AI Shaping Future Healthcare: LHIF 13 Focuses On Innovation

Bengaluru recently hosted the 13th edition of the Lifesciences and Healthcare Forum (LHIF), a flagship initiative of MeitY-KTech-NASSCOM-Centre of Excellence (CoE), at St John’s Hospital and Research Institute. The event drew over 300 delegates from various sectors, including industry, government, academia, and startups, all converging to discuss the theme "AI for Care: Shaping the Future of Healthcare and Lifesciences."

The forum featured thought leadership sessions led by prominent figures from healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and MedTech enterprises. These sessions highlighted the transformative impact of AI on several critical areas, including drug discovery and repurposing, precision therapeutics, and generative AI for enhancing healthcare operations.

Key industry leaders such as Srini Mahalingam, Vice President of Customer Success – Healthcare at GAVS Technologies; Ramakrishna Rao, Senior Engineering Director at GE Healthcare; Mayank Anand, VP Global Clinical Operations Leader at GSK; and Balasubramanian Sankaranarayanan, President & CEO of Thryve Digital, contributed to these discussions.

In addition to the sessions, the 6th edition of the Healthcare Innovation Challenge was launched. This program aims to support healthcare providers in adopting curated startup-led AI solutions. Notable use cases presented during the challenge included AI-led predictions of malignancy risk in thyroid nodules, chemotherapy drug toxicity, generative AI-based patient counselling solutions, and AI-driven diagnostics for diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (ArMD).

A significant highlight of the event was the release of the "AI Transformation Playbook" report titled "Advancing Healthcare in India," published in collaboration with NASSCOM Insights. The report revealed that only 44 per cent of companies have identified AI use cases, 43% have piloted them, and 38% have implemented AI use cases in production over the past 12 months.

Several promising startups were recognised with awards for their contributions to AI in healthcare. Among the winners were Tricog for AI in Cardiology, Remidio for AI in Ophthalmology, Neos Health for AI in Radiology, Brainsight for AI-led Surgical Planning, 4baseCare for Precision Therapeutics, Alveofit for Pulmonary Screening, and Peptris for AI-led Drug Discovery.

This edition of LHIF underscored the growing role of AI in revolutionizing healthcare, paving the way for future advancements in the field.