OSF HealthCare, a not-for-profit health system serving communities across Illinois and Michigan, and technology vendor RapidAI, a global leader in enterprise clinical AI, today announced the expansion of the Rapid Enterprise™ Platform to all 18 hospitals in the OSF Ministry.

Building on an initial deployment at select sites, the expansion will give each OSF hospital access to an advanced platform built to analyze medical images, connect care teams, and support patient management across the patient journey.

RapidAI’s deep clinical AI goes beyond alerting teams to a potential finding. It provides automated measurements, disease characterization, and advanced visualization, giving radiologists and clinicians a clearer, more complete picture of each patient’s condition. By automating parts of image analysis and delivering actionable clinical context, the platform helps OSF teams apply their expertise where it matters most, to make informed decisions and coordinate next steps. Keeping that information connected as patients move through the system helps reduce fragmentation and maintain continuity across the network.

OSF expanded its use of the RapidAI platform after seeing measurable improvements in treatment times and more consistent identification of people who might have suffered a stroke and required intervention. The expansion builds on those results with a technology provider focused on deeper integration, enterprise governance, analytics, and ongoing optimization across its hospitals.

“Every community we serve should benefit from the same advanced technology, whether a patient enters one of our largest medical centers or a rural, critical access hospital,” said Arun Talkad, MD, a neurologist who directs stroke care at OSF HealthCare.

“After seeing how RapidAI supported clinical decisions and patient care at select sites, we saw the opportunity to add more AI solutions to the platform and extend that value across all hospitals, strengthening access to specialty expertise and helping us deliver high-quality, consistent care at every level of our health system.”

The Rapid Enterprise Platform is designed to support health systems beyond a single disease state or moment in care. RapidAI’s clinical coverage spans neuro, cardiac and vascular care, trauma, and oncology. It combines deep clinical AI with advanced 3D visualization across the body, care coordination, enterprise analytics and longitudinal patient management. RapidAI-developed and curated third-party applications allow health systems to scale AI across specialties and follow disease over time through one platform.

OSF is committed to ensuring reliable care at all times. The platform's infrastructure, Rapid Edge Cloud, is designed to keep critical decision support and care coordination tools available even during a network or cloud outage, helping minimize disruption and keep care consistently available.

“Our goal is to help hospitals deliver the best possible care for the communities they serve, and validated AI that improves clinical decision-making can be a powerful part of that,” said Karim Karti, CEO of RapidAI. “OSF is leading by example, implementing AI across its enterprise to help teams work at their best, reduce variation and make informed decisions. We are proud to support that vision as its strategic enterprise AI partner.”

The expansion builds on recognized leadership at OSF HealthCare in using technology to strengthen patient care. In 2025, Fortune named OSF one of America’s Most Innovative Companies for the second time, making it the only Illinois health system on the list. OSF also earned CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition for the 14th consecutive year, achieving Level 9 certification across acute, ambulatory and long-term acute care settings. These honors reinforce OSF is a leader in applying technology at scale to improve care.

Video clips with Dr. Arun Talkad

B-roll-Rapid AI

• OSF researchers developed an AI tool that creates a 3D model of the aorta and generates hundreds of precise measurements in seconds.
• More accurate and consistent measurements could help doctors detect aneurysm growth earlier and determine the safest time for surgery.
• The technology could eventually support automated diagnosis and improve care for patients with conditions such as Marfan syndrome and Turner syndrome.

A team at OSF HealthCare is developing an artificial intelligence-powered tool designed to improve how physicians measure and monitor the aorta, a breakthrough that could help doctors detect dangerous aneurysms earlier and make more informed decisions about when surgery is needed.

The project, led by pediatric cardiologist Mathew Bramlet, MD, at OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois, combines expertise from OSF HealthCare, Jump Simulation and Education Center, the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria and University of Illinois engineering researchers. The technology creates a highly detailed three-dimensional "digital twin" of a patient's anatomy from MRI or CT scans, allowing software to automatically analyze the aorta in seconds instead of requiring lengthy manual measurements.

The aortic arch project, funded through a Jump ARCHES grant, is aimed at improving longitudinal surveillance and the diagnosis and the tracking of aortic aneurysms, so they don’t tear or rupture. The aorta is the main and largest artery in the human body, carrying oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the rest of the body. An aneurysm is a large bulge in that artery.

Accurate measurements are critical

Dr. Bramlet says measurements that document any expansion of the aneurysm need to be obtained with clear imaging with an expert eye that is generating reproducible measurements. Since high-risk surgery can hinge on one measurement, the accuracy of that measurement at one point in time, or over years as the growth of the aneurysm is monitored, becomes critically important. Among the complications doctors trying to prevent is an aortic dissection which recently killed Senator Lindsey Graham of North Carolina.

Currently, physicians often compare scans taken over many years to determine whether an aneurysm has grown enough to justify preventative surgery — a decision that carries significant risks if performed too early or too late. Manually measuring the aorta can take about 30 minutes and depends heavily on specialist expertise like that of Dr. Bramlet.

The new software automates that process, which Dr. Bramlet explains can generate up to 300 measurements in about 30 seconds while improving consistency.

“If we can capture this aorta and generate those same measurements with fancy new math and machine learning programs, we can distribute the expertise that I have accumulated over years and years and years, essentially into a program that would allow this type of analysis to be distributed at a larger scale.”

The automated approach also could allow researchers to analyze thousands of patient scans, helping develop more personalized treatment guidelines for conditions such as Marfan syndrome and Turner syndrome.

Aorta library will be created

The project is also creating a library of 3D digital models of healthy and diseased aortas that could eventually support automated diagnosis.

"The model library that we will have, where we can compare a diseased aorta to a normal aorta and look for the differences, it's a much easier automated process to get toward automated diagnosis, automated analysis and this is really the mindset of the entire lab,” says Dr. Bramlet.

Dr. Bramlet directs the Advanced Imaging and Modeling Lab at OSF Jump Simulation.

Beyond aortic disease, the underlying technology is designed to create digital models of multiple organs, opening the door to broader AI-assisted imaging analysis across medicine.

For Dr. Bramlet, it is exciting to see how this will be able to help provide better guidance for diagnosis and surgery determinations. The team is continuing to validate the technology through research while working toward clinical deployment – something Dr. Bramlet says is unique to OSF HealthCare.

