CureMetrix & CureMatch CEO Navid Alipour
The healthcare industry is on the cusp of a revolution. Artificial intelligence plays a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as in how we can prevent them.
Navid Alipour, a San Diego-based venture capitalist and entrepreneur, is at the forefront of this revolution with his companies CureMetrix and CureMatch.
Alipour and his team of scientists developed a machine-learning algorithm to detect breast cancer and the calcifications in the arteries that can lead to heart disease.
"We got the first of its kind FDA-cleared product where we're 99% accurate in detecting breast cancer," Alipour said.
The AI-powered technology can detect anomalies in images and data sets, helping diagnose and treat breast cancer and heart disease earlier than ever. This is a game changer for women, who often experience heart attacks without warning signs.
"Imagine if that woman at the age of 40 or 42 on her first mammogram, not a triennial mammogram like most women do, but if she can detect cancer six years sooner than she would have, the odds of her surviving are significantly higher," Alipour said.
As AI technology continues to revolutionize the healthcare industry, it also creates new opportunities for companies and startups. Navid Alipour believes that the advent of AI in healthcare will lead to the disruption of existing companies and the emergence of new ones.
Alipour points to the example of Microsoft, which disrupted IBM in the 1990s, and the example of Netflix, which disrupted Blockbuster in the 2000s. He believes that these examples illustrate how the pendulum swings in capitalism and that the same will be true of the healthcare industry with the rise of AI.
"I think what's going to happen is that companies that are traditionally part of the healthcare system, whether it be pharma, insurance, or healthcare itself, are all going to be disrupted," Alipour said.
One example of this disruption is Amazon's foray into the prescription drug business. Amazon knows an incredible amount about its customers, and if customers start buying their prescription drugs from Amazon, then Amazon will learn even more about their health. This raises a lot of ethical questions, as well as questions about privacy.
Alipour believes that privacy is a delicate balance and that the U.S. is between China, where privacy is virtually non-existent, and Europe, which has stringent privacy laws.
Finally, Alipour is most excited about the future of healthcare, particularly regarding the average lifespan. He believes that by 2030, or possibly even 2035, the average lifespan will be 100 years, and the first person will have lived to 150.
Alipour and his team are motivated by the fact that if they can do things even one day faster, they can positively impact someone's life. He believes that the future of healthcare is incredibly exciting and that AI technology will lead to greater efficiencies and opportunities for both companies and patients.