Chris Fernandez, founding CEO of EnsoData, solves your sleep problems... with AI
Aug 21, 2023
40:25
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Chris Fernandez, founding CEO of EnsoData, uses AI to solve sleep problems by making sleep studies more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate. He discusses how AI and machine learning can be applied to sleep apnea, the potential of 'smart rooms' for healthy sleep, and the importance of controlling AI bias. He also shares tips on improving sleep quality from an expert's perspective. Listen and learn about the intersection of technology and healthcare, the risks in AI software development, and the challenges of scaling a startup.
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Quick takeaways
EnsoData uses AI to automate sleep studies, making them more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate.
EnsoData's AI tools enable sleep clinics to extend their reach and offer personalized treatment plans to more patients.
Deep dives
Using AI to Make Sleep Studies More Efficient and Accurate
Enzo Data, founded in 2015, is using AI to revolutionize sleep studies. With the goal of making sleep studies more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate, Enzo Data has raised over $30 million in funding. The company focuses on analyzing physiologic waveform data collected during sleep studies, such as brain waves, ECG, respiratory airflow, and movement, to identify patterns and provide clinicians with valuable insights. By automating the analysis process, Enzo Data has greatly increased the speed and efficiency of sleep diagnoses, helping to address the widespread issue of undiagnosed sleep apnea.
Improving Access to Sleep Care
One of the key challenges in sleep health is the limited access to sleep clinics and diagnostic testing. Enzo Data aims to address this problem by using AI tools to enable sleep clinics and healthcare institutions to extend their reach and offer testing and treatment services to more patients. By streamlining workflows and providing interoperable cloud-based tools, Enzo Data makes it easier for healthcare providers to collect, analyze, and collaborate on sleep study data. This technology opening up greater access to sleep care and enabling more personalized treatment plans for patients.
The Promise and Potential of Consumer Sleep Technology
Beyond clinical sleep problems, Enzo Data recognizes the growing potential of consumer sleep technology. With advancements in connected devices and wearables, the future may bring innovations such as automated adjustable mattresses, personalized lighting and soundscapes, and more. These technologies can optimize sleep environments, improve sleep quality, and provide valuable insights for individuals to enhance their sleep habits. Enzo Data is excited about the possibilities of integrating consumer sleep technology, AI, and data analytics to further improve sleep health and wellness.
Balancing Accuracy and False Positives/Negatives in AI Diagnosis
In developing their AI-powered diagnostic software, Enzo Data acknowledges the challenges of balancing accuracy and minimizing false positives and false negatives. To ensure the highest level of performance and generalizability, Enzo Data conducts clinical validation studies and analyzes performance across different population groups. They also focus on addressing biases and variations in the algorithm's performance based on factors like age, sex, and device type. Through rigorous testing and ongoing refinement, Enzo Data strives to provide accurate and reliable sleep disorder diagnoses with their AI technology.
About 54 million Americans and 936 million patients globally suffer from sleep apnea and 80% of cases go undiagnosed. Today’s guest is fixing that problem.
Chris Fernandez co-founded EnsoData in June 2015 to use AI to make sleep studies more efficient, cost effective, and accurate.
Since then, he and the team have raised more than $30M from an exceptional group of investors including Zetta Venture Partners, M25 Ventures, and Inspire Medical Systems.
Chris received his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Biomedical and Medical Engineering. He also wrote one of the most thoughtful perspectives on the entrepreneurial journey when he handed over the reigns to new CEO Justin Mortara last November. At 8,200 words, it may also be one of the longest.
Listen and learn...
What led Chris to care about solving sleep problems
How EnsoData overcame being "a solution in search of a problem"
How AI and machine learning can be applied to sleep apnea
How being incubated by Y Combinator helped launch EnsoData
How to use brainwaves to train AI models to diagnose sleep issues
When we'll get "smart rooms" that adjust the environment to optimize for healthy sleep
How Chris and the team control for the impact of AI bias
How to improve the quality of your sleep... from an expert