Why We Invested in Celly.AI
Recently Contrivance Ventures invested in Celly.AI, a provider of cloud-based, AI-enabled microscopy imaging solutions based in the US.
Shortcomings of standard blood analysis procedures
The healthcare industry is fairly slow at adopting technology innovations in comparison to other industries. A great example of that is a simple blood analysis test procedure. Although microscopes have advanced since their invention, the standard blood analysis procedure is still excessively labor-intensive with over 600m blood smears examined manually every year.
Standard blood microscopy procedures have certain shortcomings. There is a scarcity of laboratory pathologists, which has been intensified during the recent pandemic. Blood analysis tests are often subjective and non-standardized, while pathologists suffer from fatigue and preoccupation. Last but not least, blood diagnosis is costly, staff training is time-consuming and pathologist salaries are high. While in developed countries, lack of trained personnel leads to high costs of diagnostics, in developing countries, it often leads to the inability to make a correct diagnosis.
Celly.AI is addressing all aforementioned problems.
AI-enabled, automated microscopy imaging analysis
Celly.AI has developed an iOS app that automates and digitizes lab microscopy using AI and computer vision methods. A technician downloads the Celly.AI app, attaches an iPhone to a microscope’s eyepiece via a special adapter, and the app starts to analyze the slide. The app is easy to use, fast, and efficient.
Currently, it supports white blood cell differential count and malaria test. The app detects the cells, counts them, and generates convenient reports. The AI algorithm has been trained on more than 500k blood cells annotated by experienced specialists. Pap smear analysis, tuberculosis, and other microscopy tests are in the roadmap. The goal is to cover most microscopy tests with the AI-powered solution.
Experienced, technical team with a powerful vision
When we first met Celly.AI’s founder, Ansar, we were impressed by his strong, technical background (PhD in Biophysics and Molecular Biology) despite his young age. Prior to starting Celly.AI, Ansar developed Medicine Live, one of the largest professional networks for physicians in Russia, which is how he encountered the problems of blood analysis procedures addressed by the company. Supported by a strong team of developers and AI engineers, Ansar made it his mission to make automated microscopy imaging analysis accessible and affordable to the mass market.
Long-term importance of the solution
We like Celly.AI’s technology and team just as much as we like the long-term importance and applications of the solution listed below:
- Higher quality and efficiency at lower cost — Celly’s automated microscopy solution will by no means replace pathologists but will enable lower-skilled technicians to perform tests at a higher speed, higher quality, and lower cost. During the testing period, the performance of the algorithm was compared to that of highly qualified lab scientists. It performed the test diagnostics at 8x speed with the same accuracy level. In the future, we see wide application of the solution as quality control and support to technicians across small- and mid-sized labs in highly populated areas and developing regions.
- Standardization of laboratory diagnostics — Celly’s solution provides a high level of standardization and consistency of diagnosis results which often is unattainable with conventional diagnosis conducted by lab staff. The simple reason is that even quite experienced specialists are more prone to human errors and inconsistency, while AI algorithms trained on a large number of samples are consistent in their diagnosis.
- Centralization of test results — Celly’s ability to store the test results in a public cloud, accessible from any location, enables patients and specialists to move across regions while keeping a record of their diagnosis and treatment. We see the future of healthcare as digitized and centralized.
We at Contrivance Ventures are very excited to be part of Celly.AI’s journey and look forward to what the future holds for the team! If you are passionate about the topic and want to learn more, feel free to reach out at info@contrivanceventures.com.
