The Poriya Medical Center and ODMachine (ODM) have signed a Clinical Trial Agreement for the purpose of developing and verifying ODM’s “Optima Stroke” product, that uses an artificial intelligence platform to predict the risk of having a stroke. In May, 2021, final approval was received from the Helsinki Committee to begin conducting the trial.
Optima Stroke is an innovative product based on artificial intelligence that detects and deciphers calcification in the carotid arteries (a main medical factor that significantly increases the risk of strokes) by analyzing the information contained in standard panoramic dental X-rays taken for the purpose of routine dental care.
The principal investigator on behalf of Poriya is Prof. Imad Abu El-Naaj, Head of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Prof. Abu El-Naaj is a specialist in reconstructive surgery, the author of over 100 peer reviewed publications and is much in demand as a lecturer and presenter at top international conferences.
One of the common causes of stroke is a failure to supply oxygen to the brain due to blockage of the carotid arteries. These arteries are located on both sides of the neck and are captured in routine dental panoramic x-rays. An automatic scan and analysis of these x-rays using artificial intelligence and unique image processing technologies will locate the cases in which calcification is present in these arteries and will alert the patient’s family physician even before symptoms appear, allowing him to initiate preventive measures. Stroke prediction and prevention has a critical impact on a patient’s future quality of life. In addition, preventing incidents will reduce the immense economic burden to healthcare systems by avoiding the costs of hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, nursing, and the treatment of related complications.
Dr. Gil Pogozelich, the company’s chairman, said “ODM is proud to be one of the first companies to focus on preventive medicine and thus make a significant contribution to the quality and life expectancy of the population alongside significant savings in treatment and rehabilitation costs. ODM’s unique ability to collate and weigh huge amounts of medical data from diverse sources allows for disease prediction and prevention.
The collaboration between the Poria Medical Center and ODM will accelerate product development so that it can enter routine use in healthcare systems in a short time and allow for the development of further products later.”.
Every year there are 13.7 million new strokes worldwide. It is estimated that calcification in the carotid arteries can be detected in about 7.5% of the panoramic photographs taken of patients aged 55 and over. The average annual cost of treating and rehabilitating a patient in the event of a stroke amounts to tens of thousands of dollars a year, which can be saved in a large number of cases using the “Optima Stroke” product.
The Poria Medical Center is a long-standing and central medical center that serves the residents of Tiberias, the Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley and the Lower Galilee.
