“Predicting the future isn’t magic; it is Artificial Intelligence.”
Have you ever imagined a car self-driving itself or a robot ordering and bringing food to your doorstep? Well, it sounds like magic, right? But Dave Waters, in the above quote, correctly pointed out that the future is here, and it is not magic, but Artificial Intelligence (AI).
As AI is emerging as a game-changer in today’s world, more and more industries are focusing on integrating Al in the best possible manner, including the healthcare industry. AI-powered healthcare outcomes have soared in the medical industry because of increased efficiencies, reduced spending, and enhanced patient care. But has the technology been able to outperform clinicians and physicians?
Well, to some extent, YES! In healthcare, AI has employed predictive investigations which can forecast the chances and probabilities of certain diseases and disorders. It can identify disorders, including rare conditions that cannot be detected using the traditional methodology. That’s exactly what Prevencio is delivering to the healthcare industry. Through its AI-powered HART test data, it aims at predicting (diagnosing) diseases at an early stage by delivering highly accurate test results based on advanced technological developments.
With its value proposition of ‘Preventing the Preventable,’ the organization aims to improve patient outcomes by delivering cardiovascular diagnostic and prognostic (risk) tests that are remarkably more accurate than genetic markers and individual protein test markers.
Standing at the forefront of Prevencio’s innovative path is its President & CEO, Rhonda F. Rhyne. Her vision of fighting cardiovascular diseases through superior diagnostic developments is revolutionizing the healthcare industry.
We at Insights Care crossed paths with Rhonda to learn more about Prevencio and how AI is helping patients get the proper treatment at the right time with accurate knowledge. To learn more, delve into the magical and insightful story of Prevencio.
An Inspirational Beginning
Rhonda’s entire career has been devoted to the introduction of medical technologies that have an impact on the identification and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD)—the #1 killer of people today. CVD accounts for one in every three deaths in the US, and it knows no age limits. There has been an increase in people having heart attacks in the 35-to-54-year age group.
She exclaims, “There is a desperate need to improve CVD diagnosis with highly accurate tests based on advanced technologies.” In a quest to prevent cardiovascular diseases and power the healthcare industry with advanced technological development, Rhonda, as CEO of Prevencio, based the company’s product development on AI.
Prevencio is revolutionizing blood tests for cardiovascular (heart) disease—Powered By Artificial Intelligence (AI). Prevencio’s patented use of multiple proteins, clinical variables, and proprietary algorithms has delivered a product portfolio of seven highly accurate blood tests, with more in development. Prevencio’s HART test data have been presented at 20 leading cardiovascular meetings and published in nine top-tier cardiology journals.
Exceptional Leadership
Rhonda received her Bachelor’s in Pharmacy, followed by an MBA. She has spent the past 30 years in executive management for biotech and medical tech companies and possesses high intellectual curiosity.
Rhonda was the Chief Operating Officer and then President of Cardio Dynamics, a publicly traded, innovative cardiovascular medical device company, from 1996 to 2009. The company was sold to Sonosite, Inc. (now Fujifilm Holdings Corp., OTCPK: FUJIY) in August 2009.
Prior to Cardio Dynamics, Rhonda was the Chief Executive Officer and Board Director for Culture Technology, Inc., a privately held biotech company specializing in growing skin for severely burned patients. She also found Rhyne Life Science Consulting, a consultancy practice focused on emerging life science technologies.
Since August 2013, Rhonda has served as President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Translational Officer, and Board Director for Prevencio. She is honored to have received numerous awards, including Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for Medical Products; Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 awards for the 50 fastest-growing technology and life science companies in Southern California for successive nine years; San Diego Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business award; and Athena’s Pinnacle award for supporting women in bioscience business.
Towards Accurate Testing
While voicing the core values, Rhonda states, “Prevencio’s core values include integrity, optimism, teamwork, innovation, and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.”
