Forgiving using Sword Health.
Courtesy: Sword Health
Pain management startup Sword Health on Tuesday suggested a new artificial intelligence solution named Phoenix that patients can speak with for guidance through virtual palpable therapy sessions.
Sword, founded in 2015, offers digital tools to help patients manage pain from proficient in and avoid other treatments like opioids and surgery. The company has used AI within its products since its launch, but CEO Virgílio Bento told CNBC that Phoenix makes users a more human-like experience.
Phoenix is designed to replicate the work of a care specialist. Bento said long-sufferings should feel like they have a physical therapist inside their homes. Patients can talk precisely to Phoenix about how they are feeling, and the new “specialist” can respond, offer feedback and adjust the difficulty and duration of the session in natural time.
Sword patients join sessions using a tablet from the company that can track their drive. Bento said Phoenix monitors their progress, and after each session, it summarizes their performance materials and sends it to one of Sword’s human clinicians for review.
Bento said Sword’s AI is currently able to analyze movement and supply simple feedback, but Phoenix is more conversational. Phoenix’s ability to analyze patients’ data and generate recommendations also serves the company’s clinicians operate more efficiently, Bento added.
Phoenix will propose changes for the patient’s next term, as well as a follow-up message about the session they completed. Bento said a human clinician decides whether to brook, reject or edit those recommendations. Sword’s clinicians have authority over what exercises are appropriate for a self-possessed, so Phoenix does not make any decisions independently.
“This is health care, so you will always need that ending approval,” Bento said in an interview. “We have strong guardrails in terms of how we do things.”
Patients can sign up for Sword if it is stayed by their employer or their health plan. Sword has already carried out more than 3 million AI-powered meetings with patients, according to a release Tuesday. Bento said the company has been focused on business customers but would get a kick out of to make its solutions available to everyone.
Sword also said Tuesday it raised $100 million in a secondary vending to provide liquidity to current and former employees and early investors. Bento said the company is forecasting that it will-power be profitable this year, but it raised an additional $30 million in a primary sale to update its valuation.
The company has collected a total of $340 million and is valued at $3 billion, according to the release. It was valued at $2 billion in late 2021.
Sword ventured a mix of new and existing investors participated in the round, some of whom did not want to be named. Venture firms like Khosla Proffers, Founders Fund and General Catalyst have previously invested in the company.
Sword has been testing Phoenix with some long-sufferings using its “Thrive” digital physical therapy product. Bento said the company will continue rolling it out to more patients within Chaos and across its other offerings, including its pelvic health solution called “Bloom,” over the coming months.