Based on its recent analysis of the Middle Eastern market for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled pain detection solutions, Frost & Sullivan recognises Dubai-based AIDirections with the 2019 Middle East Enabling Technology Leadership Award. The company’s one-of-a-kind AI-powered pain detection solution is revolutionising the market by using facial recognition technology, which is invaluable to impaired patients and people with minimal cognitive functions.

“AIDirections combines the latest technologies, such as AI, deep learning, and facial recognition, with its proprietary algorithmic sentiment analysis solution to develop a new method for pain detection, monitoring, and verification,” said Sowmya Rajagopalan, Global Program Director at Frost & Sullivan. “The system, operable both at home and in hospitals, presents a clinically valid parameter known as the Prkachin and Solomon Pain Intensity metric to measure pain levels in individuals. By leveraging AI, the solution mitigates the subjectivity in the assessment, improves the accuracy of measurement, and supports superior treatment decision making and clinical outcomes.”

The solution has a wide scope of application among highly vulnerable patient populations, such as infants, children with developmental issues, people suffering from a stroke, and people who are unconscious and unable to express their pain. While several existing technological tools, such as mHealth, clinical wearables, and telemedicine, ensure optimal pain management in a home-based setting, patients still need to visit care facilities frequently to have their pain levels assessed. AIDirections’ tool emerges as an ideal solution in this environment because it integrates with the healthcare system’s existing telemedicine to create a better care experience for the patient.

AIDirections is working with several telemedicine companies to launch its offering officially as a holistic home-based solution in the growing Middle Eastern market and other developing regions. The company presents both server and cloud-based solutions that easily integrate with a hospital’s enterprise resource planning or customer relationship management software for easy deployment. The hospital pays a minimal onboarding fee, which includes installation and software setup. By reducing upfront costs, AIDirections helps clients achieve a faster return on investment.

“The solution uses AIDirections’ development framework based on industry standards while its plug-and-play methodology enables an extensive range of operational scenarios,” noted Rajagopalan. “For addressing an unmet market need with its highly innovative and cost-efficient technology, AIDirections richly deserves the 2019 Middle East Enabling Technology Leadership Award.”

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to a company that develops a pioneering technology that enhances current products and enables the development of new products and applications. The award recognises the high market acceptance potential of the recipient’s technology.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.