BTR Vidcast: AI’s Transformative Role in Neurological Care

In this BizTechReports Vidcast, Firas Rhaiem, CEO of Knowlepsy, and Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor, Chief Strategy Officer of Knowlepsy, explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing neurological care. Knowlepsy, based in Marseille, is at the forefront of leveraging AI and data-driven insights to tackle complex neurological conditions such as epilepsy and migraines.

Neurological disorders have historically posed significant challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and patient monitoring. AI is bridging these gaps by analyzing data from wearable devices, behavioral patterns, and environmental factors to identify triggers and develop personalized treatment strategies. In this feature, we break down the strategic, operational, financial, and technological aspects of Knowlepsy’s groundbreaking work.

STRATEGIC SHIFTS

Q: How is AI changing the strategic landscape of neurological healthcare?

Firas Rhaiem: AI is enabling a paradigm shift in neurological care by moving beyond traditional clinical settings and integrating real-time patient data. The industry has historically relied on periodic clinic visits and patient-reported symptoms, leading to gaps in diagnosis and treatment effectiveness. Knowlepsy’s AI-driven approach collects and analyzes continuous data from wearable devices, allowing for real-time insights into patient health. This not only improves diagnosis but also enables early intervention and predictive care, which significantly enhances patient outcomes.

Q: What are the long-term strategic goals for Knowlepsy in the AI-driven healthcare space?

Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor: Our long-term goal is to establish AI-powered precision medicine as the standard approach in neurological care. Today, precision medicine is well-established in oncology, thanks to the availability of genetic and molecular biomarkers. However, for neurological conditions, we lack such biomarkers, which is where digital biomarkers—collected through AI and wearables—play a crucial role. By pioneering this approach, we aim to create a global platform for AI-driven neurological care that can be adopted by healthcare systems worldwide.

Q: How is Knowlepsy positioning itself to influence healthcare policies and regulations?

Firas Rhaiem: Regulatory acceptance is key to AI adoption in healthcare. We are actively working with European and North American regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with privacy laws such as GDPR and HIPAA. By demonstrating the clinical and economic benefits of AI-driven neurological care, we aim to drive policy changes that encourage insurance companies and healthcare providers to integrate AI solutions into standard care practices.

OPERATIONAL ENHANCEMENTS THROUGH AI

Q: How does AI improve patient monitoring and clinical efficiency?

Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor: Traditionally, healthcare providers only collect data when a patient visits a clinic or hospital. However, neurological conditions are highly dynamic, and symptoms can fluctuate between visits. By leveraging wearable technology, we passively collect continuous patient data, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of disease progression. This allows physicians to make more informed decisions and optimize treatment plans based on real-time patient conditions rather than historical snapshots.

Q: What operational barriers exist in AI-driven healthcare, and how is Knowlepsy addressing them?

Firas Rhaiem: One of the biggest operational challenges is data fragmentation. Medical records, wearable device data, and hospital systems are often siloed, making integration difficult. Knowlepsy is overcoming this by developing an interoperable platform that aggregates data from multiple sources, including electronic health records (EHRs) and third-party wearables like Apple Watch and Fitbit. This ensures seamless data integration, allowing healthcare providers to access a unified and actionable view of patient health.

Q: How does AI-powered monitoring affect healthcare professionals' workload?

Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor: AI reduces administrative burdens on healthcare professionals by automating data collection and analysis. Physicians no longer have to manually sift through patient-reported data or rely on memory-based symptom tracking. Instead, our AI algorithms analyze patterns, detect anomalies, and provide actionable insights, allowing doctors to focus on patient care rather than data processing. This has already resulted in a 15% increase in physician availability, enabling more patients to be seen within shorter timeframes.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF AI IN NEUROLOGY

Q: How does AI-driven monitoring impact healthcare costs?

Firas Rhaiem: The economic benefits of AI in healthcare are substantial. Hospitals and insurance providers that have implemented Knowlepsy’s AI-driven solutions have reduced operational costs by at least 20% within six months. This is achieved through predictive analytics that optimize resource allocation, reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, and enhance patient triaging. By proactively identifying high-risk patients, healthcare facilities can intervene earlier, preventing costly emergency visits and hospital admissions.

Q: How does AI-based neurological care affect long-term healthcare expenditures?

Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor: One of the biggest cost drivers in neurology is late-stage interventions, where patients require extensive hospitalization and advanced therapies due to mismanaged conditions. By using AI for early detection and preventive care, we significantly reduce long-term healthcare expenditures. Our goal is to cut neurological hospitalization costs by 30% within two years, making AI-driven care a cost-effective solution for healthcare providers and insurance companies alike.

Q: How is Knowlepsy ensuring affordability and accessibility for AI-driven solutions?

Firas Rhaiem: We are partnering with major healthcare providers, insurance companies, and government agencies to ensure that AI-driven neurological care is both accessible and reimbursable. Additionally, our partnership with Microsoft allows Knowlepsy’s solutions to be easily integrated into existing hospital infrastructures worldwide, ensuring affordability through economies of scale.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND DATA SECURITY

Q: How does Knowlepsy ensure data accuracy and security in AI-driven healthcare?

Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor: Data accuracy is critical in AI-powered healthcare. We use machine learning calibration techniques to validate the data collected from wearables against real-world patient outcomes. All data is anonymized, encrypted, and stored in compliance with GDPR and HIPAA regulations to ensure patient privacy. By leveraging secure cloud infrastructure and blockchain-based data authentication, we minimize the risk of data breaches and ensure the reliability of patient records.

Q: How does Knowlepsy integrate with existing healthcare IT systems?

Firas Rhaiem: We use API-based interoperability to integrate with existing electronic health records (EHRs) and hospital management systems. This means that hospitals and clinics do not need to overhaul their IT infrastructure to implement our solutions. By ensuring seamless data exchange, we enable real-time patient monitoring without disrupting existing clinical workflows.

Q: What future advancements in AI do you foresee for neurological care?

Ali-Frederic Ben-Amor: The next phase of AI in neurological care will involve advanced predictive analytics, digital twin modeling, and AI-driven treatment recommendations. We are working on machine learning models that can forecast disease progression with high accuracy, allowing for even more personalized treatment plans. In the future, we expect AI to play a role in automated drug discovery and real-time brain activity monitoring, further enhancing the precision of neurological care.