NewzEngine extends service to cover media in Australia and the Pacific
- : NewzEngine
- :
NewzEngine.com, an online service that enables companies, organisations and individuals to write and distribute press releases, is extending its reach to include media in Australia and the Pacific Region, as well as New Zealand.
NewzEngine CEO Sarah Putt says the ability to distribute releases to media outlets outside New Zealand is an exciting milestone for the company.
“As with the New Zealand service, the media outlets are segmented, to ensure that press releases are distributed to the most appropriate outlet. We actively encourage our clients to think carefully about what region/sector to select to ensure their information goes to the most relevant media.”
In Australia, locations are divided into the five states and two mainland territories, with clients also able to choose media in the business, education, politics and technology sectors. Two areas of the Pacific Region are also covered – Melanesia (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and West Papua), and Polynesia (Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu).
NewzEngine is also a great way for Australian and Pacific-based newsmakers to reach New Zealand media.
The purpose of NewzEngine is to provide companies, organisations, and individuals with the ability to send professional communications about their activities, products and services in a way that is easy, effective and cost-efficient.
Cin7, a technology company that is a pioneer in cloud-based inventory management software (IMS) and point of sale (POS) solutions, is a regular user of the NewzEngine service.
“We have found NewzEngine to be extremely helpful in getting our message out to relevant media and, by extension, the wider market. From major investment announcements to new senior appointments in our business, it’s proving to be a very useful service,” says Cin7 CEO David Leach.
Press releases are created through NewzEngine’s platform, then quality-checked by an experienced editor before being distributed to a network of journalists and editors. In addition, press releases are sent to global newswires via the MIL-OSI network (a New Zealand-based open source intelligence company), which include Dow Jones Factiva, LexisNexis, Contify, Thomson Reuters, Newscycle, NewsBank USA, Comtex News Network, Emes, and Gale.
Organisations can subscribe to NewzEngine.com as a monthly or annual service or send a one-off press release. For more details, visit NewzEngine.com.
- : Sarah Putt
- : CEO
- : sarah@newzengine.com
- : 0276177235
- : https://newzengine.com
Newsletter: Press release vs blog post
NewzEngine.com – Anyone can write, but not everyone can write compelling, interesting content on a regular basis. So, when the commitment is made to the blank page, you want to get the most value out of your time (or the time of the person you may be paying to write your content). What is the best bang for your buck – a press release or a blog post?
The answer is simple. It can be both. You can start with the same idea, the same information, you just need to alter the style.
A blog post is conversational – it’s like chatting to a friend about your topic. A press release is a formal statement – it’s like a cover letter for a job application, you are out to capture and retain the attention of an audience who are unlikely to know you, who have many people competing for their attention, and for whom you want something very significant (in this case a professional writer or broadcaster to think your content is worthy of their time and effort).
This is a blog post, so the headline is informal. If it was a press release, the headline might be “Press releases and blog posts differ in style, not content”.
The first sentence would change too, for example: “Effective content writing takes into account stylistic differences.”
Of course, this isn’t a press release because it isn’t newsworthy. And that is another critical difference between these two content types. A blog post seeks to be informative, while a press release seeks to be newsworthy. The latter announces a new product, new survey, new appointment, new investment, new event, and so on.
If you are creating content for your business or organisation on a regular basis, then you will write many blogs, and only some of them will turn into press releases. And, when they do, you can send them out using NewzEngine.
Find out more about writing press releases check out ‘8 Steps to Writing an Effective Media Release’ here.
Techweek is on a mission to find out how connected New Zealand is
- : Techweek
- : 11/03/2020
Techweek, New Zealand’s festival of technology and innovation, wants to start a national conversation about how tech is impacting the daily lives of New Zealanders. It is today launching a survey asking people to let them know how many smart devices they have in their homes.
