FOCUS ON: RESEARCH
Artificial Intelligence
for Real Patient Care
Billions are being poured into intelligence projects
for business ventures across the globe. But one
physician at Baylor Scott & White Health is pushing
the boundaries of AI into human medicine.
rtificial intelligence: You have
patient care.
seen it in headlines as scientists
technology with software that has been
J. Michael DiMaio, MD, is a scientist,
develop and train machines to
taught to organize information about the
entrepreneur and clinician who sees health of layers of skin below the surface.
perform tasks that typically require human how to utilize machine thinking to help Without touching the patient, it can scan a
thinking, such as decision-making, visual patients in need: those with burns and wound and determine important properties
perception, speech recognition and more. other wounds. Dr. DiMaio created a wound such as blood flow and tissue composition.
Billions are being poured into intelligence imaging system that can help clinicians Results are delivered in real-time to cli-
projects such as IBM Watson, the Microsoft make important decisions to improve nicians, who can use it to determine the
Cloud AI Challenge and Google. patient care. He presented his thoughts health of the wound and make further
on artificial intelli-
“Imaging devices that assist the
clinician in making better decisions—
that’s what AI can provide.
Sophisticated devices can capture
the information, organize it, and
then have these predictive analytics
ready to help the clinician.”
— Dr. DiMaio
But one physician at Baylor Scott &
White Health is pushing the boundaries
of AI into human medicine, leveraging
leading-edge technology to enhance
4
THE COMPASS / BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE FOUNDATION NEWS / SPRING 2019
decisions to optimize patient care.
gence at the Baylor With provisional approval from the
Scott & White Dallas FDA, this imaging system is currently in
Foundation board use at Baylor Scott & White The Heart
meeting in February. Hospital – Plano.
“Imaging devices
“If you ask clinicians—vascular
that assist the clini- surgeons, podiatrists, burn surgeons—
cian in making better they say that they could use a device to
decisions—that’s help them out,” Dr. DiMaio said. “This one
what AI can provide,” is easy to use, useful and accurate. The
Dr. DiMaio explained. response to it has been phenomenal.”
“Sophisticated
The journey to developing a medical
devices can capture device that could help revolutionize
the information, wound care started with something
organize it, and then have these predictive Dr. DiMaio had always hoped he could
analytics ready to help the clinician.” change: bed sores. This unfortunate
The wound imaging system that Dr.
DiMaio developed combines imaging
diagnosis most often happens in pa-
tients with limited mobility—such as those