Even before most people were educated about what Covid-19 was, scientists began the important work of finding a cure. With unprecedented focus and resources to back these efforts, several effective vaccines were produced in less than a year. Anyone with … Read More
Author Archives: Erika Greelish
How is data anonymized?
To effectively train radiologists and the artificial intelligence algorithms that assist them in detecting and diagnosing specific pathologies, a large data set is needed. Typically, training sets of data must be obtained from several sources, usually various hospitals. But how … Read More
The Worthy Work of Medical Annotators
After an entire childhood of being admonished that writing in books was NOT ALLOWED, I was pretty excited when a high school English teacher said we were going to be taking notes right in the pages of the novels we … Read More
Imaging Improves Prostate Screening and Treatment
According to Mayo clinic urologist Dr. Landon Trost, “If you’re a man…[and] you live long enough, you’re most likely to end up with prostate cancer at some point.” Improved Detection As with many other cancers, prostate cancer screening and diagnosis … Read More
Ultrasound: Then and Now
Unusual connections What do bats, Pierre Curie, and the Titanic have in common? They all played important roles in the development of ultrasound imaging technology. Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. The … Read More
The Value of Simulation in Medical Education
As she stared at the pale frog sprawled out before us, the look of wide-eyed horror on my lab partner’s face was incomprehensible to me. While I had no particular love of biology and certainly no overwhelming desire to dissect … Read More
The Inevitable Evolution of Medical Education
Remember floppy disks? I asked my 11-year-old son if he knew what a floppy disk was and was surprised that he did. His answer: “Basically, they’re a super old version of a USB.” Despite the fact that these days floppies … Read More
From Outer Space to Inner Spine: An Interview with an Astrophysicist Turned Data Scientist
It’s nearly 9:00am. Some members of the Balzano team are cradling coffee cups while carrying on socially distanced conversations. A working day for the data science team at Balzano starts with a collaborative “stand up” meeting where every team member briefly talks … Read More
Care and Feeding of a Neural Net
Despite the incredibly complex math and analytics behind the process, training a neural net has often been compared to teaching a toddler. Some commonalities: A steep learning curve. Even if you have some prior experience with children, or you’ve read … Read More
Six Degrees of Covid-19
By now, we’re all aware that Covid-19 symptoms vary widely from person to person, though doctors still aren’t sure why. Apart from age, what causes some people to have a mild case while others fight for their lives? It may … Read More