National Health Authority and IIT Kanpur sign MoU

The National Health Authority (NHA) and IIT Kanpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Union Health Secretary Shri Apurva Chandra on 11th September. The partnership aims to revolutionize Artificial Intelligence in health research with an innovative data platform.

Theme of MoU

• A federated learning platform across a variety of machine learning model pipelines, a quality-preserving database, an open benchmarking platform for comparing & validating AI models, and a consent management system for research under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) would be developed by IIT Kanpur. 
• The platform will subsequently be operated and governed by NHA, thereby unlocking the immense potential of AI for improving health outcomes.

Importance

• Use of data for improving health outcomes
• It will use the data under the ABDM to create a public benchmark for AI models for quantifying and diagnosing diseases 
• A step forward in harnessing the power of AI for our country’s healthcare
• Partnership will help provide researchers with access to high-quality data and a platform for collaboration with other stakeholders of the health ecosystem

Benefits of Platforms

• Trustworthy Models
• Improved Data Access
• Statistical Quality Preservation

About ABDM (Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission)

• It aims to establish a robust digital health ecosystem through active collaboration between public and private sectors.
• ABDM aims to integrate various healthcare entities—hospitals, clinics, labs, pharmacies, health insurance companies, and more to improve patient care, accessibility, and affordability.

How will AI be helpful?

• AI has the potential to revolutionize India’s healthcare ecosystem and when coupled with ABDM’s offering of a digitized health ecosystem.
• It also can lead to significant advancements in disease diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient outcomes.