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Taking the leap from research to an AI startup: a Medo AI keynote
Co-founders of local startup Medo AI present on taking their vision for a 21st-century stethoscope to reality
In May of 2022, two Medo AI co-founders, Dornoosh Zonoobi and Jacob Jaremko (Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii), took the stage at Amii’s AI Week to share the company’s journey from academia to commercialization. The presentation explored the factors they had to consider, as well as the roadblocks they had to overcome along the way.
The startup, which was acquired by health information and medical devices company Exo in July 2022, has its roots in academia. Prior to Medo AI’s inception, Jaremko’s team (which included Zonoobi) was conducting clinical research on Developmental Dysplasia of Hip (DDH) – a hip abnormality that can be corrected, if diagnosed and treated in infancy.
In 2018, the team published a paper on automating the analysis and diagnosis of DDH, summarizing their work with over 1700 subjects. Using automation, the team was able to reduce indeterminate cases by 75%, improving diagnostic accuracy considerably over traditional methods.
Jaremko expressed that although the results of the study were exciting, “it doesn’t really have an impact unless we can actually start screening babies, and start building these tools.”
“Little did we know it at the time, but we were embarking on a path to commercialization.”
Thus, in 2018, Zonoobi and Jaremko, alongside radiologist Jeevesh Kapur, founded Medo AI. Medo AI’s vision is to bring medical imaging to anyone – whenever and wherever they need it.
Vision to reality
Medo AI’s keynote explores their story and gives practical advice on navigating as a new startup. Watch the full presentation now, which includes:
- The company’s pathway to getting funded
- How to build a startup company team
- The need for local friends
- Contracts and agreements
- Navigating conflicts
- IP and regulatory approval
- Product development, marketing and business planning
Hungry for more in-depth explorations of AI and machine learning? Check out our playlist of AI Week 2022 keynotes and select presentations.
AI Week is now Upper Bound
In 2022, more than 2,000 people celebrated 20 years of artificial intelligence research excellence with us at AI Week. It was a resounding success, with more than 50 events, 100 speakers and guests joining us from 38 countries.
Building on the success of that gathering, 2023’s Upper Bound is poised to be Canada’s largest convergence of AI researchers and applied professionals.
What started as an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come is now an annual gathering of the best and brightest in the field.
We look forward to welcoming you in 2023 and many more years to come.
