AI Collaboration Launches to Support Cystic Fibrosis, Respiratory Research

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has announced a partnership with research intelligence company Epistemic AI and the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF), which will enable the Cincinnati Children’s Division of Pulmonary Medicine to accelerate clinical research in cystic fibrosis and respiratory disease through the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes issues with breathing and digestion. People with the condition suffer from mucus that is too thick and sticky, which can block airways and lead to lung damage, trap germs and make infections more likely, and prevent proteins needed for digestion from reaching the intestines.

The CDC estimates that 35,000 people in the US have cystic fibrosis. The condition can lead to other, more severe health problems. People with cystic fibrosis are significantly more likely to develop diabetes, cirrhosis or liver disease, arthritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or acid reflux, osteoporosis, and hypersplenism or overactive spleen.

Cincinnati Children's role in the collaboration builds on an existing partnership established in 2020 between Epistemic AI and BEF to improve cystic fibrosis knowledge discovery efforts and research using Epistemic’s AI platform. According to the press release, the platform is designed to provide insights into the underlying relationships between disease, diagnosis, treatment, biological function, and other aspects of the life sciences.

This platform was initially provided to Raouf Amin, MD, chair of pediatric pulmonology at Cincinnati Children's, and his staff in the fall of 2021. From there, the collaborators established the goal to support researchers in the pulmonary medicine department of Cincinnati Children’s with advanced analytics and AI tools; access to cystic fibrosis-related knowledge in basic research, clinical trials, and treatments; and insights into existing cystic fibrosis research on rare genetic mutations and pathogens, the press release states.

The collaboration is Cincinnati Children's latest foray into exploring the uses of AI in healthcare and medical research.

In 2019, the hospital successfully tested the integration of an AI-powered clinical trials screening system into the clinical workflow at its pediatric emergency department.

Using the system, clinical research coordinators were able to automatically screen patient EHRs to identify the highest-quality candidates for clinical trials, which is typically a labor intensive process undertaken in a narrow timeframe. By leveraging natural language processing and machine learning, the system was able to sift through the various types of data found in EHRs and determine patients’ suitability for clinical trials.

Overall, the system reduced patient screening time by 34 percent and improved patient enrollment by 11.1 percent. It also increased the number of patients screened by 14.7 percent and those approached with the offer of clinical trial participation by 11.1 percent.