This week’s are about tech, startup and sustainability, coming from the EU, the UK and the USA
AI transcription tool helps cut NHS waiting times
An artificial intelligence-powered voice transcription tool is helping reduce waiting times across parts of England’s National Health Service (NHS) by allowing clinicians to spend less time on paperwork and more time treating patients, doctors said.
I saw this story at BBC and the software, called Heidi, has been introduced across 15 NHS trusts in England’s West Midlands, including Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. The tool is being used in urgent care departments, outpatient clinics and GP practices to automatically generate medical notes and patient letters from conversations between clinicians and patients, according to the story.
Doctors said the technology has significantly reduced the administrative burden associated with clinical documentation. Dr. Mohammed Jamil Aslam, an emergency medicine consultant at Walsall Manor Hospital, said the AI tool saves him about six minutes during each patient consultation.
The software supports 110 languages, allowing clinicians to communicate more effectively with patients from diverse linguistic backgrounds, the story noted.
Healthcare providers have also reported operational improvements. At one clinic in Dudley, officials said the use of Heidi reduced a backlog of patient correspondence from six months to just 14 days.
AI transcription tool helps cut NHS waiting times (Photo: BBC)
Sheryl Sandberg backs AI vehicle inspection startup raised $10 million
Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg has led a $10 million investment in Self Inspection, a startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate vehicle damage assessments through smartphone images.
The San Diego-based company, founded in 2021, said the new funding will support product development, customer expansion and its planned entry into the European market. The round was led by Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, Sandberg’s family office, and included participation from former Tesla President Jon McNeill’s DVx Ventures, U.S. AutoForce, Westlake Financial, Costanoa Ventures, Rebellion Ventures and BrightCap Ventures.
I saw this story at Techcrunch and Self Inspection developed AI software that enables users to conduct vehicle inspections using only a smartphone. The platform guides users through photographing a vehicle, then analyzes the images to identify damage, estimate repair costs and generate detailed inspection reports.
The company said its technology has completed more than 1 million inspections for rental fleets, automotive finance providers, vehicle auctions and online marketplaces. Stellantis’ financial services division is among the companies using the platform for corporate fleet and lease-return inspections, according to the story.
The software produces a detailed inspection report, including recommended repairs, labor requirements, replacement parts and estimated costs. The platform can also integrate vehicle diagnostic data through an OBD2 interface to provide additional technical information.
According to the company, its AI platform has helped customers reduce costs by more than $80 million while saving over 300,000 hours of operational work.
Sheryl Sandberg backs AI vehicle inspection startup raised $10 million (Photo: Getty)
EU adopts circularity rules to boost vehicle recycling and recycled material use
The European Union approved new regulations requiring automakers to incorporate more recycled materials into new vehicles while expanding manufacturers’ responsibility for vehicle recycling throughout the product lifecycle.
The Council of the European Union formally adopted the regulation, which establishes circular economy requirements covering vehicle design, production, reuse, recycling and end-of-life treatment. I read this story at ESG News and the rules are intended to increase resource efficiency and reduce waste in the automotive industry.
Under the regulation, automakers will be required to ensure that at least 15% of the plastic used in newly manufactured vehicles comes from recycled sources six years after the rules take effect. The requirement will increase to 25% after 10 years.
The regulation also requires that at least 20% of the recycled plastic used in new vehicles be recovered from end-of-life vehicles, generating additional demand for recycled automotive materials and encouraging greater investment in dismantling and material recovery, according to the story. (By the way I have a story here about EU)
The regulation will begin applying two years after it enters into force. Within one year of its implementation, the European Commission is expected to assess the feasibility of introducing recycled-content targets for additional materials, including steel, aluminum, magnesium and critical raw materials used in vehicle manufacturing, the story noted.
EU adopts circularity rules to boost vehicle recycling and recycled material use
