Pioneering AI in Patient Diagnosis

CEO of Digital Diagnostics (DD), John Bertrand’s foray into healthcare began in 2006, straight out of undergraduate studies. His early life was in many ways influenced by healthcare, with both parents working in medtech and exposing him to the burgeoning field of medical imaging digitization, particularly in radiology. Today, John is carrying the flag post to take digitization to the next level with artificial intelligence.

John joined Epic, a then-small Wisconsin-based company, right after graduation. Epic proved to be a front-row seat to the digitization revolution in healthcare. There he climbed the ranks, moving from initial professional services and implementation roles to more strategic positions in product and business development. Over his 13 years at Epic, John witnessed and contributed to the company’s growth from a small-cap business to a market leader.

After his decade at Epic, John had a chance encounter with Joe Lonsdale of 8VC, a technology and life sciences investing firm. A meeting with him steered John towards the nascent field of AI in medical imaging. 

“I knew from growing up how medical imaging intersects with the patient and its technical arc. It was just a no-brainer to join them,” he shares. John’s experience at 8VC, with its deep insights into technology and patient care, made him an ideal candidate to lead Digital Diagnostics as CEO later. 

He joined the team at Digital Diagnostics right after they received their de novo approval. John’s company aims to improve global healthcare by making medical diagnosis and treatment more accessible, affordable, equitable, and high-quality through AI. They don’t produce hardware; only software, and their business model is based on collaborating with hardware vendors to integrate DD’s AI platform onto their devices. 

DD’s latest product, LumineticsCore, is an algorithm that autonomously diagnoses patients with diabetic retinopathy. It’s primarily used with the fundus camera, a century-old technology now digitized and repurposed for AI. The workflow is easy and doesn’t require a specialized healthcare provider. A trained operator captures two images per eye, which are then submitted to LumineticsCore to be analyzed and the results are out in less than a minute — no need for a physician to confirm the diagnosis!

"It’s the first and only de novo algorithm that diagnoses a patient without a physician in the loop," John shares. “It’s literally a high-school-educated operator running the test.” 

The primary application of the LumineticsCore, the diabetic eye exam, is a very common and important test. Diagnosing the disease early and intervening swiftly can prevent blindness, and by enabling access to the test in more locations, Digital Diagnostics is aiming to close the care gap around the diabetic eye exam.

Today, DD stands at a significant milestone, having extended its reach to 1,000 clinics across the United States and a commercial presence in 17 countries. Their partnership with Baxter, the multinational healthcare company, is set to launch within the next 12 months and aims to automate diagnostics of various conditions on Baxter's established platform, which is already implemented by approximately 10,000 clinics. "We can see ourselves testing over one percent of the diabetics in the United States," John shares. This is an impressive milestone considering the product's relatively recent introduction and the few years it has been eligible for reimbursement.

Key Learnings From John’s Experience

• Understand and align your product with real-world customer needs to find a meaningful place for it in the healthcare system. Engage directly with end users, observe products in their natural habitats, and integrate feedback into development.

• Be intentional about working within the system rather than simply ticking off checkboxes. Also, keep your stakeholders close and strive to build a reputation as a reliable partner in the industry. 

• Plan for a long sales cycle and manage your financial runway carefully. Align your product with real patient value and avoid premature investments in R&D. After some initial sales wins, shift focus to securing larger, more strategic deals rather than numerous small ones.