WHX Tech showcases healthcare innovation and highlights how real-world patient care is being restored
- Her Excellency Mubaraka Ibrahim, CIO and CAIO at EHS, addressed the World X stage, sharing key trends in ambient AI and explaining how it is helping ‘restore humanity to the heart of healthcare’
- Reggie Townsend, former White House advisor on AI, emphasises need for responsible innovation, while leading health-tech companies from across the region and beyond showcase latest industry innovations
‘Human beings are the ones to lead AI, not the other way around’, attendees hear from speakers on packed-out World X Stage during opening day of WHX Tech
Dubai, UAE, 10 September 2025: The inaugural WHX Tech, a new three-day platform for digital health innovation, passed its midway point at the Dubai World Trade Centre last night, filled with insights from some of the world's leading artificial intelligence advisors.
With more than 200 expert speakers, 300 exhibitors, and an expected 5,000 global healthcare leaders to attend across the three-day event, the World X Stage played host to the Emirates Health Services (EHS) Al Summit on day two. Speaking at the forum focusing on the transformative role of Al in healthcare and how it aligns with the UAE's national Al strategy 2031, Her Excellency Mubaraka Ibrahim, Chief Information Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at EHS, shared some key trends in AI healthcare. Most notably, the fact that ambient AI – such as wearables that track heart rate or cameras that scan for high temperatures – has reduced documentation by 41 per cent, in turn providing clinicians with 22 per cent more time for their patients.
“Every citizen may one day have their digital twin, a living, breathing model of their health, tested, treated, and optimised before a doctor even prescribes your medication,” Ibrahim said. “This is a profound shift, not only in technology, but in philosophy. AI is not here to replace the human; it is here to return the optimum capacity. With the help of AI, humanity is being restored to the heart of healthcare.”
Speaking later on the same stage, Reggie Townsend, Vice President of the SAS Data Ethics Practice, who was appointed in 2022 to provide guidance to the White House on various AI-related issues, highlighted a 2024 incident in which a major healthcare system used AI in its emergency room only for it to misdiagnose routine cases as critical and vice versa. Townsend emphasised the importance of responsible innovation, empathetic human-to-human engagement, and highlighted Al's role in reflecting societal biases.
“What this incident highlights for us is that technical failures absolutely will occur, particularly as we're attempting to stabilise the technology,” he said. “So our success doesn't depend on avoiding every possible failure – we have to get comfortable with that – but it does depend on developing the ability to respond when they happen.”
PureHealth, one of the UAE's leading healthcare providers, has launched Pura, the UAE-based AI health companion App. Already accessible to over 600,000 people, the app combines tele-consultations, lab results, wearable integration with 95 per cent of devices, and a wellbeing rewards system and much more. Showcasing its products and services at WHX Tech this week, new features include an AI-based nutrition program, tracking, and a home blood sample collection service.
“We’re trying to make healthcare more accessible,” said Mark Maycroft, Associate Director of Digital Partnerships at PureHealth. “No one has bridged the gap between healthcare from a clinical perspective and the fitness and wellness side of health that we live every day. As part of our mission to provide easy access to the full spectrum of healthcare, we are introducing wellness blood panels collected in the comfort of your home, anywhere in the UAE, providing insights directly to your Pura App, with our AI companion ensuring personalised recommendations and insights.”
US-based airia is showcasing its latest AI Agent platform that, according to MENA Sales Director Gilio Zahr, has the ability to integrate with existing systems and data sources to improve both clinical and administrative workflows.
“From AI assistants that support doctors in diagnosis to secure patient data integrations and comprehensive compliance controls, we believe AI is set to redefine healthcare delivery,” said Zahr. “Our platform empowers healthcare providers to rapidly prototype, deploy, and manage AI agents that transform both clinical and administrative workflows, as well as support doctors in diagnosis. The UAE and the wider Middle East represent a booming market for AI, and WHX Tech has confirmed that healthcare stands as one of the most vital pillars driving this transformation."
Speaking on the sidelines of day two, Peter Hall, President, Middle East, India, Türkiye and Africa at Informa Markets, said: “We are only at the halfway point of its first edition, yet WHX Tech is already proving itself a platform for collaboration, partnership, and future health-tech innovation showcases. The support we have received from our partners has been invaluable in making this inaugural edition something that will keep growing for years to come.”
WHX Tech is held in strategic partnership with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), reinforcing its credibility and ensuring that its content aligns with the sector’s most pressing priorities.
For more information and to register interest in attending today’s final day, visit: WHX Tech
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