Dr. R. Bharat Rao (Photo: Courtesy, Siemens Medical Solutions )

R. Bharat Rao, Ph.D., senior director, Engineering Research Development, Computer-Aided Diagnosis and Therapy Group, Siemens Medical Solutions was named the 'Inventor of the Year' by Siemens AG president and CEO Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld recently. Dr. Rao was recognized for developing an automated data collection and analysis tool known as Reliable Extraction and Meaningful Inference from Nonstructured Data (REMIND) that enables caregivers to utilize disparate health care information to personalize patient care plans and enhance patient outcomes.

"Much of the data in the health care system is not in a format that can be readily accessed or applied at the point of care. For example, key clinical information is stored as written text in patient records, discharge summaries, etc.," said Dr. Rao.

Without requiring any manual entry or change in workflow, REMIND integrates patient data with medical information and current treatment guidelines. Through a sophisticated algorithm, REMIND then analyzes the data and extracts key nuggets of information that will help clinicians make more informed treatment decisions. This information can be utilized for applications such as alerts, case management, and adherence to treatment guidelines. Dr. Rao's vision is to organize the vast amount of diagnostic images, patient records, best practices and treatment outcomes to help personalize care. According to Dr. Rao, REMIND will provide ways to review years of data to find patterns of treatment, as well as identify people eligible for clinical trials. "We are not replacing the doctor with computer-aided diagnosis," said Dr. Rao. REMIND has been rolled out in a number of health care facilities and can be applied at all levels of complexity, from simple practice administration to patient management systems in large clinics. REMIND is currently deployed across multiple disease areas for over 5 million patients in the U.S.

Employing 460,000 people in 190 countries, Siemens AG has submitted more than 8,800 invention reports and 5,700 patent applications in the past fiscal year alone. Since 1995, the 'Inventor of the Year' award has been presented every year to 12 Siemens' employees for outstanding contributions to improving the technical expertise.

Dr. Rao received his undergraduate training from IIT, Madras, India, and earned master's and Ph.D degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG with headquarters in Malvern, Pa., and in Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the health care industry globally. It employs around 31,000 people worldwide and has presence in more than 120 countries.