NVIDIA launches Inception Alliance with GE Healthcare and Nuance to accelerate medical imaging AI startups

Just over 125 years ago, on Nov. 8, 1895, the world’s first X-ray image was captured. It was a breakthrough that set the stage for the modern medical imaging industry. Over the decades, an entire ecosystem of medical imaging hardware and software came to be, with AI startups now playing a key role within it.

Fast forward to the current century, advances in digital imaging technologies have changed our ways of life. Leading the change is NVIDIA, a tech company that specializes in the manufacture of graphics-processor technologies for workstations, desktop computers, and mobile devices.

Today, NVIDIA announced the launch of Inception Alliance for Healthcare, an initiative where medical AI startups have new opportunities to chart innovations and accelerate their success with the help of NVIDIA and its healthcare industry partners.

Premier members of NVIDIA Inception, our accelerator program for 6,500+ startups across 90 countries in AI and data sciences, can now join the GE Healthcare Edison Developer Program. Through integration with the GE Healthcare Edison Platform, these startups gain access to GE Healthcare’s global network to scale clinical and commercial activities within their expansive install base of 4 million imaging, mobile diagnostics, and monitoring units across 160 countries with 230 million exams and associated data.

Premier members with FDA clearance also can join the Nuance AI Marketplace for Diagnostic Imaging. The Nuance AI Marketplace brings AI into the radiology workflow by connecting developers directly with radiology subscribers. It offers AI developers a single API to connect their AI solutions to radiologists across 8,000 healthcare facilities that use the Nuance PowerShare Network. And it gives radiology subscribers a one-stop-shop to review, try, validate, and buy AI models — bridging the technology divide to make AI useful, usable, and used.

NVIDIA Inception, which recently added its 1,000th healthcare AI startup, offers its members a variety of ongoing benefits, including go-to-market support, technical assistance, and access to NVIDIA expertise — all tailored to a business’s maturity stage. Startups get access to training through the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute, preferred pricing on hardware through our global network of distributors, invitations to exclusive networking events, and more.

To nurture the growth of AI startups in healthcare, and ultimately the entire medical ecosystem, NVIDIA is working with healthcare giants to offer Inception members an accelerated go-to-market path.

The NVIDIA Inception Alliance for Healthcare will forge new ways to grow through targeted networking, AI training, early access to technology, pitch competitions, and technology integration. Members will receive customized training and support to develop, deploy, and integrate NVIDIA GPU-accelerated apps everywhere within the medical imaging ecosystem.

Select startup members will have direct access to engage joint customers, in addition to the marketing promotion of their results. The initiative will kick off with a pitch competition for leading AI startups in medical imaging and related supporting fields.

“Startups are on the forefront of innovation and the GE Healthcare Edison Developer Program provides them access to the world’s largest installed base of medical devices and customers,” said Karley Yoder, vice president and general manager of Artificial Intelligence at GE Healthcare. “Bringing together the world-class capabilities from industry-leading partners creates a fast-track to accelerate innovation in a connected ecosystem that will help improve the quality of care, lower healthcare costs, and deliver better outcomes for patients.”

“With Nuance’s deep understanding of radiologists’ needs and workflow, we are uniquely positioned to help them transform healthcare by harnessing AI. The Nuance AI Marketplace gives radiologists the ability to easily purchase, validate and use AI models within solutions they use every day, so they can work smarter and more efficiently,” said Karen Holzberger, senior vice president and general manager of the Diagnostic Division at Nuance. “The AI models help radiologists focus their time and expertise on the right case at the right time, alleviate many repetitive, mundane tasks and, ultimately, improve patient care — and save more lives. Connecting NVIDIA Inception startup members to the Nuance AI Marketplace is a natural fit — and creates a connection for startups that benefits the entire industry.”

You can learn more at the NVIDIA RSNA 2020 Special Address, which is open to the public on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. CT. Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s vice president of healthcare, will discuss how we’re working with medical imaging companies, radiologists, data scientists, researchers, and medical device companies to bring workflow acceleration, AI models, and deployment platforms to the medical imaging ecosystem.