LiteraSeed Secures $1M NSF STTR Grant to Expand Product Ecosystem and Improve Healthcare Access for Underserved Populations

State College, PA (August 15, 2024) — LiteraSeed, Inc. received a National Science Foundation Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II grant of $997,693 in partnership with Virginia Tech's Machine Learning Laboratory. The funding supports enhancement of their visual patient communication platform designed for individuals with varying language proficiency and health literacy levels. The investment will facilitate EHR system integration and leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning for data extraction and analysis capabilities.

Communication breakdowns contribute significantly to healthcare challenges. Research indicates that 78.9% of misdiagnoses stem from miscommunication, causing 80,000 to 200,000 preventable hospital deaths annually and $238 billion in system costs. Medical history capture during patient-provider encounters accounts for 56.3% of these gaps. The problem is exacerbated by widespread low health literacy affecting 120 million Americans and non-English primary language speakers comprising 67.3 million people.

"Cultural barriers, less access to care, and language and literacy barriers put already vulnerable communities at greater risk of missed or misdiagnosis, which can lead to critical medical issues and death. Enhancing communication is crucial for improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare services, as well as patient outcomes."

— Aziza Ismail, LiteraSeed Co-founder and COO

Clinical Phase I research demonstrated that LiteraSeed's approach identified additional relevant symptoms compared to providers in obstetrics and gynecology settings. Machine learning models trained on 7.1 million inpatient records achieved 98.1% accuracy for mortality risk prediction and 99.6% accuracy for major surgical intervention prediction.

"The need for practical, technology-driven solutions in healthcare has never been greater. Our partnership with LiteraSeed goes beyond innovation—it's about transforming patient-provider interactions."

— Hoda Eldardiry, Director, Virginia Tech Machine Learning Laboratory