“To have a hospital institution assign operational resources towards a clinical tool but I believe it is the commitment to serve people and to actually see the fruits of that labor being deployed within this institution really makes it a special place.”

In research conducted, this tool showed that automated 3D measurements closely match those done by clinicians, paving the way for a shift from traditional 2D imaging to more advanced 3D analysis.

Dr. Mathew Bramlet is also an associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria.

Video clips with Dr. Mathew Bramlet

B-roll-Aortic aneurysm detection

Harvey Castro, MD, known professionally as DR GPT™ highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in health care during an OSF Innovation Showcase at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, emphasizing its potential to shift medicine from a reactive system to one focused on prevention and predictive care.

During an interview ahead of his presentation, Castro said people don't come to the emergency department until something's wrong, but he thinks advances in AI-powered predictive analytics could give health care providers opportunities to intervene before diseases progress.

“Now we’re going to be able to do predictive analytics and know that you’re going to have a heart attack in five years, 10 years from now. Or, like I was saying, this conversation you could say, ‘You know what, the AI is detecting that Dr. Castro has prediabetes and I didn’t know that. And so now the AI is telling me. Now, I’m like wait I need to lose weight, I need to take care of myself, and now I don’t even get diabetes because I’m jumping on it years before the actual condition.”

AI will speed time to diagnosis

Dr. Castro suggests that today’s five-year-old could live to 150 because of the advancements in longevity that artificial intelligence will bring. He also highlighted the technology’s potential in pediatric medicine and rare disease diagnosis, where patients and families often wait months or years for answers. AI systems trained to recognize patterns in symptoms and medical histories could help physicians identify rare conditions faster and begin treatment sooner.

“But what if we could take that year and a half and crunch it down to a day or two, and now we have a diagnosis?” Castro said. “Now as a parent, you know what's wrong. It’s got to be so frustrating not to know, especially when it comes to your children.”

Among those at the OSF Innovation Showcase were physicians who are treating kids at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois. His message hit home as Dr. Castro reminded the audience that 50% of rare diseases impact children.

During his remarks, Castro also discussed how health care systems, such as OSF HealthCare, are increasingly building their own AI models using local patient data. He said using region-specific information is critical to ensuring AI tools accurately reflect the populations they serve. He calls that the “gold standard.”

“Let’s say I'm in Texas and I come up here and I say, ‘Here's my data. Let's use this AI here,’ it's not representative of the population here.” Castro stressed, “Right there you can make the argument that it’s going to hallucinate versus yours which is not. I think that’s key.”

Patients are already leveraging AI

For physicians and other providers, Dr. Castro advised that they should leverage AI because patients are already doing it. However, he said patients should not rely on the technology alone for medical advice. Because AI-generated responses can sound authoritative even when inaccurate, he said physicians must remain actively involved in evaluating and confirming information.

“The problem with ChatGPT is it sounds so real and it sounds so correct and it personalizes to you and it knows what words to use so that if it’s making it up, it sounds so real, so the average person won’t know is this hallucinating or is it saying something wrong or is it right? He emphasized, “That's why I say, especially health care, we need that doctor in the loop.”

Dr. Castro serves on a panel of health care leaders advising OpenAI, which operates ChatGPT, on best practices.

He shared that OpenAI is rolling out a new, optional safety feature for ChatGPT called Trusted Contact. This feature is designed for adult users (18+) and acts as a mental health safety net, allowing users to designate a friend, family member or caregiver to be notified if ChatGPT's systems detect that the user is engaging in conversations that indicate a serious risk of self-harm.

Despite concerns that artificial intelligence could make health care feel less personal, Castro argued the technology may actually improve patient interactions by reducing administrative burdens on physicians. AI transcription tools, for example, can allow doctors to spend less time typing notes and more time focused on patients.

In looking to the future, Dr. Castro envisions a day when wearables will combine with AI-connected devices in the home that will analyze daily waste, weight and other personal data and send a text to alert someone about a medical concern. In the end, he says artificial intelligence will be better for humanity and allow health systems to better care for people.

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA, known as DR GPT™, is an emergency physician, Chief AI Officer, author, keynote speaker, and physician futurist. He speaks and advises on AI in healthcare, digital health, clinical workflow, space health, and the future of human-centered medicine.
 

Media clips with Dr. Harvey Castro

B-roll-OSF Innovation Showcase

OSF HealthCare is elevating patient safety and care in its labor and delivery units through the introduction of a groundbreaking virtual monitoring program that enhances traditional bedside care with advanced technology and expert support.

Fetal and maternal monitoring during labor and delivery is critical for ensuring the well-being of both mother and baby. For newborns, electronic fetal heart rate monitoring helps detect early signs of distress—such as reduced oxygen supply, abnormal heart rate patterns, or umbilical cord compression—allowing healthcare providers to intervene before complications arise. For mothers, continuous monitoring of vital signs, contractions, and labor progress can help identify potential concerns like excessive bleeding, infection, high blood pressure, or complications related to anesthesia.

Now, OSF HealthCare is layering additional support into this essential care by launching a new Virtual Labor and Delivery Monitoring Program across all of its hospitals with birthing units.

“This program adds an extra layer of safety by providing 24/7 remote monitoring through our OSF OnCall team, who work hand-in-hand with bedside caregivers,” says Kate Johnson, manager of Digital Care-Women’s Services, OSF OnCall.  “It does not replace our in-person care teams but gives them additional expert eyes on every laboring patient.”

Using PeriWatch Vigilance, an AI-enhanced software, a centralized team of OSF OnCall registered nurses known as the OSF OnCall Acute OB team monitors laboring patients in real time. The system uses tiered, color-coded alerts to signal early signs of potential complications. When an alert is triggered, the OnCall Acute OB nurses coordinate directly with the in-hospital care team to ensure prompt follow-up.

Importantly, this service does not require any new equipment for mothers or babies and comes at no additional cost to patients or payors.

The OSF OnCall Acute OB team supports all OSF hospitals with labor and delivery services, including:

• Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria
• Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park
• Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford
• Saint Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington
• Sacred Heart Medical Center in Danville
• Saint Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa
• Saint Mary Medical Center in Galesburg

OSF HealthCare believes it might be among the first health systems in the state to offer this level of AI-supported maternal and fetal monitoring, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and safety.

“Every mom and baby deserves the highest standard of care. This new technology ensures that we are watching over them even more closely, supporting our Mission to serve with the greatest care and love,” Johnson added.  

