DDN Gets $300M Investment From Blackstone Tactical

At the conclusion of 2021, researchers at UNC Charlotte and Duke University Medical Center published results of work done to use transfer learning methods to generate fluence maps for radiation therapy, aimed at providing medical professionals with more capability and information in fighting adrenal cancers. The technique uses a deep transfer learning model trained on a much larger dataset that can be applied to a smaller data set for a specific application.

• The initial model was trained on pancreas treatment plans, then retuned and applied to a smaller set of data points on adrenal cancers. The output of the model generates a fluence map for specific IMRT beam-based treatments for adrenal cancers.
• According to the researchers, this approach is meant to supplement but not replace human expertise in the field and is reliant on human expertise to finetune and improve the AI model.

In an announcement made in December, 2021, Verusen, a startup specializing in leveraging AI resources to support global supply chains, detailed a recently formed partnership with Machine Compare, a supplier of one of the world's largest databases for machinery and leading B2B marketplace for buyers and sellers of industrial spare parts. The partnership is aimed at enhancing the customer experience, limiting risk, reducing waste, and helping companies conduct materials management and commerce in a new and efficient way. Verusen founder and CEO Paul Noble explains the partnership is targeted to resolve a painful and wasteful process and will ultimately allow manufacturers to realize a whole new level of sustainability. For his part, Machine Compare CEO Ben Findlay is looking for a reduction in downtime, stockouts, and costs. Furthermore, the burdens lifted by the Verusen AI capabilities are targeted to reduce the amount of manpower committed to time-consuming, reactive tasks, allowing for a more proactive and long-term management of goals.