AI models are being applied to every dataset under the sun, but are inconsistent in their outcomes. This is as true in the medical world as anywhere else, but a startup called Piramidal believes it has a sure thing with a foundational model for analyzing brain scan data. Cofounders Dimitris Sakellariou and Kris Pahuja have observed that electroencephalography (EEG) technology, while used in practically every hospital, is fragmented among many types of machines and requires specialized knowledge to interpret.
A piece of software that can consistently flag worrisome patterns, regardless of time, location, or equipment type could improve outcomes for folks with brain disorders, while taking some of the load off overworked nurses and doctors. “In the neural ICU, there are nurses actually monitoring the patient and looking for signs on the EEG. But sometimes they have to leave the room, and these are acute conditions,” said Pahuja.
An abnormal reading or alarm could mean an epileptic episode, or a stroke, or something else — nurses don’t have that training, and even specialist doctors may recognize one but not the other. The two started the company after working for years on the feasibility of computational tools in neurology. They found there is absolutely a way to automate analysis of EEG data that is beneficial for care, but that there’s no simple way to deploy that technology where it’s needed.
“I have experience with this, and I mean I’ve been sitting next to .