B-roll-OSF OnCall monitoring of Family Birthing Units 

Travis Jones, DPT, OCS, MBA, and an OSF Mission Partner (employee) learned about the power of data while getting his master’s degree in business administration. While concentrating on business analytics Jones thought about how data could apply to his job as a physical therapist and soon he was working with the OSF Innovation Studio team to build an AI-backed platform that can be used to help health care employers identify job risks and speed review of injury assessments in workers’ compensation cases.

That’s important because, according to Jones, nurses and CNAs are injured on the job more than any other profession in the U.S. — even more than construction workers. RNs suffer over 20,000 work-related injuries each year serious enough to miss work. One back injury can cost a hospital $30,000+ in direct costs alone, not including lost productivity, overtime, or turnover.

Jones’ platform and company Health Shift AI uses advanced algorithms and historical data analysis, built on licensed intellectual property from OSF HealthCare, to identify risks on day one of workplace incidents in a health care setting to prevent chronic injuries. It also ensures the person injured gets a quick assessment.

“So really, one of our biggest goals is improving the access, so that way people can have access to rehab programs almost immediately when the injury occurs, which then can help reduce costs down the line from those issues not becoming chronic issues, and by getting really to the root of the problem quickly.”

By using his platform, Jones estimates health care systems could see a 30% reduction in the current annual claim costs, which can easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more for large hospitals.  He also believes it could likely lower workers’ compensation premiums.

Jones explains he developed his algorithm by looking at crucial data points.

“We look at things like job type, we look at age, we look at what the individual was doing when they were injured, what body region was injured, what type of injury it was. And then also we can look at the descriptions of the incident that happened. And we can generate insights from those as well.”

The platform analyzes historical workers' comp data to prioritize physical therapy for at-risk employees, aiming to improve recovery time and reduce employer costs. But it also offers a personalized approach for injured workers.

“That computer vision model can then identify potential faulty movement patterns that may increase risk of injury. And then it provides that individual with customized exercise programs, education; things they can do to address those faulty movement patterns to reduce their injury risk.”

There might be other companies that provide virtual physical therapy, but Jones says his digital platform is the most integrated solution available for employers – evaluating workplace risk, plus proactively identifying and addressing movement risks using AI-powered personalized assessments and educational resources.

OSF Innovation Studio provided Jones with guidance, coaching, and connections to help him refine his idea, understand the market potential, and ultimately develop a software solution that could be licensed to a startup. Jones’ efforts with Health Shift AI are currently self-funded and include support from family and friends.

Used AI to help develop the software

He used AI to help him write code to develop his software, saving time and money because he didn’t have to hire a software engineer. And as an OSF Mission Partner, he received input and support in that area from OSF Innovation Studio.

Kip McCoy, vice president, Innovation Studio says Jones is an enthusiastic entrepreneur, and he maximized the help available.

“There are a lot of resources in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem that are available. So, what we’ve tried to do is to get him tied into or connected to a lot of those that are at the disposal of various start-ups in the Peoria area.”

That includes Distillery Labs in Peoria where Joes participated in gALPHA class last September. He says exposure to others’ struggles and mentors who have been successful entrepreneurs really helped. Additionally, he also connected with Enterprise Works, and the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps™ program.

His company, Health Shift AI, has since licensed the software he developed at OSF HealthCare.

Other aspects that are not part of the licensing agreement include self-guided recovery access -- personalized recovery programs and progress tracking through the digital platform.

Jones established his company in Peoria, Illinois and plans to keep it here. Next steps are to work on a pilot within OSF HealthCare that utilizes all aspects of the platform. Jones also sees a market for his Health Shift AI in manufacturing and is testing the software with a window manufacturer and distributor.

McCoy says Health Shift AI is a success story that reminds OSF HealthCare Mission Partners that if they have an idea, the OSF Innovation Studio team is ready to assist.

“We can help you think through that, look at different opportunities, see what resources we can have available to help you just better craft or focus in on where the potential opportunity or the need might be that can help move it (your idea) forward.”

OSF Mission Partners can begin their journey toward potentially developing their solution by filling out an idea submission form online here.

Travis Jones

Kip McCoy

B-roll of Health Shift AI

Digital health technologies have allowed people to access care where and when they want it because of computing platforms, software, sensors, and connectivity.  But, Sarasohn-Kahn says connectivity is a barrier for some who are experiencing gaps in care. 

“Because not everyone has connectivity. It costs money that a lot of people don’t have to spend. So, this is a limiting factor that we can address but we shouldn’t be pollyannish about this for everybody because not everybody can get online, and we learned that during the pandemic.” 

Connectivity, says Sarasohn-Kahn, is a social driver of health, much like transportation, food, housing and other social needs. She emphasized that partnerships with community and government organizations will be needed to create what she called “techquity”— tech equity. 

Universal access to innovations can help reduce inequities and remove barriers to care for underserved populations. Sarasohn-Kahn points out innovative health systems such as OSF HealthCare are investing in new technologies, providers, and data scientists to drive better health and prevent hospital admissions. Now, evidence is starting to show returns on that investment in better patient care and reduced treatment costs. 

Globally, she says for every $1 invested in telehealth, there is a $19 return to the economy in increased productivity and reduced health care costs. But trust is a major factor in driving consumer engagement in telehealth.

Sarasohn-Kahn says misinformation that began during the pandemic and that continues today is driving down trust in health care. 

 “Without trust, people will not engage with you as a health care provider. There has to be that sacred, and I use the word sacred because it’s real, it’s (a) deep bond of trust and it’s a precursor to health engagement.”

Technology is allowing the movement of more care to the home. Blood tests, labs, and imaging can increasingly be performed in the home or remotely. Sarasohn-Kahn says the growth of digital health apps, digital therapeutics and increased use of sensors integrated with smartphones that can passively monitor patient metrics is advancing convenient care. Plus, there's been increasing expansion of videoconferencing for virtual visits from anywhere. 

She emphasized that health systems can take a lesson from OSF and embrace collaboration to boost trust, access and equity. For example, trusted community organizations can be partners to help build one-on-one relationships with people who don’t trust health care. Once patients engage and have a great experience with a virtual visit or using a platform for health monitoring or other technology, Sarasohn-Kahn suggests they will help others get on board.

“Once you start that process, people will engage, ask more questions and then they become your evangelists in the community. She shared, “I’ve seen this over and over. It takes a lot to get (trust) up, but once you get that relationship going, it can be a beautiful thing.”

