Domestic health technologies and artificial intelligence systems are exhibited at TEKNOFEST

Aviation, Space and Technology Festival (TEKNOFEST), of which Anadolu Agency (AA) is the "Global Communication Partner" and carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the T3 Foundation, continues at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport.

At the Turkish Health Institutes Presidency (TÜSEB) stand at the festival, various medical devices such as Turkey's first domestic heart-lung machine, domestic mobile digital x-ray device and automatic external defibrillator (AED) are presented to visitors.

Among the prominent technologies at the stand is TÜSEB RadAI-STK, the artificial intelligence-supported imaging analysis system developed by TÜSEB and its portfolio companies.

Aiming to shorten the emergency response time in stroke cases, TÜSEB RadAI-NGO automatically analyzes brain images taken in emergency departments. The system detects intracranial hemorrhage in computed tomography (CT) images, large vessel occlusion in CT angiography, and ischemic stroke findings in diffusion imaging, and reports critical cases to the relevant physician team as a priority.

The system, which is a CE-certified Class IIa medical decision support tool within the scope of the European Union Medical Device Regulation (MDR), offers physicians the opportunity to follow up outside the hospital with its mobile application and smart watch integration. The system aims to provide a standard first layer for emergency evaluation, especially in regions where an experienced neuroradiologist cannot be reached at any time.

"We are moving to a producing, not consuming, model in healthcare"

President of Türkiye Health Data Research and Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute (TÜYZE) Prof. Dr. Hakkı Muammer Karakaş, in his statement to the AA correspondent, drew attention to Türkiye's strategic transformation in health technologies.

Stating that Türkiye has been a country that has been consuming technology for many years and meeting this through imports, Karakaş said, "With the instructions of our Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu, we are now moving to a model that produces, not consumes, in healthcare. In this direction, we have determined the most used devices. We plan to produce them in Türkiye and export them abroad." he said.

Domestic medical devices and international collaborations

Hakkı Muammer Karakaş gave the following information about the devices exhibited in the stand area:

"Today, we have a domestic upper segment ultrasound device in the TÜSEB exhibition area. This device is far beyond its counterparts in the world and is produced with the great contribution of Turkish engineers. At the same time, we have local and national products such as AED, defibrillator and heart-lung machine, which are produced by ASELSAN and to the development of which TÜSEB made a great contribution."

Stating that they have developed not only hardware but also embedded and centrally-running software technologies, Karakaş noted that the software of the artificial intelligence MRI device on display was developed by TÜYZE and is also used by global manufacturers.

Touching on his goals on a global scale, Karakaş said, "Our main goal is not only to meet the needs of our country. We offer our products to the states that need them in a wide geography extending from Asia to Africa and Europe. We are about to develop an automatic device that screens for tuberculosis. We will register it with the World Health Organization for use in Sub-Saharan Africa and ensure its distribution by them." he said.

Artificial intelligence reports 26 thousand mammograms per day

Emphasizing that the use of artificial intelligence in the field of healthcare is becoming increasingly widespread, Karakaş said about the technologies that increase the operational speed in hospitals: "The automatic mammography reporting system, one of the software we show here today, automatically writes the reports of 26 thousand patients a day. Now the waiting times of our patients for reporting have decreased." made his assessment.