Season 2 Ep. 5 Is machine learning the future of blood diagnostics?

Analyzing a person’s blood (and the cells within it) is often used to diagnose many health conditions and illnesses, from infections to leukemia and bone marrow disorders. Generally it’s a long and expensive process. You have to go to the doctor, have a sample taken, wait for a couple of days for a trained professional to analyze the blood, and finally get your diagnosis. Athelas is using machine learning to dramatically improve the speed and efficiency of testing blood cells. From a simple finger prick’s worth of blood, Athelas devices can monitor and help healthcare professionals to remotely care for patients. To date over 40,000 people have used Athelas devices to monitor a range of conditions including hypertension and diabetes. With a recent valuation of $, the company is poised for major impact. What’s in this episode: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:7:03 - Athelas’ founding story 00:18:30 - Genetic differences among populations 00:21:14 - How does Athela