treatment.
Point-of-care (POC) rapid diagnostic smartphone applications are a vital innovation capable of addressing these challenges. They can revolutionize how we manage infectious diseases by providing immediate and accurate diagnosis which is crucial for effective treatment and containment.
One glaring example of the healthcare system’s shortcomings is the lack of laboratory facilities in many parts of the world. In rural or underdeveloped regions, healthcare providers often do not have access to necessary diagnostic tools, leading to the premature or incorrect use of antibiotics.
For instance, in many low-resource settings, antibiotics are prescribed without proper diagnosis due to the unavailability of labs to conduct necessary tests. This practice contributes significantly to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and, as a byproduct, has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (superbugs). These superbugs pose a severe threat to global health, as they are harder to treat and can spread rapidly.
POC rapid diagnostics smartphone apps can help reduce the overuse of antibiotics. By providing immediate and reliable diagnostic results, these apps can assist healthcare providers in making informed decisions about whether antibiotics are necessary.
These are just a few examples.
The integration of POC rapid diagnostic smartphone apps into the healthcare system offers a multi-pronged solution to the challenges posed by a growing population and the limited scalability of healthcare infrastructure.
In knowing and understanding this, it was clear there was a gap that needed to be filled and so I started Light AI.
Pulse 2.0 (Amit): Can you walk us through the initial stages of development? Has the platform been validated?
Light AI (Peter): In order for an idea to hold merit it has to be validated and supported by research and development. So in partnership with some of the world’s top health institutions – from UCLA, UPMC Children’s Hospital, UNM, Hospitals to Cincinnati Children’s, The University of Rhode Island, Uganda Heart Institute, – and around $20 MN we developed a property database to develop Light AI’s platform.
Fast forward to today and our platform’s algorithm has generated pre-FDA results that were in the range of the “Gold Standard” swab culture currently used for diagnosing GAS (group A strep). It achieved a 96.57% accuracy rate and also attained a Negative Predictive Value of 100%, indicating its high reliability in confirming the absence of Streptococcus A infection.
Pulse 2.0 (Amit): It’s both interesting and surprising to hear Strep A has reached an all time high given its been generally known to cause mild infections. Can you give us a bit more insight here?
Light AI (Peter): According to MDPI, viral infections are responsible for up to 80% of sore throat cases.
Viral and GAS pharyngitis affects over 600 million people annually and, if untreated, can lead to Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD)—a fatal condition with an annual global economic burden exceeding $1 trillion.
Last month, we launched an initiative in partnership with Beast Philanthropy to address rheumatic heart disease in Africa, which stems from untreated Strep A infections.
For those living in underserved regions with little access to care and a lack of medical resources, our AI-powered Strep A tests (aka the Light AI platform) are a literal lifeline.
Over the next six months for every dollar donated toward this cause we will provide one AI-powered Strep A test. We hope to provide 10,000 tests to different regions in Africa and need public support to do so. For those interested, they can learn more about the initiative on Beast Philanthropy.
And yes, Strep A has been known to cause more mild infection especially in the West but all of that is changing.
Broadly speaking, Strep A causes a range of infections, from mild to severe. Common mild to moderate infections include strep throat, scarlet fever, impetigo, cellulitis, and erysipelas. However, when left untreated, the bacteria can lead to more dangerous invasive infections such as necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease), streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), bacteremia, and pneumonia. It can also trigger serious post-infectious complications like rheumatic heart disease and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN).
What we want to steer clear of are those more severe infections and the post-infectious complications caused by Strep A. The only way to do this is by diagnosing it and treating it as early as possible. I cannot stress the importance of this enough.
Pulse 2.0 (Amit): Aside from expanding the platform’s capabilities so that it can detect other types of conditions in the throat, eyes, and skin, is there a long-term vision or roadmap in place? What does the future look like for Light AI?
Light AI (Peter): Our future vision for the Light AI platform is to combine smartphone and AI in-the-cloud technology to create a Digital Clinical Lab that provides quick and accessible diagnosis for countless conditions that today require expensive and time-consuming imaging or lab processes.
This is the key to fueling effective healthcare for a global population way into the future. It’s how physicians and healthcare works quickly get to the people who need care urgently. It’s how we allocate our resources better. And it’s how we innovate the healthcare sector for the long-term.
Light AI is a publicly listed company: CBOE CA: ALGO / FSE:0HC and you can learn more here:
Website: https://light.ai/
LinkedIn: LinkedIn/company/Light AI
X (Formerly Twitter): @lightaihealth
