International Myeloma Foundation Launches Myelo: The First AI-Powered Responsive Chatbot to Provide Compassionate Myeloma Support for Patients, Care Partners, and Healthcare Professionals

Partners with ZS Associates and AWS to Develop Groundbreaking First-of-its-kind Gen AI Companion

STUDIO CITY, Calif., Sept. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is proud to announce the launching of Myelo—the first AI-powered responsive chatbot designed to act as the IMF’s virtual assistant for patients, care partners, and healthcare professionals.

“Myelo is more than just a chatbot—it’s a lifeline for myeloma patients and their care partners. By providing instant access to accurate information, personalized support, and a compassionate listening ear, Myelo empowers individuals to navigate their myeloma journey with confidence. This innovative tool is a testament to the IMF’s commitment to patient-centered care and our unwavering pursuit of a future where myeloma will no longer be a life-limiting disease,” said Yelak Biru, IMF President & CEO and 28-year myeloma patient.

“I’m deeply grateful to our partners, ZS Associates, for their expertise, and for collaborating with the IMF in developing this innovative tool; and to AWS for their Data Driven Everything methodology, which was vital in helping the IMF visualize the art of the possible to jumpstart our digital transformation,” he further expressed.

“We’re thrilled to launch our AI-powered chatbot in collaboration with the IMF. By leveraging the power of advanced language models, we are able to provide patients with immediate, personalized, and relevant information, helping them navigate their disease journey with greater confidence and ease,” said Mahmood Majeed, Managing Partner and Global Head of Digital and Technology Business at ZS.

“ZS and the IMF have a shared mission to make a direct and lasting impact on patient lives by bridging critical care gaps with innovative technology. We are proud that our partnership on that roadmap has produced a truly groundbreaking chatbot to empower patients. Powered by ZS’s Max.AI technology, our goal has been to deliver curated knowledge through an equitable and compassionate experience. This is not only a critical advancement for multiple myeloma patients around the world, but a strong step towards what responsible AI can do for patients everywhere,” said Maria Whitman, ZS Managing Partner – Global Commercialization Strategy and Solutions.

“By redefining AI-driven healthcare, Max.AI enables the IMF to provide instant, empathetic, support to the myeloma community,” according to ZS.

“At AWS, we are proud to partner with the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) in their mission to support myeloma patients, care partners, and healthcare professionals. By developing a modern data strategy which leverages advanced capabilities like Generative AI, the IMF has created a truly global network that extends their vast corpus of knowledge, expertise, and compassion to patients globally. This innovative approach empowers the IMF to deliver more personalized and accessible support, ensuring that vital information and care reach those who need it most,” said Tanya Coutray, AWS Worldwide Principal Data & AI Strategist.

“I am ecstatic about the release of Myelo and the potential impact it can have for patients and caregivers in the future. We are happy to support technology that has the power to disrupt medicine in a positive way. As we have seen across so many industries, AI is being utilized to drive efficiency. For patients and caregivers, being knowledgeable and engaged is a critical part of improving outcomes in the future. Myelo has the ability to be a tremendous resource, capable of reducing the knowledge gap substantially. I have been fortunate to interact with Myelo in the beta testing phase, and I was astounded by how quickly I was able to obtain relevant, meaningful information through this tool,” said Kent Oliver, who generously supported the creation and development of the IMF chatbot.

“We’ve all used customer service chatbots that fail to really answer a question, but Myelo was developed in a way that far surpasses any chatbot experience I have used in the past. As a donor, I am thrilled to support this project and look forward to continuing to support the IMF in challenging the status quo in the treatment of myeloma in the future,” he added.

What is Myelo?
Myelo is a chatbot which was trained to have extensive knowledge on multiple myeloma, including symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, clinical trials, and management strategies.

In a compassionate and caring manner, Myelo addresses frequently asked questions, offers explanations on complex medical terminology, and provide general information for patients through various stages of the disease—from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up care.

However, Myelo is not intended to give medical advice nor diagnose certain medical conditions. Patients are still advised to seek professional medical help for their specific needs.

By leveraging advanced natural language processing (NLP) techniques and machine learning (ML) algorithms, Myelo is able to respond to queries in multiple languages. This ensures accessibility for a diverse patient population.

Find out more about Myelo’s features and capabilities for patients, care partners, healthcare providers and professionals here.

