C2-Ai named as winner of Health Inequalities Targeted Call

Artificial intelligence company, C2-Ai has been named as one of the winners of a collaborative initiative looking for innovative solutions to address healthcare inequalities.

The Health Inequalities Targeted Call was supported by NHS Innovation Accelerator, NHS England and NHS Race and Health Observatory. C2-Ai was named as one of the winners, alongside Sickle Cell Society, at The Royal Society of Medicine conference on 16^th January.

The call for innovative solutions opened in July 2023 and aims to tackle and de-bias scoring and stratification systems across three distinct clinical settings: maternity, sickle cell disease management and elective care. Aligning with the Core20PLUS5 strategy, it hopes to drive forward innovations that hold the potential to improve everyday care for patients, resulting in better outcomes and more equitable healthcare.

C2-Ai uses advanced clinical artificial intelligent solutions to conduct patient-specific risk assessments. It considers factors such as ethnicity, deprivation data and other social determinants in health. Ultimately, its use can lead to reductions in harm, mortality rates and avoidable costs.

Professor Bola Owolabi, director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England, said: “I’m delighted that through this collaboration between the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England, the NHS Innovation Accelerator and NHS Race and Health Observatory, we will be supporting innovative approaches to narrowing the health inequalities gap for our most marginalised communities.

“I’m clear that innovation, in products, approaches and interventions is a vital component of our multi-faceted effort to ensure equitable access, excellent experience and optimal outcomes; for all. These initiatives are further powerful signals of our determination to collaborate and innovate our way out of health inequalities and achieve our shared purpose.”

UK managing director for C2-Ai, Dr Mark Ratnarajah, recently explained how he believed that in 2024 we’d see a new understanding of the changing clinical risk of patients, helping to transform patient safety approaches.

C2-Ai’s AI-powered solutions have been verified to have a tangible impact on healthcare systems. It customises risk assessments for each patients, which helps hospitals to uncover up to 90% more potential harm than traditional methods. A patient’s individual clinical needs and risks can be scored to help support surgeons’ decision making in how to treat patients and who needs to be prioritised.

Steve Barnett, director of NHS engagement at C2-Ai, said: “We aspire to establish the international benchmark for improving healthcare quality, reducing disparities, and achieving cost-efficiency in hospitals worldwide.

“C2-Ai envisions a future where precision medicine becomes the standard, providing hospitals with AI systems for real-time, individualised risk assessment and care.

“Being part of this collaboration signifies our dedication to working hand-in-hand with NHS England and the NHS Race and Health Observatory to combat healthcare inequalities, striving for a future where healthcare quality is paramount, and disparities are minimised.”