Pursuing AI maturity in health: How S?o Paulo, Brazil built an AI solution for diagnosing COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting Brazil in 2020,?three local tech firms responded to a public challenge issued by IdeiaGov to develop AI tools to help diagnose the disease by analysing lung images from patients.

After testing and validation, these tools were introduced in clinical settings. Fifty hospitals in S?o Paulo are now connected to the new #AI platform, and the foundation has been laid for a viable AI and technology innovation ecosystem in Brazil.

S?o Paulo’s integrated approach to local AI development and application translates into practice the Roadmap to AI Maturity in Health published by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development in 2020, which laid out recommendations for how countries could advance on their readiness to deploy AI in health.

The S?o Paulo state government and its partners not only created AI tools to meet an acute health need. They also laid the foundation for broader innovation. For example, they will now use the process for developing the COVID-19 detection platform as a blueprint to build AI platforms for other areas, such as cardiovascular population health.

IdeiaGov is now attracting funding from major investors, enabling its expansion. The government is developing a workforce ready to leverage innovation for addressing critical social issues. And the health and care system is prepared to embrace innovation and advance on its path toward maturity for AI in health.

Both government agencies across Brazil and those from other countries are now asking the state government of S?o Paulo to share these best practices, as they can serve as a model for other cities and countries.

The Novartis Foundation’s role in the initiative included supporting a public call for proposals to develop the AI model and helping develop the technology needed to store, analyze, and share the database of lung images that powers the AI platform. As always, it’s an honor to work with partners like IdeiaGov and the S?o Paulo state government to transform health through the power of data, digital and AI.

Read our newly-published 'Pursuing AI maturity in health' case study to learn more about the initiative.