Xavier University debuts center to advance AI use in healthcare
Xavier University has launched the Xavier Center for Artificial Intelligence, an effort to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence to improve healthcare.
“We’re bringing together the major global players in artificial intelligence to focus on technology that could transform the healthcare industry,” said Marla Phillips, director of Xavier Health, which runs the Center for AI. “We believe the implementation of AI in the healthcare field is needed now more than ever.”
Xavier Health, formed in 2008, is a center in the College of Professional Sciences charged with making a difference in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries by building bridges between the industries and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Center for AI is a collaborative effort involving all three of Xavier’s colleges – Arts & Sciences, Professional Sciences and the Williams College of Business – presenting new academic opportunities for students across the campus, the center said.
AI could be used to improve patient safety, reduce drug costs, and avoid product and drug recalls, in addition to the advances being made in healthcare diagnostics, including the early detection of conditions such as dementia and depression, the center said.
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The center’s first major initiative will be the AI Summit August 24-25 on Xavier’s campus in Cincinnati. Xavier said it will lead representatives from the medical device and pharmaceutical industries and the FDA to further develop artificial intelligence to promote and protect patient health.
Summit attendees will form working teams tasked with developing plans that apply AI to solve their quality, regulatory and supply chain challenges. They will continue to meet in the months after the summit and present their solutions at the 2018 AI Summit. Solutions from the summit will be available for free for any company or organization to implement.
Representatives from the FDA, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly & Co., Abbott, Dell and IBM Watson Health will be among the speakers at the summit.
“Some people think that artificial intelligence is still just a concept, that its practical application is still years away,” Phillips said. “But it’s been used for years in many applications and has tremendous potential to make a difference in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.”
Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com
