APR January/February 2022 - 10

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INSIDER INSIGHT
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Computer Vision is
Providing a New Lens Into
Biopharma Innovation
Carlos Melendez
Chief Operating Officer
Wovenware
Computer vision (CV), a form of AI that uses an algorithm to identify,
process and analyze vast amounts of text, images and videos that
would be impossible to address with the human eye, has been gaining
traction in many industries. It's helping city planners identify traffic
patterns by counting vehicles on highways; or for government workers
to read forms and documents and identify missing or questionable
information; and more recently to identify faces with masks to ensure
COVID-19 compliance in public areas. In fact, according to a Reports
and Data report, the global computer vision market is forecast to reach
$25.69B by 2028.
The Science Lab of the Future
Computer vision is also playing a major role in pharma and life
sciences and ushering in new standards for intelligent medical
devices, diagnostics and treatments that will have lasting
repercussions on the people and the world at large. The scientific
lab of the future will be one where human intelligence is amplified
by artificial intelligence and most notably computer vision. Given
the need to more quickly commercialize pharmaceuticals and
medical devices, enable faster diagnoses and better outcomes,
digital transformation via computer vision will become the norm in
life sciences. Consider the following applications:
Vaccine delivery. Since science is grounded in data, computer vision
can sort through thousands of biological images to identify those that
are most likely to trigger a robust immune response. It's able to identify
the proteins that make up a virus, as well as those that are mutating.
It's also accelerating the discovery of new molecular combinations,
tracing toxicity markers and disease triggers.
Rapid at-home testing. Computer vision is being applied to rapid athome
tests to identify markers to indicate the presence of COVID-19
and other viruses, or to confirm pregnancy results. In the very near
future, a mobile app for a rapid antigen single-use, self-test for
COVID-19 will be available via a mobile app that can not only provide
immediate diagnosis, but also remove the need to have an overtaxed
lab or trained professional confirm the diagnosis.
Medical diagnostics. New computer vision models are being used
with X-ray and MRI images to automatically read scans with extreme
accuracy, augmenting the work of medical professionals by helping
them more quickly identify the presence of disease, recognize
anomalies and assess the severity of the disease in order to make faster
treatment decisions.
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| January/February 2022
APR January/February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APR January/February 2022
