April 27, 2022 | Alumni
Health startup Signal 1 AI uses machine learning to save lives: The Globe and Mail, BetaKit
From left to right: Signal 1 AI Inc.'s Tomi Poutanen, Mara Lederman and Muhammad Mamdani (photo courtesy of Signal 1)
Signal 1 AI Inc., a startup led by CEO Tomi Poutanen (MASc 1998, MBA 1999), a University of Toronto alumnus and co-founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, has raised $10-million in financing as it looks to commercialize a machine learning tool – developed at Unity Health Toronto – that can predict a patient’s risk of death, the Globe and Mail reported.
Poutanen, who once studied under deep learning pioneer and Signal 1 AI investor University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, co-founded Signal 1 with Mara Lederman, professor at the Rotman School of Management and academic lead of the CDL Partners Program at the Creative Destruction Lab, according to BetaKit.
The company’s product, CHARTWatch, analyzes commonly collected hospital data to determine which patients are likely to deteriorate. It was originally developed at St. Michael’s Hospital by a team led by Signal 1's clinical adviser Muhammad Mamdani, vice-president of data science and advanced analytics at Unity Health Toronto and director of the Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine at U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, according to the Globe. The newspaper said Signal 1 is using the AI engine developed by Poutanen’s previous startup Layer 6, which he sold to TD Bank in 2018, to boost CHARTWatch’s capabilities.
“There’s a lot of hype around AI and health care… but it’s justified because there’s so much promise,” Poutanen told The Globe. “There’s so much data flowing through hospitals, but nobody is using it appropriately. Machines can help add value to improve health outcomes.”