What is Viz AI?

Business / By / September 2, 2023
  • Viz AI is a medical imaging healthcare company that offers an artificial intelligence-based tool for disease detection and workflow optimization. The company was founded in 2016 by David Golan and neurosurgeon Dr. Chris Mansi.
  • While the reasons for a stroke sufferer not receiving timely care are varied, Mansi wanted to transition from the inefficient push model (with numerous steps and handovers) to one where decisions could be made within minutes. He posited that this could only be done with artificial intelligence.
  • Viz AI now also provides AI solutions for numerous other applications such as trauma care, early disease detection, cardiac care, and various neurological conditions. The company also sells AI-powered workflows for detection, triage, multidisciplinary care, and other purposes.

Viz AI is a medical imaging healthcare company that offers an artificial intelligence-based tool for disease detection and workflow optimization. 

The company, which was founded in 2016 by David Golan and neurosurgeon Dr. Chris Mansi, was listed by Forbes in 2021 as one of the 25 venture-backed start-ups most likely to achieve unicorn status.

A short history of Viz AI

Viz AI was inspired by a patient known to Mansi who, despite undergoing successful brain surgery, passed away because too much time had elapsed before she was moved to the operating room. As a doctor, Mansi knew systemic (but preventable) process delays had undermined the efforts of the patient’s care team and ultimately caused her death.

While studying for his MBA at Harvard Business School, Mansi happened to meet David Golan – an Israeli machine learning post-doc who had recently been discharged from hospital after a suspected stroke. 

The pair soon bonded over a perceived lack of data in stroke care and decided that AI could be used to make processes faster and smarter. They took this idea to Eric Schmidt – of whom Mansi was a student – with the Google CEO’s Innovation Endeavors leading a round of seed funding worth $7.5 million.

How does Viz’s AI-powered stroke software work?

While the reasons for a stroke sufferer not receiving timely care are varied, Mansi wanted to turn the existing push model (with numerous steps, handovers, and hours-long delays) into one where decisions could be made within a matter of minutes.

This, he posited, could be facilitated with AI: “What if within a minute of the scan, an algorithm would read that scan and alert the right neurologist or neuro interventionalist so they could go, yes, these images show a patient who I could potentially treat, let’s transfer them over.”

The company’s AI software reads both CT and MRI scans and then sends an alert to the relevant stroke team if it recognizes a specific pattern indicative of a stroke. Each neural network is trained on a vast database of medical imagery from a period of around 10 years. 

Every member of this team – usually comprised of a neurologist, neuro interventionist, radiologist, and ER physician – can see the patient scan at the same time and confer within minutes to devise a treatment plan.

Importantly, specific compression algorithms also ensure that scans can be properly analyzed on smartphones or when cellular network service is inadequate.

What other solutions does Viz offer?

Viz has since expanded to other time-sensitive contexts where diagnostic imagery is used. To that end, the company now offers solutions in two categories. 

1 – AI-powered care coordination

In the coordination of care, Viz offers four solutions:

  • Viz Trauma Suite – for trauma care providers.
  • Viz Cardio Suite – with AI-powered diagnostic tools for pulmonary embolism and aortic disease.
  • Radiology Suite – a scalable, cloud-based solution integrated into radiology workflows, and
  • Neuro Suite – for neurological conditions such as aneurysms, intracranial hemorrhage, subdural, and large vessel occlusions.

2 – AI-powered workflows

Viz also offers numerous AI-powered workflows that form part of a patient’s care coordination:

  • Viz LVO – the only clinically approved tech that can detect and triage patients with suspected large vessel occlusions (LVOs).
  • Viz Aneurysm – for aneurysm detection and follow-up.
  • Viz PE – for pulmonary embolism care coordination.
  • Viz CTP – a smartphone tool that utilizes advanced imaging technology to produce and analyze images of the brain.
  • Viz Subdural – an AI-assisted detection tool for acute and chronic subdural hematoma.
  • Viz Connect – a workflow optimizer for cryptogenic stroke patients who require multidisciplinary care from both brain and heart specialists, and
  • Viz ICH – an automated detector of early intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Key Highlights:

  • Founding and Vision: Viz AI is a medical imaging healthcare company founded in 2016 by David Golan and neurosurgeon Dr. Chris Mansi. The company’s aim is to leverage artificial intelligence to enhance disease detection and optimize medical workflows.
  • Inspiration Behind Viz AI: The founders were inspired by instances of delayed patient care leading to unfavorable outcomes. Dr. Mansi’s experience with a patient’s tragic death due to process delays prompted the idea of using AI to expedite and improve healthcare processes.
  • AI-Powered Stroke Software: Viz AI’s primary product is an AI-powered stroke software that rapidly reads CT and MRI scans for stroke indicators. The software alerts the relevant stroke team, allowing quick decision-making and treatment planning. The AI is trained on extensive medical imagery data.
  • Expansion into Healthcare Solutions: Viz AI has expanded beyond stroke care to offer AI-powered solutions in various time-sensitive healthcare contexts. These include:
    • Viz Trauma Suite for trauma care providers.
    • Viz Cardio Suite with diagnostic tools for pulmonary embolism and aortic disease.
    • Radiology Suite, integrated into radiology workflows.
    • Neuro Suite for neurological conditions.
  • AI-Powered Workflows: Viz AI provides AI-powered workflows for various medical applications:
    • Viz LVO: Detects and triages patients with suspected large vessel occlusions (LVOs).
    • Viz Aneurysm: Detects and follows up on aneurysms.
    • Viz PE: Coordinates care for pulmonary embolism.
    • Viz CTP: Utilizes advanced imaging for brain analysis.
    • Viz Subdural: Assists in acute and chronic subdural hematoma detection.
    • Viz Connect: Optimizes care for cryptogenic stroke patients.
    • Viz ICH: Detects early intracerebral hemorrhage.

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About The Author

Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
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