In early March, AI Sweden and Swedish Scaleups joined forces to create a Growth Circle where four scaleup companies got the chance to explore how AI applications could be used in their solutions. We talked to Markus Malmgren, Head of R&D at SyntheticMR, one of the participating companies.
– For us this has been an extremely good initiative that is going to take us through the first steps on our AI journey, says Markus.
Markus shares that SyntheticMR has had an interest in AI technology for several years and has even invested in an AI course for some of the employees.
Hands on without drama
– But I think it was a bit theoretical for our needs. Our experience from this Growth Circle is that everything is very hands-on and takes the drama away from the technology.
The Growth Circle is called Explore AI as the key to growth and is led by Predrag Pucar, process leader at AI Sweden. It includes areas like law, how AI affects the business model and how to increase customer value with AI. The program consists of three workshops where all the participating companies work along with experts. In between the sessions there are separate coaching sessions where the companies get to work alone with experts.
When we met with Markus they were in the middle of the program but he still felt like they’ve come a long way.
Hoping for a prototype by this fall
– I am certain that we will start working with AI very soon. If everything goes according to plan we will have a prototype by this fall. As a first test, I and my colleagues dedicated an evening to explore how AI can be applied in solving one specific problem and we ended up with a near perfect algorithm. And this is just after half this program and three hours of dedicated work!
SyntheticMR is a software company that originated in Linköping in 2007. It was started by researcher Dr. Marcel Warntjes of the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV). They provide a unique product that within healthcare, saves time and provides an objective basis for decisions within magnetic resonance imaging, that can help set more accurate diagnosis. Markus has been the head of R&D for two years.
– I have worked within software all my life, mostly within telecommunications, digital broadcasting and automotive. What I love about working within medical technology is that our work here at SyntheticMR really helps people. It is also pretty cool that we, a small company, have managed to make an impact and work along with major companies like GE, Siemens and Philips.
A fear of AI?
Markus shares that he has experienced skepticism towards AI in medical technology.
– I believe that there is a fear for AI within our field. There is always that uncertainty that the AI will make a mistake. But we see it as any other tool and that if we only work within its limits it can give more than it takes.
