DarwinAI Accelerates COVID-19 Diagnosis with Lockheed Martin Support
November 24 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
DarwinAI, today announced that it has received a $750,000 USD
investment from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) under the Industrial
Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. This investment enables
DarwinAI, the explainable AI company located in Waterloo, Canada,
to operationalize their COVID-Net initiative, which diagnoses
COVID-19 using chest X-ray scans.
“In these challenging times, it is imperative to take advantage
of opportunities to strengthen Canada’s economy,” said the
Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and
Industry. “It is encouraging to see that the Industrial and
Technological Benefits Policy, which already has a considerable
impact on job creation and Canada’s economic growth, now also has
the added benefit of helping to solve the problems that the
pandemic presents, and potentially save lives.”
Lockheed Martin’s investment is a result of the ITB obligations
associated with Canada’s purchase and associated In-Service Support
of 17 CC-130J Super Hercules aircraft, which were delivered to the
Royal Canadian Air Force in 2010.
DarwinAI released COVID-Net on March 22, 2020, in response to
the severity of the pandemic. The team’s decision to open source
the project elicited a significant response from international
researchers, several of whom leveraged the technology for local
diagnostics. The initiative has evolved considerably since then,
most recently through COVIDNet-S, which can diagnose the severity
of the disease by analyzing key visual indicators in an X-Ray
scan.
The resulting investment will enable the DarwinAI team to
operationalize the project in a manner that makes it accessible to
clinicians and healthcare professionals. Key milestones will
include creating a front-end User Interface to simplify ease-of-use
and integrating with PACS, the standard medical imaging technology
used by hospitals.
DarwinAI CEO Sheldon Fernandez, expressed his delight with the
news. “The funding from Lockheed Martin is an important catalyst in
getting COVID-Net into the hands of as many people as possible.
Since its inception, the aim of the project is to give healthcare
professionals a tool in combatting the pandemic. We are thankful to
the Lockheed Martin team that facilitated this investment which
will help us realize this goal.”
“At Lockheed Martin Canada, the work we do is laying a
foundation for decades to come in terms of innovation, job growth,
STEM development, economic prosperity and security. Partnerships
play a critical role in this effort, just like this exciting and
timely initiative with DarwinAI,” commented Lorraine Ben, Chief
Executive, Lockheed Martin Canada. “In a most challenging year, it
is inspiring to see how Canada’s Industrial and Technological
Benefits Policy drives enduring investments for Canadian industry
and how it can accelerate solutions to the most complex
challenges.”
DarwinAI has already begun their work and anticipate the first
iteration of the UI system will be used in numerous hospitals by
the end of the year.
About DarwinAI
DarwinAI is an explainable AI company, founded by renowned
academics at the University of Waterloo that enables enterprises to
build AI they can trust. Their Generative Synthesis technology is
based on years of distinguished scholarship and helps accelerate
advanced deep learning development. To learn more about DarwinAI,
visit their website at www.darwinai.com or follow them @darwinAI on
Twitter.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Ottawa, Lockheed Martin Canada is the Canadian
unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global security and
aerospace company that employs some 110 000 people worldwide.
Lockheed Martin Canada has been Canada’s trusted defence partner
for over 80 years, specializing in the development, integration,
and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and
services. The company has over 1000 employees at major facilities
in Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Calgary, and Victoria, working on a
wide range of major programs spanning the aerospace, defence, and
commercial sectors.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201124005301/en/
For further information regarding DarwinAI, please
contact: Kelly Pritchard kelly@darwinai.ca
For further information regarding Lockheed Martin, please
contact: Amanda Hauck Lockheed Martin Canada
amanda.hauck@lmco.com
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