“The number of devices that can connect to the internet is constantly increasing. It used to just be your home computer – now it is a whole range of devices, including tablets, smart watches, speakers and TVs,” says Techweek Chief Strategy Officer Julie Gill.
“We think it’s important to consider how this technology is changing New Zealand households and one of the first ways to do that is to find out how many connected devices Kiwis have,” she says.
The number of connected devices is growing exponentially with the advent of smart homes. That’s when internet-connected devices control, monitor or regulate functions in the house such as room temperature and security alarms.
Gill recognises that while many New Zealanders have the opportunity to embrace new technology, there are households that are missing out, in what is known as the digital divide.
“In the latest Census, 1.3 million households stated they had access to the internet. This was out of 1.65 million total households. While it’s fascinating to look at how connectivity is impacting our daily life now, and in the future, we also have to be mindful that not everyone is able to participate,” Gill says.
“The Techweek2020 tagline is “Connecting our Future” and that includes everyone in Aotearoa – every New Zealander deserves to share in the advantages that connectivity brings. By finding out more about our everyday use of technology we can use that information to contribute to the discussion on how to tackle the digital divide.”
The results of the survey will be released during Techweek2020, 18 – 24 May. Last year Techweek attracted over 46,000 attendees around the country to hundreds of events that showcase technology and innovation. Events this year include Auckland University of Technology’s Creative Technologies Mid-Year Show, Canterbury Tech hosting a ‘Pathways to Tech’ event in Christchurch, and ‘Whānau Adventures in Tech’, a free event for the whole family in Tauranga. You can learn about these events and more at techweek.co.nz.
The survey is on the Techweek website here or check out Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIN.
About Techweek2020
Techweek2020 is a national celebration of tech innovation presented by NZTech. During 18-22 May hundreds of events that showcase the use of technology in Aotearoa New Zealand take place across the country. Techweek2020 is supported by the Auckland University of Technology, Callaghan Innovation and EMA, ANZ Bank and Chorus. Learn more at techweek.co.nz.
NZTech is a not-for-profit membership organisation which is the voice of the New Zealand technology ecosystem.
- Techweek How Connected Are You Image
- : Julie Gill
- : Chief Strategy Officer
- : julie.gill@techalliance.nz
- : 0274585671
- : https://techweek.co.nz
Cin7 Appoints Bergita Rudman as VP, Engineering
- : Cin7
- : 09/03/2020
Bergita Rudman, an experienced technology leader brings her collaborative style to head the development of Cin7’s innovative cloud-based inventory management software.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – March 9, 2020 – Cin7, a pioneer in cloud-based inventory management software (IMS) and point of sale (POS) solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bergita Rudman as VP, Engineering. With two decades of experience under her belt, Bergita has established herself as a respected engineering leader in an industry traditionally dominated by men.
Cin7 is additionally pleased to make the announcement as part of its celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8 as the company continues its efforts to increase diversity among Cin7 staff and leadership.
Bergita will be a key member of Cin7’s senior leadership team, leading the company’s Engineering Team in delivering Cin7’s vision for connected and automated inventory.
“Having worked with Bergita previously, I’m really excited to have her join us,” says David Leach, Chief Executive Officer. “Her skills and experience are extremely relevant to what we do and where we are going. She is a great collaborator and will really help our team take the product to the next level.”
Bergita joins Cin7 from Lyniate, a global healthcare data interoperability solution provider, where she served as VP, Development. Prior to that, she was Product Development Director at Orion Health, a global cloud-based healthcare software company.
“I’m impressed with both the product that Cin7 has developed and the team that they have put together to make it happen,” Bergita said. “The energy and momentum they’ve created are exciting and I look forward to being part of the team.”
Bergita officially starts with Cin7 on March 23, 2020.
