Rotterdam Square hosts session about cutting-edge innovations in diagnostics

On September 12, we hosted our first event after the summer: Cutting-Edge Diagnostic Innovations for Enhanced Healthcare Outcomes. We were joined by professors Peter van der Spek from Erasmus MC, who specializes in Clinical Bioinformatics, and Evert Stamhuis from Erasmus School of Law. They participated in a challenging dialogue about the ethics of innovative diagnostic solutions.

Playing memory with cells

Prof. dr. Peter van der Spek enthusiastically introduced applications of Stanford University-based Deepcell AI technology for unprecedentedly fast and powerful diagnostics in areas as cardiology, oncology, immunology, urology, psychiatry and internal medicine. In the time it takes a pathologist to view ten cells and drink a cup of coffee, her AI-enabled colleague can scan up to 100,000 cells and compare them with an extensive library. which continuously expands as it is used. This makes it possible to detect relatively small numbers of affected cells in body fluids such as blood and urine.

Because we have only just begun to explore the amazing possibilities of AI applications in diagnostics, important normative questions, such as legal and ethical, remain to be answered, prof. dr. Evert Stamhuis explained in his response. Consider data and technology regulation. Does a photo of a single human cell qualify as personal data, he asked rhetorically. What is the relationship between the public fields of scientific research and healthcare and industry? Who owns the data and algorithms when government agencies upload their images while performing diagnostics? And what healthcare policy priorities exactly are served by the incremental development of technology?

The dialogue format of the event once again ensured a lively discussion with the audience, which is guaranteed to continue!

We would like to give a special thanks to the Life Sciences & Health delegation from South Africa who joined us at the event and networking yesterday. After a full week of visits throughout the Netherlands, we were very excited to welcome them to Rotterdam and Erasmus MC to show what is happening here in our vibrant healthcare ecosystem.

Would you like to join our next events? Please visit our events page.