Faster computing power and use of generative AI will also transform health care.

Artificial intelligence will be embedded in so many aspects of our lives, including health care. And, with proper governance and ethical use, Sarasohn-Kahn says it can make the most of a shrinking and increasingly burned-out workforce. She outlined several practical applications.

“In research trials, marketing personalization; same way it will have in health care decision making, productivity – not to replace jobs but to enhance people’s ability to do more and have the lower, easy low-hanging-fruit stuff done so that you can concentrate and work at the top of your license whoever you are and not just for clinicians but for all workers to work at the good stuff.”

From her research and personal experience Sarasohn-Kahn says its clear health consumers have mixed feelings about AI and data privacy. But, she says many are willing to share their data if they see the value in doing so. For consumers, she advises making sure to use apps that are HIPPA compliant (legislation that protects personal health information).

Finally, what is also needed to drive more engagement with telehealth? Sarasohn-Kahn says a federal data privacy law that mirrors what is in place in Europe, based on the premise that all consumers should have complete control over their own personal data.

Video clips with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn

B-roll for digital health symposium

Melissa Knuth (pronounced kuh-NOOTH) predicts a year from now, many Mission Partners (employees) at OSF HealthCare and elsewhere will be asking how they did their job without using generative artificial intelligence. Generative AI is a type of machine learning that uses artificial intelligence to create new content, including text, images, videos, code and simulations based on existing information.

OSF HealthCare, a 16-hospital system headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, has a vision that includes harnessing the power of generative AI to advance the exploration, use and adoption to optimize health care delivery, empower health care professionals and improve patient experiences across the health care system.

Knuth led a multidisciplinary team tasked with creating mandatory, on-going education to help more than 24,000 Mission Partners (employees) – from the CEO to cafeteria workers – learn about generative AI and how OSF HealthCare sees the benefits of using it. The education initiative is in place because Knuth and leaders believe that to take advantage of generative AI, everyone must understand how it works and the best practices for deploying it.

“Unless we really have the power of our entire workforce, pushing on the same side of the rock, it will be even more difficult to reap the benefits this technology presents and so it's really critical that everybody understands generative AI and the rewards we are seeking,” Knuth stresses.

Education is also designed to dispel fears the technology could replace employees.

“We’re really trying to put their minds at ease to let them know that we're trying to use generative AI here in a way that really enables them and allows them to get back to some of the work that is more meaningful for them.”

With only six weeks to create the first lessons, Knuth tapped the Medical Visualization team at OSF Innovation to take their approach from social media content and use generative AI to create education about the technology.

“We also used mixed media, so it was a mix of video. Some interactive content, and text to continually sort of change through the course to keep somebody's attention. So, it was like small vignettes of content that we had created for them.”

Mitigating risks from generative AI

OSF HealthCare was one of several organizations last year to sign the president’s voluntary commitments to keeping AI safe, secure and trustworthy. Oversight of research and implementation starts at the top and includes C-suite leaders at OSF, but all levels of leadership are engaged including those from legal, compliance, ethics, policy, process, clinical and non-clinical areas.

Tyler Fitch, MD, director of Medical Informatics co-chairs the OSF generative AI exploration and planning committee. Dr. Fitch says any new use of AI or generative AI will be evaluated using an approach known as FAVES or evaluating whether the technology is fair, appropriate, valid, effective and safe.

“We wanted to ensure that we're applying all those FAVES to anything that we would release and endorse from OSF. So, thinking of things as (for example) fair. We want to make sure that it treats different groups of people similarly and that it doesn't advantage or disadvantage, certain groups.”

The governance structure at OSF HealthCare ensures the appropriate use of AI. It helps clinicians use the right tool at the right time. This process involves validating results through testing to meet researchers' expectations. The goal is to ensure that AI effectively generates better outcomes and experiences.

Lastly, the technology also must be secure, so it doesn’t open the health system to cyber security risks.

Transparency with patients will be important for building trust with how OSF is using generative AI.

OSF is part of a pilot project with Epic, the medical records system, that will test the use of Nuance DAX Copilot which can use ambient listening to help medical providers communicate better with patients during their exams.  Instead of being distracted with the task of writing the note while talking to their patient, the provider will have a completed note at the end of the visit.  A few medical group offices are part of the trial.

An easy sell

Dr. Fitch says it has been an easy sell getting providers to embrace technology that should make their jobs easier.

“I'm also hearing from our physician recruiting department that we're getting asked about what kind of tools we have here. So, this is really an area that people are seeking out and they want and so from a physician standpoint, the change management is going to be a little bit easier than some of the some of the other things we’ve done in the technology area.”

Microsoft Copilot will be built into tools already used daily by OSF HealthCare Mission Partners. Knuth says it will include an app, called Prompt Buddy, developed internally, which will allow employees to share the best prompts to help them simplify work.

“We’ve developed internally a crowd sourcing app so when somebody has written a prompt, or discovered a prompt they have really found beneficial, they can share that.”

Dr. Fitch believes OSF HealthCare is among leaders in developing governance and education and is farther ahead than many health systems trying to navigate the benefits and develop guardrails at this inflection point for generative AI. Strong partnerships with academic institutions and technology companies will also aid in creating learning opportunities to test the benefits and pitfalls while always keeping patients at the center of every effort.

Knuth is preparing more education for OSF Mission Partners to address generative AI which she says has created a transformative moment in business and health care.

Video clips with Melissa Knuth

Video clips with Dr. Tyler Fitch

OSF HealthCare Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park now has CT (Computed Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) perfusion capabilities, which are advanced imaging techniques that look at a patient’s blood flow to the brain.

Rapid AI helps neurovascular and vascular medical teams reduce time to treatment and improve patient outcomes. The artificial intelligence processes the images and gives clinical information to the clinician immediately, so the provider can more quickly decide the best course of treatment for the patient.

Tracy Jendruczek, the vice president of surgical and procedural services with OSF Little Company of Mary, says the addition of CT and MRI perfusions at the hospital is beneficial for the community.

“It’s available 24/7 for any patient that comes in through the emergency department,” Jendruczek says.

Who is eligible for CT Perfusion?

“Patients that might be at risk for stroke or are showing signs or symptoms of having a stroke, would be eligible for a CT perfusion of the brain. This looks at the blood flow to different areas of the brain,” Jendruczek says.

Who is eligible for MRI Perfusion?