Media Contact:
David Leach
p: +64 21 586 715
About Cin7
Cin7 is connected inventory management, simplified. With built-in POS and warehouse management, Cin7 keeps inventory in line with orders across every sales channel and stock location, the smartest way for growing brands to sell more to more customers in more places. Use Cin7 to gain real-time insight, contain costs and maximize margins and cash flow for your B2B, B2C, online and brick-and-mortar business. Cin7’s extensive integration includes 3PL warehouses, retailers (with built-in EDI), online marketplaces, eCommerce platforms, accounting solutions and other business-critical software, making Cin7 adaptable to your specific requirements. For more information, please visit cin7.com.
- Bergita Rudman headshot
- : David Leach
- : CEO
- : david.leach@cin7.com
- : 6421586715
- : https://www.cin7.com/
New Zealand Tech Alliance calls for event submissions for nationwide festival of tech
- : NZTech
- : 30/01/2020
New Zealand Tech Alliance, a group of over 20 independent technology associations, is calling for submissions from organisations keen to take part in Techweek2020, a nationwide series of events showcasing and celebrating New Zealand tech innovation during the week 18 – 24 May.
Tech Alliance Chief Strategy Officer Julie Gill says Techweek2020 is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved in New Zealand’s vibrant tech innovation ecosystem to meet, share ideas and find new ways to work together.
“Techweek is when everyone in the tech sector can showcase the amazing innovation that is taking place in Aotearoa,” Gill says.
“Techweek2020 marks the fifth year, with the first iteration of Techweek including 55 events attended by 10,000 people in Auckland. It has now grown to become a nationwide event that attracts over 46,000 attendees around the country. The theme this year is ‘Connecting our future’, which recognises that as we begin a new decade, we need to be thinking long-term about how new technology is impacting our nation.”
There are three distinct pillars of activity during Techweek – community, education and business – and submissions are welcome from organisations with ideas for events that support one or more of these pillars. Events can vary from major conferences to small meetups on niche topics, hackathons, workshops and networking events.
“Whether it is a two-day conference with multiple speakers or a 30-minute pitch session for fledgling start-ups, we’d love to hear from anyone interested in taking part,” Gill says.
Gill says she is delighted that AUT and Callaghan Innovation have once again signed on as strategic partners, and that ANZ Bank and Chorus are Festival Partners for Techweek2020. For ongoing updates and information about Techweek2020, visit www.techweek.co.nz.
- : Julie Gill
- : Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer
- : julie.gill@techalliance.nz
- : 0274585671
- : https://techweek.co.nz/
- https://www.facebook.com/TechweekNZ/ | https://www.instagram.com/techweeknz/ | https://twitter.com/TechweekNZ
Precision Driven Health announces sponsorship of Hack Aotearoa 2020
- : Precision Driven Health
- : 09/01/2020
Precision Driven Health (PDH) is excited to return in 2020 as a major partner for Hack Aotearoa.
Building on the success of the 2019 conference – the first of its kind in New Zealand – Hack Aotearoa 2020 continues to innovate and will include a health datathon in addition to the main Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare conference.
This globally recognised Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Critical Data event aims to spark cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning of data science to improve healthcare. Hosted by the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Critical Data, the event will see local and international data scientists, academics and healthcare professionals come together to present opportunities for the use of data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health.
The overarching theme for the 2020 event is ‘Advancing the Quadruple Aim’, while the ethical use of data, and the use of data for Māori health equity, are key event themes. Hack Aotearoa is an exciting opportunity to advance the digital health and data science landscape in Aotearoa.
During the datathon, healthcare professionals and data scientists will have the chance to work with the MIT eICU Collaborative Care and MIMIC Critical Care datasets. The aim is to harness insights from these datasets and search for better ways to diagnose and treat critical care patients.
Precision Driven Health returns as a major partner for the second year running. Chief Executive Dr Kevin Ross is looking forward to the event.
“As New Zealand’s premier health data science collaboration, we are looking forward to another gathering that looks to unlock the value of data for our population. Hack Aotearoa combines local expertise and values with international know-how to bring a unique, hands-on experience over a few days,” says Dr Ross.
