Valley startup collaborates with Mayo Clinic to advance AI agent for patient intake
Story Highlights
- MiiHealth AI collaborates with Mayo Clinic to test DAINA
- DAINA modernizes patient intake through AI-driven conversations via tablets
- MiiHealth AI relocated from London to Phoenix in 2024
A fast-growing startup is collaborating with the Mayo Clinic to scale its AI agent for use in the health care industry, building on the company’s momentum since it relocated its headquarters from London to Phoenix in 2024.
MiiHealth AI recently entered into a “know-how agreement” with the Mayo Clinic to test its Dynamic AI Intake and Navigation Assistant — DAINA — among patients in a hospital setting.
DAINA “modernizes and humanizes the patient intake process” through empathetic, natural- language conversations via tablets in the exam room. It guides patients through clinical intake without the provider in the room, and collects medical history, symptoms, medication adherence, and flags critical issues. Then, it generates specialty-specific notes for providers that integrate into electronic health record systems, according to the company.
“DAINA marks a seminal moment in the evolution of digital medicine, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can be harnessed to restore the inherent passion and purpose that defines exceptional healthcare practice,” Kelvin Summoogum, CEO of MiiHealth AI, said in a statement. “By combining world-class clinical insight with cutting-edge AI, and in working with Mayo Clinic experts to ensure clinical rigor and relevance. We’re building a solution that drives clinical excellence, while preserving the attention and empathy that patients expect in care.”
Summoogum is leading the MiiHealth AI and Mayo Clinic project with Reza Arsanjani, M.D. and vice chair for cardiology at the Mayo Clinic.
MiiHealth AI has built and tested several iterations of DAINA prior to landing on the current version, which has been utilized by more than 200 patients via the company’s pilot program with the Mayo Clinic.
“After they use DAINA, we get them to fill out a questionnaire. They have to rate DAINA on a scale of one to five. Over 90% have rated above four or five,” Summoogum said.
MiiHealth AI plans to complete its pilot program at the Mayo Clinic by mid-October.
“This collaboration exemplifies the innovation happening in our city where cutting-edge technology and world-class medicine come together to improve lives,” Kate Gallego, mayor of Phoenix, said in a statement. “By advancing tools like DAINA, we are creating a more compassionate and accessible patient experience while also easing unnecessary burdens on providers. This is the kind of forward-thinking solution that keeps Phoenix at the forefront of global healthcare innovation.”
Company to consider expansion in the Valley
MiiHealth AI is a spinoff of MiiHealth, which relocated from London to the Valley in 2024.
MiiHealth had developed conversational AI companion Monica and MiiCube, which collects more than 70 data types and converts them into insights for providers to personalize health care plans.
After the company graduated from Arizona State University and the Mayo Clinic’s MedTech Accelerator program, it opted to focus on its AI offerings upon suggestion from Valley investors and large hospital systems, Summoogum said.
“Some investors said to me, ‘Hey, Kelvin, you’ve got this great product, but I think you’ve got something even better, which is your AI,” he said. “’So can you find a way to split your AI with the hardware?’”
Since then, MiiHealth AI has deployed its technology and landed an undisclosed amount of capital to scale DAINA, which was born from an idea to give doctors more time with their patients and reduce administrative burden.
“It’s about growing the business because the technology now works,” Summoogum said. “But also we have a roadmap to integrate with mainstream EHR platforms like Athena, Epic and Cerner because that will allow us to be a bit more embedded in the workflows of the hospital system.”
MiiHealth AIoccupies 1,000 square feet in Connect Labs by Wexford on the fifth floor of the 850 PBC building. The space is part of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, a 30-acre life sciences innovation district in downtown Phoenix.
Although based at 850 PBC, the company is also considering an expansion to Discovery Oasis in north Phoenix to be closer to the Mayo Clinic, Summoogum said.
MiiHealthAI has five employees and is currently looking to hire three additional workers. The company aims to double its headcount to 14 workers within a year, he added.
Looking ahead, MiiHealth plans to expand its reach to even more health care systems and pharmaceutical companies, which are expressing interest in the company’s technology.
“The company is made up of people that really want to make a difference, and we come from prestigious universities. But instead of just doing what our friends have done — going to Meta — we’ve decided to focus on something that is affecting the lives of many people,” Summoogum said. “If you were to ask the team the definition of being a millionaire, they will say to you, ‘A millionaire is a person that has impacted 1 million lives.’ So this is a measure for us.”