“Patients that are eligible may be showing signs or symptoms of a tumor or have had a previously diagnosed tumor of the brain,” Jendruczek adds. “MRI perfusion, like CT, allows us to look at blood flow of the brain, but it’s specific for tumors. It’s looking at the severity and type of tumor.”

What’s the ultimate goal?

The ultimate goal of CT and MRI Perfusions is to expedite treatment for stroke patients.

“The perfusion capabilities will allow us to see the different areas of blood flow so we can quickly determine if a patient is eligible for further treatment. If we’re able to provide that treatment here at OSF Little Company of Mary, we will immediately start treating the patient,” Jendruczek says. “If not, we can more quickly transfer the patient to a place they can receive appropriate treatment.”

Video Interview Clips

Sepsis is a critical health issue worldwide, but the advancements in artificial intelligence are starting to offer a better path forward for early diagnosis and treatment.

OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois was one of 10 hospitals taking part in clinical trials that led to the first-ever Federal Food and Drug Administration authorization to market an AI diagnostic tool for sepsis. Chicago-based company Prenosis, which spun out of the University of Illinois in Urbana Campaign (UIUC), created The Sepsis ImmunoScore^TM.

OSF Saint Francis hospitalist Anwaruddin Syed, MD, began working with researchers at UIUC while in residency at a hospital in Champaign. He took that experience to OSF Saint Francis where he was the lead investigator, continuing research in the Prenosis clinical trial. As a hospitalist - a doctor who provides care for patients at a hospital - he wanted to help solve the challenge of a serious and often deadly complication.

“In the US alone, there’s an estimate of 1.7 million American adults who develop sepsis every year out of which 350,000 people die or go into hospice. The numbers are eye opening.” (:19)

Dr. Syed explains sepsis happens when the body tries to fight an infection.

“When you have a really bad infection and your immune system is compromised by that infection, then the infection takes over. That’s why it’s important to identify that infection early on, before that infection can take you over.” (:19)

OSF contributed to the pool of 100,000 blood samples and de-identified patient data to help train algorithms to identify patient vital statistics, such as heart rate and oxygen levels, most associated with developing sepsis. It looks at biomarkers – biological molecules found in blood, tissues and other bodily fluids that lead to disease. The ImmunoScore is based on a total of 22 factors to identify risk, which it then put into one of four categories.

The risk score can be integrated with a patient’s electronic health record. Care team members can see what factors impacted the patient’s risk score. Dr. Syed says it can be an add-on to the protocols and information hospitals already use to help better identify patients at risk and for managing those with a confirmed sepsis diagnosis. In other words, it’s one more tool to help physicians.

According to a 2022 study published in Nature Medicine, in severe cases, the then-UIUC AI model detected sepsis an average of six hours earlier than traditional methods. Dr. Syed says Prenosis will conduct additional studies to demonstrate the tool’s accuracy and impact on clinical decision-making.

In the meantime, Dr. Syed is excited OSF has participated in such important research.

“It honestly feels amazing, knowing that our work and the trust and contributions from our patients here at OSF played a role in developing this first-ever FDA sepsis AI tool. It’s really rewarding. It’s a game-changer in patient care and I’m proud to have been a part of it.”

Other companies have developed sepsis diagnostic tools, but Prenosis wanted the FDA approval before marketing its software. The company worked for 18 months to receive the go-ahead to market and sell The ImmunoScore under a process in which the FDA reviews and regulates artificial intelligence/machine learning software as if it is a medical device.

Dr.  Anwaruddin Syed

B-roll of sepsis patients, treatment

It was nearly 25 years ago that television news anchor Katie Couric, whose husband died of colon cancer, helped raise public awareness of colorectal cancer by undergoing a colonoscopy that was shown on NBC’s “The Today Show.” 

Shelli Dankoff, manager of Media Relations & Multimedia Services for OSF HealthCare, is taking a page from Couric. With a family history of appendiceal and abdominal cancer, Dankoff was excited to learn OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Illinois is piloting use of GI Genius – an FDA-approved Medtronic software platform with integrated AI algorithms. The platform has already shown an increase detection of precancerous polyps since the pilot launched April 1.

The GI Genius platform sits alongside the endoscope used to traverse the folds of the 5 feet of the average person’s colon. Omar Khokhar, MD, a gastroenterologist championed the idea of trying the new technology to reduce his patients’ risk of colorectal cancer, particularly at a time when new cases of colorectal cancer in people under the age 50 have been rising at an alarming rate. 

Dr. Khokhar says the pilot will consider whether to use GI Genius, not only for screening colonoscopies, but for colonoscopies when patients have symptoms indicating possible colorectal cancer. 

“For example, there's a 35-year-old who comes in with diarrhea or constipation or rectal bleeding, and I do that colonoscopy, I'll often tell my staff to turn it (GI Genius) on, to make sure we're not missing anything. So eventually, depending on the data, it could become the standard of care.” 

What exactly does the AI do? Dr. Khokhar says it leverages what it has learned from examining images and results from a large database of polyps from previous colonoscopies. 

“The GI Genius goes through its AI library of images and will highlight any kind of abnormalities of the mucosal surface. And it will call attention to us to go look at that again. Sometimes it might be something, sometimes it might not be anything, but it's a useful additional tool that we can use during colonoscopies to find precancerous lesions.” 

Dankoff is excited that Dr. Khokhar is among physicians willing to test the benefits of AI. She compares it to the use of robotics for certain surgeries. 

“It's kind of like when you hear people talking about robotic surgery or robots operating. No, that's not what it is. The surgeon is still controlling it. This is that same thing; you still have your gastroenterologist on the other end. They still have to know what they're looking at. It is a tool to help and to give better information, which I would think is reassuring to them too.”  

Known for his use of humor and analogies to help patients understand sometimes complex medical terms or conditions, Dr. Khokhar likens GI Genius to the type of technology on today’s new automobiles with sensors around the car to provide lane assist and adaptive braking.

“It’s like you have multiple eyes looking at the surface of the colon. Ultimately the gastroenterologist decides whether to sample, examine and inspect that area with more focus and then determine if that’s something that needs to be removed or not.” 

During Dankoff’s own colonoscopy, Dr. Khokhar reviewed two polyps highlighted by GI Genius and opted to remove them.  He said that’s not unusual, and he was not concerned based on their characteristics. The subsequent tissue biopsy came back benign and Dankoff won’t need to be re-screened for 10 years. 

