Sunrise-based Mednax launching AI incubator
Sunrise-based Mednax is launching an incubator to develop innovative radiology products.
Sunrise-based Mednax announced Tuesday it is launching an artificial intelligence incubator aimed at developing innovative radiology products.
Mednax, which manages physician practices nationwide including radiology, said its MDRAI Incubator will bring together radiologists and technology partners to stimulate product development with the goal of “improving radiologists’ accuracy and efficiency and overall quality of patient care.”
The incubator will be headquartered in Sunrise, with work split between Florida and Minnesota, the company said.
It will include both startup companies and more experienced innovators, said Imad Nijim, chief information officer of Mednax Radiology Solutions and Virtual Radiologic, an Eden Prairie, Minn., teleradiology company acquired by Mednax in 2015 for $500 million.
“The goal is to deliver something that pushes our entire industry forward,” Nijim said.
Dr. Ricardo Cury, who leads Mednax’s Radiology Associates of South Florida, said artificial intelligence will be employed to make radiology improvements, such as the turnaround time on a CAT scan at a hospital.
“We want to always strive to minimize discrepancies and minimize variability,” he said. “Man plus machine will be better than man alone or machine alone.”
Mednax Radiology Solutions provides services to more than 2,100 hospitals, health systems, clinics and imaging centers nationwide through more than 750 board-certified radiologists.
Parent company Mednax has built a network of more than 4,225 physicians in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Mednax had 2017 revenue of $3.5 billion, up from $3.2 billion a year earlier. The public company’s stock price has a 52-week range of $37.26 to $63.04 in New York Stock Exchange trading. The stock closed at $39.84 a share, up 25 cents or 0.63 percent, on Tuesday.
On Monday, Mednax also announced the acquisition of Boynton Beach-based Bethesda Radiology Associates, a private radiology physician group.