Chicago startup Tempus has developed a new voice-enabled device that allows physicians to access the company's database and health insights on the go, and spend less time on their computers.
This week Tempus unveiled the Tempus ONE, a portable smart device similar to the Amazon Alexa or Google Home, but designed specifically for oncologists. The device allows doctors to receive real-time information on Tempus' clinical insights and data. Physicians can ask Tempus ONE questions about a clinical report, like how many patients have been sequenced with a specific gene, or about an order, like if the results are available for a certain patient.
The device is embedded with a microphone and produces a response through its proprietary voice-activated speaker. Tempus is currently beta testing the device with around 50 oncologists and expects to launch it more broadly later in the year.
Tempus, founded in 2015, uses machine learning and genomic sequencing to better understand cancer tumors, and it provides physicians with data to personalize patient treatment. It was focused initially on cancer care at its launch but has since expanded to infectious diseases, depression and cardiology.
With Tempus ONE, the startup is making its data and clinical insights more easily accessible to doctors, and represents the company's first foray into hardware. In December, Tempus raised $200 million at an $8.1 billion valuation. The startup, led by Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky, has raised more than $1 billion in venture capital funding to date.
“For the past 5 years we have been on a journey to bring the promise and power of artificial intelligence to healthcare," Lefkofsky said in a statement. “Tempus ONE is a quantum leap forward, harnessing the almost 30 petabytes of data we have collected in the past few years, which we embedded into a device that fits in the palm of your hand and puts the full breadth and scope of our technology platform in the hands of every doctor we serve, enhancing their ability to use data in making real-time treatment decisions.”