Further, she orates that the mission of Prevencio is to ‘Prevent the Preventable.’ That is improving patient outcomes and clinical trials through more accurate blood tests for CVD and related conditions. Prevencio utilizes Machine Learning, multiple proteins, and proprietary algorithms to deliver cardiovascular diagnostic and prognostic tests that are significantly more accurate than standard-of-care stress tests, individual biomarkers, genetic markers, and clinical risk scores.
More accurate testing means predicting — and hopefully thereby preventing — one year risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke. More accurate diagnosis leads to preventing unnecessary cardiac procedures and procedure-related side effects.
Providing an Ahead-of-time Technology
There are multiple reasons that set Prevencio apart from the competition. Foremost, the HART test’s robust accuracy has clearly differentiated it from other diagnostic and risk assessment tools that physicians have available today. Prevencio employs Machine Learning, a subset of Artificial Intelligence, to interrogate well-characterized clinical data sets to produce novel, multi-protein, and proprietary algorithms test panels that revolutionize the diagnosis and risk prediction of cardiovascular disorders. Secondly, the company is engaging forward-thinking physicians on its Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board to assist in clinical market development.
Thirdly, the HART CVE test reports a risk score for having a major adverse cardiovascular event in one year. Most cardiac risk assessment tools provide a five-year to ten-year cardiac risk. Most people and physicians are interested in the nearer-term assessment, such as one year, which allows timely action towards decreasing the risk of an adverse CV event. Five to ten-year prediction is less tangible for both patient and physician.
Fostering Clinical Accuracy and Adding Value Through Clinical Trials
Rhonda also shared about providing clinical accuracy and adding value to clinical trials. She added, “We drive superior clinical accuracy through robust statistical methodology and following the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) best practices for omics-based test development.”
The company employs a multidisciplinary team with its bioinformaticians, Chief Scientific and Translational Officers, Principal Investigators, Key Opinion Leaders, and executive team. This allows for a variety of inputs and recommendations. The organization stays abreast of current studies and compares its results to other testing modalities.
For clinical trials, Prevencio’s HART tests can assist in a variety of ways, including identifying patients with heart disease or those that have a near-term risk of a cardiac event. This is referred to as Clinical Trial Enrichment, or only enrolling high-risk patients in a trial; also, to serially measure patients to determine whether a drug is effective in lowering disease risk, and to indicate toxicity or assess the safety of drugs.
Aligning Technological Developments with Healthcare
At Prevencio, Rhonda and her team strongly believe that healthcare providers should be armed with technological advancements. She opines, “We need to make healthcare more efficient, accurate, accessible, and as technologically advanced as other industries. As a society, we are continually advancing with new discoveries, and it would behoove us to implement these new discoveries to optimize healthcare.”
According to Rhonda, AI is transforming every industry at lightning speed. Hence at Prevencio, they have incorporated ML to create highly accurate, accessible blood tests for the improved care of patients. In doing so, the organization can influence and prevent the complications of heart disease and lifelong disabilities.
Words of Wisdom
While addressing the younger generation willing to venture into the healthcare niche, Rhonda shared, “My words of wisdom to those aspiring to venture into the healthcare niche include: dream a bold dream; recruit and build a great team around you; respect, trust, delegate, support, and get out of their way; understand it most likely will take five times longer and five times the amount of money you anticipate; never give up!”
Embracing the Future Roadmap
To scale, Rhonda believes in broadening awareness and sales of its HART tests. To allow more diverse populations to benefit from the HART tests, the organization is aggressively pursuing insurance coverage. It has obtained reimbursement billing codes and is applying for robust, yet fair pricing, launching economic studies, and applying for reimbursement coverage.
To enable worldwide availability, the organization will be acquired by a global immunoassay protein measuring platform company to develop its tests on their platform and obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals; and continue blood test development for additional cardiovascular and other diseases.
Rhonda states, “We will continue our pursuit of increasing awareness and decreasing the incidence of cardiac disease and its complications. As Prevencio’s CEO, I strive to capture and implement innovative ideas; challenge, nurture and develop our team members; and continue my life-long learning voyage. Most importantly, I strive to love, encourage, and accept others!”
