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AI Summit highlights patient-centric approach to transform healthcare
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The needs of patients are at the forefront of healthcare transformation through artificial intelligence (AI). This was the overarching theme at Mayo Clinic's AI Summit, held recently in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Cui Tao, chair of Mayo Clinic's Department of Artificial Intelligence and Informatics and the Nancy Peretsman and Robert Scully Chair of AI and Informatics, opened the summit by sharing that the goal of the event was to explore how AI can be used to potentially revolutionize healthcare and biomedicine.
The summit, which brought together clinicians, scientists, engineers and innovators, was chaired by Dr. Hamid Tizhoosh and Dr. Fred Fan, both from the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Informatics.
These were some key takeaways from the event:
Patient needs drive AI innovation
Dr. Clark Otley, chief medical officer of Mayo Clinic Platform, emphasized that Mayo Clinic's leadership in AI is rooted in its responsibility to best serve the needs of patients. He said patients want to see improved, accessible, personalized and affordable care, along with trusted information and privacy protection.
Dr. Matthew Callstrom, medical director of Mayo Clinic's Generative Artificial Intelligence Program, added, "When you start talking to patients about how important AI will be for their healthcare, they start to raise their hand and say, 'Please include me. I want to have the best possible outcomes.'"
Transforming medicine from reactive to proactive care
Summit speakers highlighted the need for a shift from reactive, symptom-based healthcare to proactive, preemptive care.
Dr. Callstrom shared the story of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis whose disease had progressed to joint destruction and chronic symptoms, due to the need to trial different treatments with the current standard of care. He said AI may have the potential to improve outcomes for such patients.
"If we use the data in a different way — if we start to be able to predict outcomes for patients for methotrexate, for targeted therapies — maybe we can get onto the right therapy sooner," he said.
Mayo Clinic Platform: A foundation for innovation
Mayo Clinic Platform, a key initiative in Mayo's Bold. Forward. strategy, is building a rich dataset of de-identified patient data to drive innovation that will help realize this vision.
Dr. Otley outlined Mayo Clinic Platform's strategy for responsible AI implementation, including ethical development and deployment, human-centered design, and scientific evidence. He highlighted the importance of supporting healthcare teams in using AI to augment patient care.
AI applications across specialties offer practical solutions
Dr. Otley shared AI's promise in specialties such as radiology, mammography, personalized medicine and mental health, emphasizing its potential to help healthcare professionals improve diagnostic accuracy, efficiency and access to care.
Dr. Callstrom highlighted AI-powered tools for reducing administrative burden by streamlining medical records review and clinical decision-making, improving diagnostic accuracy through voice analysis and digital pathology, and ongoing research in genomics and cancer care.
He emphasized the need for practical solutions that help healthcare professionals, such as an application that can remotely monitor patients and alert their care team to assist and prevent patient falls if necessary.
Other featured speakers were Dr. Jeroen van der Laak, Radboud University Medical Center; Dr. Yifan Peng, Weill Cornell Medicine; and Dr. Greg Corrado, Google Research.
Watch the AI Summit keynotes and panel discussions.
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