Knowledge is power

Knowing new technology can support her doctor’s decision gives Dankoff peace of mind.

“I would rather know something up front sooner rather than later. Because we tell people all the time, if you catch it and treat it, it's very treatable. And if I'm not willing to be the person who's going to walk the walk and talk the talk, I have no business doing what I'm doing.” 

Dr. Khokhar will be working with a Performance Improvement (PI) team at OSF Innovation to analyze data from the six-month pilot with GI Genius. The team will evaluate two metrics: The adenoma detection rate (percent of screening colonoscopies where an adenoma is found) and the post-colonoscopy cancer rate.  While not cancerous, adenomas can turn into a cancerous tumor.

The data will be tracked in patients’ electronic medical records. GI Genius does not record patient data. 

PI experts will look at the data to see if the technology is really performing as promised, whether it is an improvement over the previous adenoma detection rate without the AI-backing, and whether it is worth the investment using those metrics. Vice President for Performance Improvement, Kelly George stresses that provider experience is important.

“GI Genius is a non-patient facing tool, so it is imperative to create a feedback loop to understand the experience of the physicians who are using it and monitor the data to identify any iterative changes that need to be made during the pilot.”

OSF consistently explores innovations that don't pose a risk yet could improve patient outcomes in its drive to provide the highest quality care.

Dr. Khokhar applauds the unique approach at OSF HealthCare that includes a willingness to partner with physicians who have ideas to better support clinical care and patients’ experience. 

“They’re the ones who are going to look back and do the math and look at, ‘Was this worthwhile?’ and they have a fantastic team. They're the ones who (are) really nuts and bolts on the ground who took this from, ’Hey, this is a really cool idea that I saw somewhere’ to ‘How do we make this fit a square peg into a square hole?’  

Dankoff thinks having the latest advanced technology could also help recruit new gastroenterologists and she believes it’s something that could attract patients, like her, to have more confidence in results of a colonoscopy – considered the gold standard for cancer detection and prevention.  

“If I could cut down on the number of screenings and have a greater sense of security that they really got to see everything in there. I think it'll be great.”  

Video clips of Dr. Omar Khokhar

Video clips of Shelli Dankoff

B -roll of GI Genius backed colonoscopy

The President’s Cancer Panel is a federal advisory committee that reports on barriers to progress in reducing the burden of cancer. This year, the panel is conducting a series of public meetings to discuss the current landscape of patient navigation.

Dr. Handler specializes in digital solutions to optimize care. Along with researchers from OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois, Dr. Handler published research demonstrating a doubling of cancer screening rates after technology-assisted interventions were implemented for economically disadvantaged women who were late (often two years or more) in their breast cancer screening. Together with another set of researchers from those same institutions, Dr. Handler developed AI to better balance the workload of nurse navigators for cancer patients to avoid burnout and provide the best care.

Dr. Handler believes AI should be developed which can effectively, ethically and equitably support cancer care, regardless of a person’s race, ethnicity or where they live. OSF HealthCare recently joined a national collaborative to provide input on new AI guidelines. 

OSF HealthCare will soon expand cancer services across its Ministry when the OSF Cancer Institute opens on the campus of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria in February 2024. It will offer the second proton-beam therapy location in Illinois as well as serve as a site for clinical trials, advanced treatment, therapy and a wide range of support services.  

AVIA, the nation’s leading market intelligence and advisory services firm advancing digital transformation in health care, has added several additional health systems, including OSF HealthCare, to its national Generative AI Strategic Collaborative. OSF is among the new additions which include industry leaders and some of the largest health systems in the country.

AVIA has rallied nearly 30 health systems, key industry associations, and government leaders—including a recently announced slate of 10 expert advisors—to join its collaborative to identify risks, opportunities, and actionable steps for responsible, impactful, and ethical AI adoption for the health care industry.  In addition to OSF HealthCare, the new additions include:

●          Banner Health
●          Boston Children’s Hospital
●          Children’s Mercy Kansas City
●          Cottage Health
●          Novant Health
●          UVA Health

OSF HealthCare has developed large language models to identify unique needs for our patients so we can be proactive in helping diagnose or provide decision support for our medical providers to promote screenings and prevention, or potential clinical interventions.

“Generative AI has the potential to make an enormous impact on health systems and patients. We’re proud to be collaborating with such an impressive group of health system leaders, as well as industry associations and expert advisors who will help shape this important initiative. AVIA has always been on the forefront of what is next in healthcare transformation, and we believe this collaborative will help ensure the potential of generative AI in our industry is fulfilled, ushering in a transformative era in healthcare delivery,” said Dr. Scott Cullen, EVP and Chief Clinical Officer at AVIA and leader of the collaborative.

Other health care leaders expanded on the importance of becoming part of a collaborative.

"By joining with nearly 30 health systems, we have a unique opportunity to shape the future of health care AI, ensuring it meets the needs of patients and communities, said Tom Maddox, Vice President of Digital Products and Innovation and BJC HealthCare and Executive Director of the Healthcare Innovation Lab at BJC HealthCare and the Washington University School of Medicine. “Together, we will navigate the challenges and opportunities of responsible and ethical AI adoption, revolutionizing the way healthcare is delivered,”

“Children's hospitals have unique challenges when it comes to generative AI and other new technology – such as gaining consent from our patients and families – so we look forward to working with other systems, experts, and technology firms to ensure peds needs are incorporated. By joining AVIA’s Generative AI Collaborative, Children’s Mercy Kansas City is getting ahead of these challenges using a co-created action plan from the country’s best and brightest,” said Rob Steele, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Children’s Mercy.   

Although pioneering research has already begun, there is still time for additional organizations to join the collaborative. Interested health systems, industry or professional organizations can attend an AVIA briefing on its Generative AI Collaborative Monday, October 9th from 4:00-5:30pm at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas during HLTH 2023. To learn more, contact AVIA at genai@avia.health.

OSF HealthCare initially launched LumineticsCore at eight sights, which have been operating for a full year. Based on the successful integration of LumineticsCore at the initial sites, OSF expanded the use of LumineticsCore to 24 additional sites that have now been operating for nine months. Using LumineticsCore, OSF HealthCare has been able to inform 25% of nearly 1,500 patients with diabetes, that they tested positive for diabetic retinopathy (DR). Without convenient access to the exam, many of those patients might not have been tested for DR, the leading cause of blindness for adults in the U.S.

