What do you get when you put AI and music together?

While it’s not difficult to imagine responding with some futuristic techno-pop, the healthcare answer to that question is: a new digital therapeutic from Health Catalyst, a data and analytics technology provider, and MedRhythms, a company that builds neurologic interventions to measure and improve walking.

The project, which will focus on the development of a solution incorporating sensor data, auditory stimulation and AI, is the first for Health Catalyst’s new life science business; the data analytics firm previously focused on providing solutions for clinical care accountability, safety, population health management and financial benchmarking.

MedRhythms, meanwhile, has developed a rhythmic, neurologic rehabilitation therapy that has been shown to improve walking in patients with traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or Parkinson’s disease, according to the company. Sensors clipped to each ankle analyze a person’s walking gait and feed the data back into the AI algorithm, which adapts the music over time. It’s similar to interactive music therapies administered in person by a trained specialist, which are tuned to how each person’s brain processes different elements of sound.

Under the agreement, Health Catalyst will use real-world data and analytic applications to identify unmet medical needs within the care of neurologic injury and disease. The methodology leverages Health Catalyst's analytics to uncover variation in outcome metrics and care within healthcare organizations. As best practices for patient care are identified through this process and put into practice by provider organizations, patients are identified as potential beneficiaries of a new medication or digital therapy such as MedRhythms product. By standardizing the way in which both clinical outcomes and cost reductions are measured, a reliable framework can be developed to measure effectiveness and structure outcome-based pricing that can be applied to the digital therapy.

"This partnership comes at a crucial time in the digital therapeutics industry," said Carlos Rodarte, senior vice president of strategy and business development for life sciences at Health Catalyst.

"Several companies in this field have completed or are completing important trials demonstrating the significant clinical impact of true, validated and regulated digital therapeutics, paving the way for an entire new industry in digital health which has disruptive potential globally to deliver rapid, efficient therapies for patients with unmet needs," Rodarte said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year, with many being left unable to walk or talk. Total care and rehabilitation costs are estimated at $34 billion annually, relying largely on one-on-one physical therapy.