IIT Kanpur and NHA Collaborate to Develop Digital Public Goods for AI in Healthcare

IIT Kanpur and the NHA have signed an MoU to develop key digital tools for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, including a federated learning platform. Know details here

IIT Kanpur and NHA Collaborate to Develop Digital Public Goods for AI in Healthcare

The National Health Authority (NHA) and IIT Kanpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Union Health Secretary Shri Apurva Chandra. The MoU was signed by L. S. Changsan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and CEO of NHA, along with Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur.

As part of this MoU, IIT Kanpur will develop a federated learning platform integrating diverse machine learning models, a quality-preserving database, an open benchmarking platform for validating and comparing AI models, and a consent management system for research under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). Once developed, the platform will be operated and governed by NHA, leveraging AI's potential to enhance healthcare outcomes.

Highlighting the importance of this MoU, Chandra stated that “use of data for improving health outcomes is the envisaged goal of this partnership. It will use the data available under the ABDM to create a public benchmark for AI models for quantifying and diagnosing diseases against which other AI models can be benchmarked.” He added that “one of the biggest issues related to AI models in the healthcare sector is the availability and efficacy of disease diagnosis data which will be tackled by this collaboration.  In a clinical setting, the availability of reliable data will lead to better outcomes and result in better diagnosis.”

Changsan, Additional Secretary, of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that “this partnership marks a significant step forward in harnessing the power of AI for our country’s healthcare,”  and “this partnership will help provide researchers with access to high-quality data and a platform for collaboration with other stakeholders of the health ecosystem while taking into account all aspects of data privacy. It will also accelerate the development of AI-powered health solutions that address critical health challenges.”

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director IIT Kanpur, stated that, “this partnership with the NHA will contribute towards democratizing access to quality healthcare in India”. Prof. Agrawal further added that, “Partnering with the NHA, IIT Kanpur aims to create a transformative platform that will empower researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers to unlock the full potential of AI for improving health outcomes in India.”

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