Written by: Adam G. Copeland

Cleerly, a digital healthcare company offering artificial-intelligence-based software to identify and measure atherosclerosis from Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) imaging tests, was awarded Best in Class for the Best Use of AI in Health Tech at the 2023 Digital Health Hub Foundation Awards.

“The Digital Health Hub Foundation Awards recognizes the achievements of innovative health tech companies that are dramatically improving healthcare through the use of technology in the digital health industry in two tracks and 13 categories.”The Best Use of AI in Health Tech Award focuses on those healthcare innovations utilizing AI in a way that is reliable, cost-efficient, and an improvement to a patient’s quality of care.

More than 1,500 companies applied for a 2023 Digital Health Hub Foundation Award, with 350 qualifying as quarterfinalists and 127 qualifying as finalists. Only one of the 127 finalists earned “Best in Class” in each of the 13 categories. In addition to the several criteria the Digital Health Hub Foundation uses to select its quarter finalists and finalists, the three criteria for selecting each Best in Class award are: (1) the scope of the problem the company’s innovation seeks to solve; (2) the impact of the innovation, and (3) the innovation’s differentiation from competitors.

Cleerly owes its Best in Class Award to a “digital care pathway” that utilizes an AI algorithm to analyze images of a person’s arteries, thus facilitating early diagnosis and tracking of coronary heart disease. Specifically, a CCTA imaging test provides noninvasive three-dimensional imaging of a person’s arteries. Cleerly’s AI algorithm then identifies, quantifies, and categorizes plaque in a patient’s arteries, as well as locates and quantifies stenoses of the arteries. Based on this data, the algorithm describes the patient’s plaque content based on a four-tiered system—i.e., “no plaque,” “mild plaque,” “moderate plaque,” and “severe plaque”—that can be used by a healthcare professional to guide patient treatment.

“By improving the detection of actionable heart health issues, we are continuing to forward our mission of creating a society free from heart attacks,” stated founder and CEO of Cleerly, James K. Min, in Cleery’s press release about the award. “We are honored that The Digital Health Hub Foundation recognizes the value of our groundbreaking work.”