Liver Disease: Genetics, Lifestyle, and Innovation

In this episode of the AWS Health Innovation Podcast, Amrita Sarkar, Principal Healthcare and Life Sciences Startups Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services, sits down with Rajarshi Banerjee, aka 'Banjo', the CEO of Perspectum, a company revolutionizing the way we diagnose and monitor chronic diseases. Perspectum's medical imaging software applies artificial intelligence to enhance MRI scans, providing greater precision in measuring organ inflammation and enabling non-invasive "virtual biopsies" to avoid complications associated with invasive approaches.

1. How did Perspectum's innovative approach to medical imaging originate?
   • During his PhD research on cardiac MRI at Oxford, Banjo developed non-invasive tissue characterization methods. This led to creating Liver MultiScan, addressing the massive need for non-invasive liver disease diagnosis.
2. What is Perspectum's vision for personalized medicine, and how are they working towards it?
   • Perspectum strategically expanded beyond liver disease to conditions like long COVID, diabetes, and cancer, aligning with their vision for personalized medicine. They collaborate transparently across ethnicities and geographies to address healthcare inequities.
3. How has Perspectum's user-friendly approach contributed to the adoption of their solutions?
   • Perspectum designed FDA-cleared reports to effectively communicate liver disease status, replacing invasive biopsies with non-invasive LiverMultiScan in early-stage clinical trials. Their solutions influenced regulatory decisions and diagnostic criteria.
4. How does Perspectum prioritize data security and privacy in their solutions?
   • Meeting stringent cybersecurity standards from early collaborations with U.S. military hospitals, Perspectum emphasizes standardizing and signposting cybersecurity requirements for safe AI healthcare delivery. Their software augments physicians' capabilities while ensuring patient communication.
5. What insights does Banjo share about fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and driving innovation?
   • Inspired by his mother's pioneering work in computing, Banjo encourages entrepreneurs to embrace making their own mistakes. Perspectum envisions improving patient outcomes through safer procedures, faster diagnoses, and multi-organ disease analysis capabilities.
6. In what conditions has Perspectum's non-invasive AI powered scans been shown to facilitate safer assessment and monitoring?
   • Diabetes: Quantitative Imaging Reveals Steatosis and Fibroinflammation in Multiple Organs in People With Type 2 Diabetes: A Real-World Study
   • Liver disease: Tirzepatide for Metabolic Dysfunction–Associated Steatohepatitis with Liver Fibrosisy
   • Liver transplant care: MRI-serum-based score accurately identifies liver transplant patients without rejection avoiding need for liver biopsy: A multisite European study
   • Cancer: Novel multiparametric MRI detects improved future liver remnant quality post-dual vein embolization

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