Philips ANZ is another major partner of Hack Aotearoa. As a leading health technology company, Philips ANZ provides connected care solutions powered by advanced analytics in order to improve health outcomes and the delivery of care. At the crux of transitioning towards value-based healthcare, the measurement of system-wide health outcomes and the improvement of patient care delivery is based on a combination of multiple datasets.
“As the owner of the largest translational ICU dataset in the world composed of 7.5 million ICU episodes, Philips is proud to contribute to events like Hack Aotearoa in order to drive academic and practical insights for New Zealand. We need to look at new, more efficient ways to increase access to care and improve care collaboration. Philips believes Hack Aotearoa is a great setting to start those conversations,” says Joe Cain, Business Manager Population Health, Philips ANZ.
Hack Aotearoa will take place 17th to 19th January 2020 at the Owen G Glenn Building, University of Auckland.
About MIT Critical Data
MIT Critical Data is an affiliation of research labs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who are engaged in research in and around data that has a critical impact on people’s health.About Precision Driven Health
The Precision Driven Health partnership (PDH), established in 2016, is one of the most ambitious data science research initiatives to be undertaken in New Zealand. The partnership unites the health IT sector with healthcare providers and universities to create health and commercial opportunities for New Zealanders. Research is focused on applying new data science techniques to understand the massive volume of data about an individual captured by health information systems, consumer devices, social networks, genetic testing and other sources. To date, PDH has supported more than 75 projects in health data science, including summer and postgraduate scholarships, a joint PDH-HRC Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme, and multi-million dollar discovery and transformation programmes in several areas, including de-identification and deep learning. PDH researchers are also exploring vital concepts such as bias in machine learning, the ethics of AI use, and consent paradigms for enabling the next wave of health data research. Find out more at www.precisiondrivenhealth.com.- : Nicole Gray
- : Communications Specialist
- : nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.com
- : 0212290811
- : https://precisiondrivenhealth.com/
- https://twitter.com/HealthPrecision | https://www.linkedin.com/company/15212839/
Regional and Rural Schools take out National Digital Titles
- : IT Professionals NZ
- : 08/12/2019
Smaller regional and rural schools from across New Zealand swept the National Finals for the Tahi Rua Toru Tech in-school challenge this year.
The 2019 National Winners were announced at a gala event at TSB Arena in Wellington, following 10 regional finals held across New Zealand in October. The National Finals were attended by the regional winning teams with students coming from around the country.
As part of the Tahi Rua Toru Tech Challenge, teams of 3-4 students find a problem in their local school or community and use digital technologies to solve it. Teams are paired up with tech industry mentors and given support and resources. Over 6500 students participated in the Challenge this year.
IT Professionals New Zealand CEO Paul Matthews said today that “Regional and Rural New Zealand were the winners this year, with winning teams coming from Hāwea Flat near Wanaka, Morrinsville, Rotorua and New Plymouth”.
At the Discovery level (years 0-5), Hāwea Flat School’s Team Happy Hawea took out the title, completing a set of challenges in the fastest time. It came down to split-seconds in the end and was hotly contested.
Morrinsville Intermediate’s Team Thunderbolts took out the First Challenge (years 6-8), creating an app game to encourage fitness by getting the user to move around Morrinsville to scan QR codes whilst seeing the ‘Herd of Cows’ (sculptures) on display within their town.
John Paul College, Rotorua’s Team ShumbaLeon won the Secondary level (years 9-10), created a website showcasing cultural diversity in their school and a platform for students to share their own stories and culture with other students.
And Sacred Heart Girls College, New Plymouth’s Team Red took out Senior Secondary (years 11-13), creating a medication box that sends bluetooth messages to your phone to remind you to take your medication, and has a motion sensor and lock and software designed to reduce under or overdosing.