Max.AI: Powering Myelo’s Advanced Capabilities
Max.AI’s fusion architecture powers Myelo’s capabilities, with its full suite of Gen AI-ready accelerators enabling seamless integration, processing, and organization of vast information from a wide range of resources (i.e., PDFs, video and audio transcripts, and web pages) on myeloma.org.

Max.AI’s features ensure Myelo’s empathetic response as well as citations to relevant sources. The responsible AI framework meets the highest ethical standards, ascertaining the integrity of information that Myelo provides its users.

Its ability to recall conversation history allows Max.AI to enhance user interactions by maintaining context within a chat session, delivering personalized and coherent responses. The intuitive user interface is responsive across all devices, allowing users to engage in seamless Q&A and to download chat transcripts.

Max.AI’s capabilities are further enhanced by seamless integration with several Amazon Web Services (AWS) services that provide a scalable, secure, and efficient foundation for Myelo.

Why did the IMF develop Myelo?
Because of the rising prevalence of multiple myeloma (with an estimated more than 176,000 new cases diagnosed globally in 2020, according to a 2022 study in The Lancet Haematology), there has been an increasing demand for accessible and reliable information sources on the disease.

Myelo is the IMF’s response to the need for more sophisticated, context-aware conversational agents that are capable of understanding and providing on-demand patient education at a mass scale with speed and accuracy in both the content and where the patient is in their journey.

Myelo also provides multilingual health support to an increasingly diverse and globally connected patient/care partner/health professional population, breaking language barriers and ensuring equitable access to healthcare information and support services.

With growing emphasis on patient education and self-management in healthcare, and a shift towards a more patient-centric approach, Myelo is an indispensable tool when it comes to educating and empowering patients to gain a better understanding of the disease and be able to manage and live well with myeloma.

Overall, by improving access to information, enhancing patient education, and streamlining communication between patients, care partners and healthcare providers, Myelo can make immense contributions for better disease management, resulting in optimum outcomes.

While Myelo serves as a valuable resource, enhancing patient engagement and empowerment by delivering personalized information and guidance based on individual needs and preferences, keep in mind that it is an AI-powered chatbot that is not 100 percent error-free. Users are advised to exercise discretion. Information provided by Myelo should not be construed as sound medical advice. Patients should still seek help from a medical expert.*

To get started on chatting with Myelo, visit the IMF Myelo FAQ page.

Want to speak to a real person? The IMF’s reliable InfoLine team is always ready to help address myeloma-related questions and consistently provides callers with the best information about multiple myeloma.

You may contact the IMF InfoLine by emailing infoline@myeloma.org or by calling 1-800-452 CURE (2873) (U.S. and Canada), or 1 (818) 487-7455 (Worldwide).

*DISCLAIMER: The information provided by Myelo may not always be up-to-date or comprehensive, as it may take time to incorporate new developments in the field of myeloma. 

While the IMF strives to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, we cannot guarantee its completeness or applicability to your individual circumstances. If you have any concerns or questions about your health or medical condition, please consult with your doctor or healthcare team. 

The chatbot does not have access to personal medical records nor data and operates based on information provided voluntarily by the user during the conversation. 

International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) and its affiliates cannot and will not be held liable for medical decisions made based solely on information obtained from Myelo; users are encouraged to independently verify any information provided with a medical expert. The chatbot serves as a tool for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as sound medical advice.

For more information on the IMF’s privacy policy regarding the use of the Myelo chatbot, please visit myeloma.org.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL MYELOMA FOUNDATION
Founded in 1990, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is the first and largest global foundation focusing specifically on multiple myeloma. The Foundation’s reach extends to more than 525,000 members in 140 countries worldwide. The IMF is dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients while working toward prevention and a cure by focusing on four key areas: research, education, support, and advocacy. The IMF has conducted more than 250 educational seminars worldwide, maintains a world-renowned InfoLine, and in 2001, established the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), a collaborative research initiative focused on improving myeloma treatment options for patients. In 2012, the IMF launched the Black Swan Research Initiative^®, a groundbreaking research project aimed at curing myeloma. The IMF can be reached at (800) 452-CURE (2873). The global website is www.myeloma.org.

Follow the IMF on:
X (Twitter): @IMFmyeloma
Instagram: @imfmyeloma
Facebook: @myeloma
LinkedIn: International Myeloma Foundation

Media Contacts:

Peter Anton
Panton@myeloma.org

Jason London
Jlondon@myeloma.org