The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology collaborates with Amplify Health Foundation to develop modern technology for early detection of diabetes, aiming to reduce healthcare costs and protect individuals from risks that may lead to foot amputations resulting from diabetes complications.
A newly developed system by Coast University integrates distinctive artificial intelligence technologies from Amplify Health with advanced spectral imaging technology (HyplexTM), designed by Professor Andrea Frattalucchi, a faculty member in the Electrical Engineering Department at Coast University.
It is noted that the number of people worldwide affected by diabetes exceeds 500 million, and this number is expected to increase by over 100 million by the year 2030. Moreover, the prevalence of diabetes in Saudi Arabia is remarkably high, reaching approximately 20% of the total population. Additionally, diabetes is known to be the leading cause of foot and leg amputations worldwide, accounting for over 80% of lower limb amputation cases in the United States.
The partnership established between Coast University and Amplify Health Foundation aims to early detect diabetes, develop optimal treatment programs, and significantly reduce lower limb amputation cases.
Professor Frattalucchi stated, “This endeavor can potentially reduce Saudi Arabia’s medical costs by over two billion riyals annually and also decrease the number of lower limb amputations performed worldwide, which is close to about 1.5 million operations annually, positively impacting the quality of life for millions of people.”
The HyplexTM imaging technology is distinguished by its ability to collect massive amounts of data up to terabytes per second, significantly exceeding the gigabytes of data obtained by regular cameras in the market. This advancement provides us with comprehensive and new information used in early disease detection.
Professor Frattalucchi is currently conducting experiments on the technology called HyplexTM in collaboration with medical institutions in Saudi Arabia to identify the presence of skin cancer. These tests are carried out through the new company, Pixeltra, which is based in Coast.
The partnership between King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and Amplify Health Foundation, one of the leading Saudi companies in the healthcare technology field, sets an example of how local technologies contribute to the development of disease diagnostic and treatment methods. It also highlights the importance of Smart Health initiative at King Abdullah University in enhancing the level of healthcare that will be provided in the future within Saudi Arabia.
Pierre Magistretti, the Academic Vice President of the university and the head of the Smart Health program at Coast University, stated that the objective of this initiative is to develop predictive capabilities of artificial intelligence in terms of disease identification and detection through the use of technology developed by Coast University. Additionally, the initiative aims to enhance the accuracy and performance in medical diagnostic methods.