The Ministry of Education’s Deputy Secretary for Early Learning and Student Achievement Ellen MacGregor-Reid helped announce the winners and was seriously impressed by the level of innovation. “A huge scale of learning has clearly gone on in the challenge. The majority of the students didn’t know how to write any code at the start – and yet that was such a stand-out feature of the innovations I’ve seen,” MacGregor-Reid said.
As part of the National Finals, the Digital Technologies Teachers Aotearoa (DTTA) and IT Professionals New Zealand recognised an influential teacher who has made a huge difference to digital tech. This year the Ali Chivers Teacher Influence Award went to Julie MacMahon from St Hilda’s Collegiate School in Dunedin.
“I’ve known Julie for several years, working with her on bringing about the changes to the Digital Technologies curriculum. She’s an inspiring and energetic teacher who contributes so much to her students and their profession,” Matthews said. “A very worthy choice.”
The Challenge will enter its third year in 2020 and is part of a suite of resources and tools to help teachers and schools implement changes to Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko in the Curriculum in a safe and supported way.
ENDS
About Tahi Rua Toru Tech
Partnering with the Ministry of Education, the IT industry is supporting the introduction of the new Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko (DT&HM) curriculum into schools and Kura with the 123Tech Challenge.
In the challenge, small teams of 3-4 students complete a project-based challenge either in-class in schools, or through a local Code Club. Most will complete it as a classroom activity, but the model caters to both. The 123Tech Challenge is for everyone, not just tech geniuses (although they’re welcome too!). Schools are also partnered with an industry mentor, and the Challenge provides all the guidance and support students need to make a real difference.
Tahi Rua Toru Tech is being delivered by a partnership of not-for profit organisations led by IT Professionals NZ and started in its current form in 2018.
The National Finals were held on Thursday 5th December 2019.
To learn more about Tahi Rua Toru Tech visit https://123tech.nz
To learn more about Digital Tech/Hangarau Matihiko, http://education.govt.nz/digitech.
- All
- : Paul Matthews
- : Chief Executive
- : ceo@itp.nz
- : 021705212
- : https://itp.nz
- https://www.facebook.com/123tech.nz/ | https://twitter.com/123tech_nz | https://www.instagram.com/123tech.nz/
Government’s proposed Landfill Levy increase will have no impact on plastic waste
- : plastic2parliament
- : 28/11/2019
This week the Government announced a long awaited and welcome proposal to increase the landfill levy in order to encourage behaviour change away from dumping to more recovery, recycling and reuse. However, the increased levy will have no effect on the volumes of plastic waste entering the economy, our landfills and the environment, according to plastic2parliament.
“Currently plastics account for around 8% of total waste by weight, but as much as 20% of landfill by volume and that’s an enormous proportion of the waste problem.” said Wade Bishop, initiator of the plastic2parliament letter writing initiative. (Ref. Recycle.co.nz)
“With the landfill levy based on weight there’s no incentive in this to move away from plastic packaging or other avoidable plastics that end up in our landfills and environment.” Wade Bishop said.
Plastic2parliament is encouraging New Zealanders to ask all political parties what their plastic reduction policies are by penning letters to MPs in Parliament, via the Parliamentary free-post address while also stuffing their large envelopes full of non-recyclable plastics to illustrate the plastic waste problem.
“We are asking political parties and Government to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging targeted at simply making less of it.” said Bishop.
The global oil industry is currently investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants to increase production by 40% in the next 10 years. This immense supply-pressure will create a further explosion in plastic volumes here in New Zealand and the increased landfill levy will have zero effect on that. This is an over-production issue that needs urgent regulation where the problem starts: the producers.” he said.
The Plastic2parliament initiative believes that an immediate impact can be made on plastic waste by extending bans across wide categories of avoidable single-use plastics, such as cutlery, dishes, cups, takeaway containers and even bubble and pallet wraps.
The initiative also advocates a Plastic Tax on imported virgin plastics used to manufacture single-use packaging and on imported new plastic packaging.
