Delivering the highest level of care to people facing life-changing injuries and challenges requires leveraging big ideas and developments to drive change. The Paradigm Innovation Symposium began with this goal in mind, and after a two-year hiatus, we were thrilled to resume this event, which brings together industry leaders and forward-thinking speakers. Paradigm’s 11th Annual Innovation Symposium, which took place September 28–29 in Chicago, featured a lineup of expert speakers who discussed topics affecting health care both now and in the future.

Artificial intelligence and the future of health care
The theme of the Symposium was “Imagining a Brighter Future: How AI is transforming health care.” The discussions delivered valuable insights into the ways technology can truly offer better, more efficient, and more valuable care outcomes. Once purely in the realm of science fiction, this year’s Symposium explored how artificial intelligence (AI) is making a meaningful impact on our world, including in the health care field. Through practical applications, including wearable technology, sensors, and robotics, AI has the potential to automate and streamline diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up care processes in an unprecedented way.

This rapid development has raised tremendous questions for health care as a whole. While there are no simple answers, the experts and thought leaders that Paradigm was fortunate to assemble helped clarify, educate, and discover possibilities over the course of the two-day Symposium.

Discussing major advancements in health technology
The keynote speaker, Mark Pollock, has demonstrated leadership and perseverance throughout his inspiring career and life journey. Mark was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and has served on the Global Future Council on Human Enhancement. He is recognized as the first blind person to race to the South Pole and is the founder of Run in the Dark, a “fun run” to help cure paralysis that connects runners both physically and virtually across four continents every November. During his address, Mark shared his amazing story and helped bring into sharp focus the importance of a resilient mindset in the face of change.

The opening speaker on day two of the Symposium was the inspiring and highly accomplished Marita Cheng, CEO and founder of the technology startups Aipoly and Aubot. Marita spoke about how she is putting AI and telepresence robotics to work to improve quality and efficiency of care. Marita is also the founder of Robogals, a global organization that inspires girls to pursue engineering careers by learning about robotics. For her work with Robogals, she was named the 2012 Young Australian of the Year—and received an Asia Society Game Changer Award at the United Nations. For her work creating AI technology for the blind, Marita won the CES Best of Innovation Award two years in a row, and was named one of Forbes World’s Top 50 Women in Tech.

The second morning speaker was José Morey, M.D., CEO and Founder of Ad Astra Media, who is considered the first Intergalactic Doctor. Dr. Morey has been a health and technology consultant and speaker for an impressive roster of organizations—including NASA, MIT, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He is also an Eisenhower Fellow and Co-Founder of Ever Medical Technologies. In his thought-provoking presentation, Dr. Morey shared his unique insights on how AI applications have the power to automate and eliminate routine from health care tasks, giving health care workers more freedom to focus on people.

Finally, after lunch, the audience heard from physician-scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur Daniel Kraft, M.D. As the founder and chair of Exponential Medicine, and with more than 25 years of clinical practice, biomedical research, and health care innovation, Dr. Kraft was particularly qualified to help the attendees understand these very rapidly emerging technologies—and the potential they offer the health care world. Dr. Kraft closed out his presentation with a captivating and inspiring talk on how technologies that run the gamut from regenerative medicine to virtual reality to artificial intelligence are enabling more and better care options right in the home for all kinds of patients.

Committed to innovation and life-changing outcomes
After so much time away from in-person events, Paradigm was happy to bring together industry leaders and thought-provoking speakers to address such an important issue in the future of health care.

We would like to thank our Symposium attendees for their time and valuable partnerships and hope this event underscored Paradigm’s continual dedication to improve the lives of more injured workers.

Learn more about Paradigm’s commitment to impactful clinical partnerships and educational initiatives to deliver better outcomes for all.