Digital Diagnostics is committed to bringing high-quality AI diagnosis to the point-of-care, starting with the diabetic retinal exam to prevent vision loss and blindness for people living with diabetes. “We are always seeking new ways to innovate and improve access to cutting-edge diagnostics for our patients so we can help them better manage their health conditions, including diabetes which impacts nearly 66,000 OSF patients,” said Mark Meeker, DO, vice president of Community Medicine for OSF HealthCare. 

“Working with Digital Diagnostics allows us to offer an expanded set of services to our patients, while empowering our clinicians to help their patients decrease disease progression through prevention, not just through treatment.”

“The positive impact our partnership with OSF HealthCare is having in the lives of patients’ is exactly in line with our mission,” says Digital Diagnostics’ Senior Vice President of Commercial, Sean Murnane. “Offering LumineticsCore to patients in a setting where they are already comfortable, coupled with the high-quality care offered at OSF, furthers our organizations’ collective goal of improving patient outcomes.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly expanded in 2023, and it’s here to stay. ChatGPT, Snapchat and altered photos and videos are just some of the AI encounters people have on their devices daily.

AI has many positives. But experts say when it comes to health advice, take it from a trained human being, not a robot. And if you’re scared of “the rise of the robots” – as they say in Hollywood – there are ways to cope.

“You’re absolutely normal to be anxious when there’s the first stirrings of big shifts in technology or other things that might change our life,” says Ari Lakritz, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at OSF HealthCare who says he sees these concerns often.

Coming to grips with technology advances

Common fears include technology making your job obsolete or providing you with misinformation. Dr. Lakritz suggests being proactive to the changes, not reactive. Learn how AI is changing your job or hobbies.

“See if you might be able to be part of that. Start integrating some of that into your day-to-day practice,” Dr. Lakritz says.

AI can be a time-saver, too.

“It has potential to streamline things we don’t like to do, giving us more time and energy to do things we want or things we feel are important,” Dr. Lakritz says.

For example, it may take you an hour to do an online search for sources for your college essay. If ChatGPT can do it in minutes, you might have time to take that afternoon walk or meet a friend for lunch, boosting your mental and physical health and spurring creativity.

It’s also not our first time dealing with digital unknowns. Remember the supposed Y2K bug around the turn of the millennium? Fears of computer clocks malfunctioning and worse didn’t materialize, and experts took away lessons for the next big technology shift, like AI. And a silver lining of the Y2K anxiety, Dr. Lakritz says, is that it got people learning about technology.

Don’t go to a robot for mental health care

Snapchat, the photo messaging application popular with young people, recently rolled out a chatbot called “My AI.” It’s a way for people to connect with someone when they have no one else.

“My AI can answer a burning trivia question, offer advice on the perfect gift for your BFF’s birthday, help plan a hiking trip for a long weekend, or suggest what to make for dinner,” Snapchat’s website says.

But the company concedes: “It’s possible My AI’s responses may include biased, incorrect, harmful, or misleading content. Because My AI is an evolving feature, you should always independently check answers provided by My AI before relying on any advice, and you should not share confidential or sensitive information.”

Some parents and mental health experts have picked up on that concern, too. They worry young people are getting inadequate mental health advice from a robot.

“That’s like Googling your symptoms when you’re sick instead of going to a real doctor,” Dr. Lakritz says with a hint of dismay. “You’ll get a great deal of information, but there will be very little guidance about how to use that information and which information is more applicable to you.”

If talking about your mental health virtually is your preferred way to go, there are more legitimate options than Snapchat, Dr. Lakritz says. First and foremost, your health care provider may offer virtual visits. Otherwise, talk to a provider or trusted adult about online, third-party counseling options.

“These are programs that have been tested and vetted. There’s oversight and accountability. There’s research behind it,” Dr. Lakritz explains. “Whereas with an AI assistant, it’s not clear the source of information. It’s not clear how to use that information best.”

Will AI and chatrooms replace in-person mental health care? Don’t count on it, Dr. Lakritz predicts. The human connection of being in a room with someone can’t be understated, he says.

When in doubt

When the content on your device is just too much to handle, turn it off, set it aside and take a break.

Look for these warning signs:

“Do you feel you’re doing too much of it? Do you find your use of technology is taking over other interests in your life? Have you tried to cut down but have not been able to? Do you find that using so much technology causes you to stress or dysfunction?” Dr. Lakritz asks.

Most devices have settings that can limit screen time. Parents should set boundaries with their children’s device use. Dr. Lakritz says you can even share your browsing or chat history with a trusted adult so they can make sure you’re using technology appropriately.

If your technology use is causing significant mental health problems, talk to your primary care provider or mental health provider. You can also call 9-8-8 to reach the Nation Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Learn more

Learn more about behavioral and mental health on the OSF HealthCare website.

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Sixteen research projects are sharing more than $1.6 million in funding through the Jump ARCHES research and development program. Projects funded focused on novel automation in health data and patient experience, precision medicine, digital tools to enhance patient engagement in health, wellness and treatment, plus improved treatment and diagnosis of neurologic disorders. The latest request for proposals also encouraged supporting underserved populations.

The Jump ARCHES program is a collaboration between OSF HealthCare, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP). The funding supports research involving clinicians, engineers and social scientists to rapidly develop technologies, devices, and treatment approaches that improve outcomes and reduce costs.

Spring 2023 Project Awards

STREAM-ED: Simulation to Refine, Enhance and Adapt Management of Emergency
William Bond, MD, OSF HealthCare
Hyojung Kang, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This study aims to develop practical models combining machine learning, discrete event simulation, and optimization techniques to improve emergency department (ED) resource utilization and address ED overcrowding, which is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages.

Prototype: Intelligent Regulatory Change Management System
Scott Lowry, MHA, CHC, CCEP, OSF HealthCare
ChengXiang Zhai, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This study proposes an Intelligent Regulatory Change Management (IRCM) System that uses natural language processing and artificial intelligence to track and evaluate public policy actions governing OSF HealthCare. This will enable compliance professionals to identify critical changes and determine appropriate courses of action, reducing manual review and improving quality, safety, privacy risk management and efficiency.