“While the landfill levy will have a negligible effect on the cost of dumping plastic packaging for New Zealanders, it still gets under your skin having to pay even more to get rid of a toxic waste that you didn’t ask for in the first place.” Wade Bishop said.
Plastic2parliament continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group reaching more than 1000 people sending more than 720 letters and plastic parcels to MPs since beginning in early October this year, including another 90 to Minister for the Environment, David Parker, this week.
ABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages New Zealanders concerned about single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to M.P.s using the Parliamentary Free-post address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these non-recyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers. We seek to have M.P.s advocate for meaningful plastic waste reduction policy within their respective Party focused on packaging producers.
Oil companies are investing US$180 billion right now to increase virgin plastic production by 40% before 2030. This enormous supply pressure has already created an explosion in single-use packaging globally. New Zealand will not be immune to these supply pressures and is poorly placed to deal with the waste volumes that will eventuate. (Ref. theguardian.com; and sciencemag.org)
- plastic2parliament_mailing David Parker
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- Twitter: @plastic2parlia1 | Facebook: @plastic2parliament
640 letters but no reply from Scott Simpson… yet
- : plastic2parliament
- : 20/11/2019
More than 640 letters in parcels filled with nonrecyclable single-use plastics have been mailed to MPs in Parliament via freepost since the plastic2parliament initiative started in mid-October. Another 125 plastic-stuffed letters were directed to National Party Environment Spokesperson, Scott Simpson, this week in a second mailing to the MP.
“When we mailed Mr. Simpson a few weeks ago, we specifically asked he put aside party politics for a moment and let people know what his plastic waste reduction policy might be.” Said Wade Bishop – initiator of the plastic2parliament letter writing initiative that encourages the public to include non-recyclable plastics with their letters to MPs.
“Unfortunately, instead of saying what he or his Party might actually do should they be in Government, he simply side-stepped into meaningless politicking,” Wade Bishop said.
At the time of the first mailing, Mr. Simpson received around 60 letters and plastic parcels and was quoted as saying:
“I’d suggest people send this to the Minister’s office instead as there has been a complete lack of action on recycling and waste minimisation from this Government.” (Ref. Stuff.co.nz)The second letter sent to Mr. Simpson, again, asked him to support the Product Stewardship changes to the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA) proposed by the Government (which includes many categories of plastic packaging) but also asked him to advocate for bans of avoidable single-use plastics, such as cutlery and dishes, and a Plastic Tax on imported virgin plastics used to manufacture single-use packaging. (Ref. MFE.govt.nz)
Mr. Bishop said: “The fact is, the powers of Waste Minimisation Act [WMA] have been available since 2008. We could have avoided this deluge of single-use plastic waste, but instead those powers have largely not been used.
“The previous National Government essentially sat on the WMA and did nothing. This current Government is, at least, looking to put some of those powers into meaningful action. The problem for New Zealand is we can never be sure who will be in Government,” he said.
Plastic2parliament is encouraging citizens to ask all political Parties to detail their plastic reduction policies by penning letters to MPs in Parliament, via the Parliamentary Freepost address, asking them to focus regulation on the producers of plastic packaging, while also stuffing their large envelopes full of nonrecyclable plastics to make the point.
The plastic2parliament initiative continues to grow quickly with membership numbers of the Facebook Group reaching almost 1000 people since beginning in early October.
The global oil industry is currently investing US$180 billion in new plastic production plants with the aim to increase production by 40% in the next 10 years and some estimates suggest that plastic-waste volumes could quadruple before 2050.” Wade Bishop said. “This immense supply-pressure makes plastic-waste an issue of over-production with very little to do with consumer demand or consumer choices and it needs urgent, firm regulation.” he said.
