Feb 08, 2021
SDAIA and Philips partner to drive AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare system
Riyadh, KSA— The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) today announced it has partnered with Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, to further support Saudi Arabia’s goal of becoming a leader in driving Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The Memorandum of Understanding between Philips and the SDAIA, which underpins the partnership, is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 blueprint for diversifying the economy and enhancing public service sectors, including healthcare, by employing the most advanced technologies available. The joint effort will create an AI ecosystem that incorporates education, science and technology, supported by knowledge sharing and worldwide collaborations. Philips combines AI with in-depth knowledge of clinical and operational context to develop integrated solutions that improve the performance and productivity of healthcare systems. The collaboration, which includes a scientific exchange program and investment in local training, aims to empower Saudi Arabia’s data scientists and healthcare professionals with the latest health technologies, enabling them to pass on the benefits of AI in healthcare to the Kingdom’s citizens, making Saudi Arabia one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries.
"Saudi Arabia is witnessing a thorough developmental renaissance under the umbrella of Vision 2030 in all sectors, and at the forefront comes the technology-related fields. We, at SDAIA, through the National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI), seek to fully utilize the potential of data and AI and support their applications in all relevant sectors. Today, this agreement is part of our efforts to promote advanced technologies in the health field, support expertise exchange, and develop national capabilities, which will enhance the quality of health services, create new job opportunities, and elevate our national economy to become a data and AI-driven economy.“
H.E. Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi
President of SDAIA
“AI-based health technology solutions have great potential to improve patient outcomes and the efficiency of care delivery,” “Such solutions can for example free up valuable time for healthcare professionals to focus more on the patients. Getting every aspect of an AI-enabled solution right, requires extensive collaboration between clinicians, data scientists and other experts. That is why we are pleased to partner with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority to enable AI across all healthcare facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of Vision 2030.”
Frans van Houten
CEO of Royal Philips.
To create an AI ecosystem for the healthcare sector, the collaboration will focus on five key areas:
“We are honored to continue being part of the transformation of healthcare in Saudi Arabia,” “Philips brings global expertise that strategically fits SDAIA’s mission to unlock the value of data as a national asset to realize the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aspirations and establish an AI-powered Program of Excellence in the healthcare sector. Our proven collaboration models, together with our solutions that integrate AI applications into clinical workflows, will empower Saudi Arabia’s health systems to achieve better health outcomes, improved patient and staff experiences, and lower cost of care. We are positive that this collaboration between SDAIA and Philips will accelerate transformation of the Kingdom’s healthcare sector.”
Mohamed Mostafa
General Manager for Health Systems in Philips Middle East & Turkey
AI brings unprecedented opportunities to transform healthcare delivery across the world. This strategic partnership between SDAIA and Philips to invest in the future of Saudi Arabia and the health and well-being of its people is one of the many partnerships that Philips is entering into to improve people’s lives through innovation.
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2019 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 81,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter
About SDAIA:
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is a government agency in Saudi Arabia that was established by a royal decree on 30 August 2019. The authority has three arms linked to it. Innovation arm called “The National Centre for Artificial Intelligence” (NCAI), an operation arm called “The National Information Center” (NIC) and a regulatory office called "The National Data Management Office” (NDMO). Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) was established to drive the national agenda for Data & AI to elevate the Kingdom as a global leader in the elite league of data driven economies. To capitalize on Data & AI for the Kingdom economically and socially through national combined efforts by all stakeholders, SDAIA has developed the National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI) which has been approved on July 17, 2020. About NSDAI https://ai.sa/index-en.html and more about SDAIA can be found at https://www.sdaia.gov.sa/?Lang=en .
