Robert Arntfield is a Canadian

intensivist An intensivist, also known as a critical care doctor, is a medical practitioner who specializes in the care of critically ill patients, most often in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intensivists can be internists or internal medicine sub-special ...

, medical educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. His specialty is in cardiorespiratory physiology, resuscitation, and the use of

artificial intelligence in healthcare Artificial intelligence in healthcare is the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and understand complex medical and healthcare data. In some cases, it can exceed or augment human capabilities by providing better or faster way ...

. He is a Professor of Medicine and Director of Critical Care Ultrasound Program & Fellowship at Western University’s

Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry is the combined medical school and dental school of the University of Western Ontario, a public university in London, Ontario, Canada. The medical education section is one of six in Ontario and one ...

, and is the Medical Director of the Critical Care Trauma Centre at

London Health Sciences Centre London Health Sciences Centre is a hospital network in London, Ontario, London, Ontario and is collectively one of Canada's largest acute-care teaching hospitals. It was formed in 1995 as a result of the merger of University Hospital (London, On ...

. He is also the founder of the

medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

company Deep Breathe.

Education

Arntfield received an undergraduate degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from Queen’s University in 2000. He received his

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree from Western University in 2004. He has been board-certified in

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...

and

critical care medicine Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes ...

. Following the completion of his medical degree, Arntfield completed an ultrasound

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Arntfield is a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer and holds a diplomate in adult

echocardiography Echocardiography, also known as cardiac ultrasound, is the use of ultrasound to examine the heart. It is a type of medical imaging, using standard ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound. The visual image formed using this technique is called an ec ...

with the National Board of Echocardiography.

Career

Arntfield is a Professor of Medicine and the Director of Critical Care Ultrasound Program & Fellowship at Western University, located in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

. He is also the Medical Director of the Critical Care Trauma Centre at

. In May 2020, Arntfield began work with a research team at Lawson Health Research Institute to investigate how artificial intelligence systems can be used to diagnose

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

through patterns in lung scans. During the project, a study involved the real-time validation of a lung ultrasound learning model in intensive care units, demonstrating high accuracy in identifying B-line patterns in critically ill patients. This system also demonstrated high accuracy and surpassed physicians in detecting COVID-19 in lung ultrasounds. This system became the first product for his medical technology company, Deep Breathe, which he founded in 2021. Arntfield is the founder and CEO of the medical technology company Deep Breathe. He founded Deep Breathe on the premise of democratizing

medical ultrasound Medical ultrasound includes Medical diagnosis, diagnostic techniques (mainly medical imaging, imaging) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic ultrasound, therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of ...

through increased use of point-of-care diagnostics and artificial intelligence automation. The company provides artificial intelligence software to automate the interpretation of medical images. The intended use is in conjunction with handheld,

point-of-care Clinical point of care (POC) is the point in time when clinicians deliver healthcare products and services to patients at the time of care. Clinical documentation Clinical documentation is a record of the critical thinking and judgment of a health ...

lung ultrasound technology which the company purports can enable healthcare providers to diagnose various lung conditions with speed, accuracy, and objectivity. Currently, the software utilizes Deep Breathe’s archive of lung ultrasound images, which is the largest in the world and spans over a decade of clinical research.

Publications

Arntfield co-authored the textbook ''Point of Care Ultrasound''. The book has received the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

’s President's Choice Award and was Highly Commended in Internal Medicine in 2015. His research has been published by the

American College of Chest Physicians The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is a medical association in the United States consisting of physicians and non-physician specialists in the field of chest medicine, which includes pulmonology, critical care medicine Intensiv ...

, ''Emergency Medical Clinics of North America'', and the ''Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arntfield, Robert 21st-century Canadian physicians Intensivists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian physicians