ABOUT PLASTIC2PARLIAMENT
Plastic2parliament is a letter-writing initiative started by Wade Bishop of Christchurch which encourages citizens concerned about the explosion of single-use plastics to include these products with their letters to MPs using the Parliamentary Freepost address. The purpose of the initiative is to creatively emphasise how these nonrecyclable products cannot be avoided by consumers and that the actual cause of plastic waste is over-production and use by manufacturers.
ENDS
Media Contact: Wade Bishop
https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament/
M: 021 432045
E: plastic2parliament@gmail.com- Plastic2parliament_MailDayEvent_18Nov19
- : Wade Bishop
- : Initiator
- : plastic2parliament@gmail.com
- : 021432045
- : https://www.facebook.com/groups/plastic2parliament
- @plastic2parlia1 | @sendit2them | @plastic2parliament
Precision Driven Health partners with MoleMap in AI project to improve skin cancer detection
- : Precision Driven Health
- : 18/11/2019
Precision Driven Health (PDH), New Zealand’s leading health data research initiative, has today announced it is working with MoleMap on its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the early detection of skin cancer.
PDH Chief Executive Dr Kevin Ross says the $2 million research project will enhance the AI algorithm that MoleMap has developed to differentiate cancerous skin lesions from benign lesions.
“Every year nearly 400 New Zealanders die from skin cancer and studies indicate that early detection could have greatly improved the chance of survival in the majority of cases,” Dr Ross says.
“This project has the potential to increase access to skin checks by extending the technology for use at the primary care and general practitioner level, and thereby enabling more New Zealanders access to early detection for skin cancer.”
MoleMap Chief Technology Officer Adrian Bowling says the PDH partnership builds on initial research developed with IBM Research in Melbourne on a small subset of data.
“The partnership with PDH will provide us with access to a larger, wider set of data as we continue to work with experts at the University of Otago in Dunedin, and Monash University in Melbourne, to enhance this ground-breaking technology,” Mr Bowling says.
Computer-based systems for recognising malignant moles have been developed over the past 20 years but have had limited uptake. With the advent of AI, combined with large databases and “deep learning” algorithms, new opportunities for the use of these technologies can be explored.
“Published studies and our own research suggest that it is possible for a system-based AI to be at least as good as dermatologists in differentiating cancerous lesions from benign lesions,” Mr Bowling says.
The research project will include clinical trials in New Zealand and Australia once the algorithm has been enhanced. As essential part of the research is to ensure that the unique population of Aotearoa is taken into account and all skin types will be tested.
Dr Ross says that, as with all PDH projects, a key focus is applying new techniques in data science to advance Māori health outcomes.
“Māori do not have a high incidence of melanoma; however, there is a high mortality rate for those who have melanoma. This has generally been seen as a result of Māori, like many other New Zealanders, presenting with later stage melanoma when it is difficult to cure. Being able to better detect melanoma in Māori could help decrease this mortality risk and save lives.”
For more information and/or an interview with Dr Kevin Ross, contact:
Nicole Gray
Communications Specialist
nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.comAbout Precision Driven Health
The Precision Driven Health partnership (PDH), established in March 2016, is one of the most ambitious data science research initiatives to be undertaken in New Zealand. The partnership unites the health IT sector with health providers and universities to create health and commercial opportunities for New Zealanders. Research is focused on applying new data science techniques to understand the massive volume of data about an individual captured by health information systems, consumer devices, social networks, genetic testing, and other sources. Visit our website precisiondrivenhealth.com.About MoleMap
MoleMap’s team of leading dermatologists and melanographers have been detecting and diagnosing melanoma for over two decades, using a unique skin mapping system that’s designed to track changes in the skin over time. MoleMap has over 40 clinics around New Zealand serving over 250,000 patients nationwide. Visit our website www.molemap.co.nz.- : Nicole Gray
- : Communications Specialist
- : nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.com
- : 0276177235
- https://twitter.com/HealthPrecision | https://www.linkedin.com/company/precision-driven-health/