At ECR 2023, Mélisande Rouger, Editorial Director of DI Europe, spoke with Dr Ankur Sharma, Head of Medical Digital Affairs at Bayer, about its recent acquisition of Blackford Analysis.
‘Bayer is an established leader in the radiology space that wants to lead the AI space and Blackford is an established leader in the AI space,’ he said. ‘The expertise that they bring complements what we’re bringing with our Calantic™ platform. (The deal) shows that Bayer is really serious about investing in AI and bringing the best solutions for our customers and patients.’
There is a fierce competition between AI companies who all have a lot of expertise, but they miss a critical element, Sharma explained. ‘Bayer has a long established history as a provider in radiology as well as pharmacology. That makes us leaders in understanding how radiologists and physicians think, what are their needs and what are their patient touch points,’ he said. ‘All these factors are really important to understand when you want to deliver something that is useful and beneficial to make an impact on the overall patient journey.’
AI will never replace radiologists but the technology will help them focus on what really matters, he added. ‘Radiologists are really good about using AI as a tool (that) allows them to better focus on what they need to do for individual patients,’ he concluded.
