Good morning from the West Coast, where I spent yesterday at Lux Capital’s Health X Intelligence forum, with a daylong agenda focused on all the ways AI is transforming health care. I was leading a conversation about the best topic within that theme, of course—women’s health.
I was joined by three leaders who are integrating AI into women’s health into different ways. Angela Dao, head of maternity product at the women’s health unicorn Maven, is trying to close care gaps communicating with patients in between appointments (and life stages). Bailey Renger, the founder of BeSound, is piloting a new form of screening for breast cancer, as I covered in September, when she raised $6.8 million from investors including the CEO of Oura. AI can improve the accuracy of ultrasound screenings and help women get screened at a younger age, before insurance coverage kicks in for mammograms. And Melissa Teran is leading Alife, a tech company that is using AI to improve IVF outcomes, incorporating the technology into pivotal parts of the process like choosing the most viable embryo and timing trigger shots in hormonal cycles.
These are all areas where AI is already having a significant impact. One area where AI needs more oversight, though, is how patients are using AI tools outside the doctor’s office. All of these execs desire for women to have more access to their health information (and their families’) without having to get a doctor on the phone. During pregnancy or with a new baby at home, women are often turning to ChatGPT to “triage our symptoms,” Dao explained. But the chatbots are “sometimes giving a leading response, maybe the AI is not asking enough questions.” OB/GYNs see that problem frequently, she said. “I sometimes worry that basic LLMs that are not fine tuned or trained by these clinical experts are maybe leading people astray and adding to the anxiety,” Dao said. It’s a problem Maven is paying close attention to—and Dao says to stay tuned for more.
Overall, the conversation helped me understand just how wide-ranging applications of AI can be in women’s health care. And while giving patients more access to their health information through AI is a goal across health care right now, it’s especially important for women who have distinct life stages with different needs at different times.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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