Machine Learning of Standardized DICOM Metadata from Imaging Datasets
Matthew Bramlet, MD, OSF HealthCare
Brad Sutton, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This project aims to develop a machine learning-based algorithm that can categorize image parameters directly from signal intensity variations of 2D medical images to enable efficient pipelines for medical image segmentation. The proposed algorithm is expected to estimate patient and image-acquisition information by utilizing machine learning methods in situations where the DICOM header fields are incomplete or unreliable, ultimately allowing for automated characterization of unknown 3D DICOM imaging datasets.

Machine-Guided Staging of Neuroblastic Tumors of Patient Specific 3D Models
Daniel Robertson, MD, OSF HealthCare
Brad Sutton, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois is using segmentation services to create 3D models of neuroblastic tumors for pre-surgical planning. The hospital aims to transition from 2D imaging to 3D modeling to increase the reproducibility of staging analysis, establish a new standard for segmented models of neuroblastic tumors and develop machine-guided tools that can improve upon and automate current recommended image-defined risk factors staging.

Toward Machine-Learned Aortic Arch Measured Diameters
Matthew Bramlet, MD, OSF HealthCare
Brad Sutton, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The original project aims to automate the segmentation and clinical measurement of aortic arch diameters from MRI imaging. The researchers leading this project have successfully completed several steps, including de-identification and curation of datasets, manual segmentation and the development of a novel method for automatically analyzing each aortic arch with promising results, indicating correlation between the automated and clinically derived measurements.

A Field Experiment to Evaluate the Efficacy of Convenient Health Kiosks
Ann Willemsen-Dunlap, CRNA, PhD, OSF HealthCare
Ujjal Mukherjee, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This proposal outlines a field experiment to evaluate the efficacy of health kiosks supported by community health workers (CHWs) in delivering first line preventive health screenings to rural and underserved communities. The project is intended to lead to large-scale development and deployment of health kiosks with the goal of positively impacting social determinants of health and long-term health status of those served.

Contextualizing Nursing Needs for Development of Retention-Support App
Sheryl Emmerling, PhD, Rn, NEA-BC, OSF HealthCare
Ann-Perry Witmer, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The goal of this project is to address the high turnover rate of new nurses by providing a digital app that offers personalized nursing support. The Contextual Engineering (CE) paradigm will be used to assess the needs and values of first-year nurses, including those who have left their positions, to inform the development of the app in the first phase of the project, with the goal of stabilizing the nursing staff, improving the quality of service and reducing operating costs.

Community Health Café: Engaging Digital Innovation and Community-Based Resources to Enhance Health Equities in Underserved Communities
Scott Barrows, MA, OSF HealthCare
Joe Bradley, PhD, MA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The purpose of the community health café is to provide digital access to health and health care resources, including links for assistance with the social determinants of health, health education and connections to public health in underserved communities. The eventual goal is a Medicaid telemedicine option with OSF OnCall. This proposal aims to address critical needs of underserved residents in vulnerable communities and is crucial for their health.

AI-Powered Brain Tumor Segmentation
Matthew Bramlet, MD, OSF HealthCare
Zhi-Pei Liang, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This project aims to enhance the detection and monitoring of brain diseases. Phase 1 of the project focuses on accurate delineation and segmentation of brain tumors using a combination of structural and molecular multimodal brain imaging data and deep learning. The proposed work includes developing brain atlases for AI-powered brain image analysis, computational tools for automated tumor detection and segmentation and evaluating potential clinical applications.

Optimizing Pharmacologic Management of Behaviors in Patients with Autism
Adam Cross, MD, FAAP, OSF HealthCare
Ravishankar Iyer, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

This proposal aims to provide physicians with a machine learning model that assists in selecting appropriate medication and dosage strategies for patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). By incorporating patient history, genetic information and clinician notes, the model will dynamically adapt the treatment protocol as the patient progresses, ensuring optimal choices for improved behavioral symptoms with a high degree of confidence.

Predicting Medication Non-Adherence in Type 2 Diabetes
Mary Stapel, MD, OSF HealthCare
Hyojung Kang, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Medication adherence is crucial for managing diabetes, but disparities exist, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities and those with lower socioeconomic status. This proposal aims to use data-driven models to identify high-risk individuals and areas for non-adherence to diabetes medication, develop and validate prediction models and implement and evaluate them in clinical practice.

Knowledge Graph Construction with Large Language Models to Predict DKA Occurrence and Severity
Adam Cross, MD, FAAP, OSF HealthCare
Jimeng Sun, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) hospitalizes over 50,000 American children annually, with underprivileged and underserved children at higher risk. This proposal aims to develop a predictive model using patient-specific knowledge graphs generated from clinical data extracted through name entity recognition and language modeling. Clinicians can use the model to identify high-risk diabetic patients and prevent DKA.

Alpine Health Systems is pleased to announce the launch of an AI-based software platform that can improve hospital discharge for patients with complex health conditions, and in some cases, multiple social needs. The platform allows case managers to quickly identify at-risk patients to safely transition to an appropriate site of care.

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare and its innovation catalyst OSF Innovation, along with Indianapolis-based venture builder High Alpha Innovation, served as partners for the development of Alpine’s tool that can benefit hospitals nationwide.

Hospitals are filled with increasingly complex and difficult-to-treat populations, including those entering the hospital with more than one chronic illness and comorbidities. These patients often have multiple challenges, including intensive medical care needs, complex family expectations, criminal history or inadequate home support. Caring for these patients in a hospital setting far beyond their geometric mean length of stay (GMLOS) results in massive costs for providers and a missed opportunity to care for patients who need it most.

Starting with a simple rules-based architecture and Machine Learning (ML) as well as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Alpine helps case managers who are critical to the discharge process to elevate complex cases earlier, reducing excess hospital stays and improving patient outcomes. The platform identifies and prioritizes important patient risk factors in advance of hospital discharge to ensure a holistic look at what will lead to the best setting and support for the patient.

Unlike competitors, Alpine leverages non-clinical and social determinants of health (SDOH) factors that might not be part of a patient’s electronic health record or be easy to locate within the record. Alpine’s software searches historical case notes for additional risk factors, ensuring a highly accurate risk profile in real-time. As Alpine is developed and refined, it will become more capable of recognizing the factors that can put a patient at increased risk of delayed discharge and matching those factors with appropriate recommendations for case managers.

Easing the job of hospital case managers should also help hospitals attract and retain individuals for these critically important positions, thus Alpine provides that additional value for hospitals and health systems. 

Alpine is led by Miami-based co-founder and CEO Humberto Alexander Lee, a seasoned health care technology veteran with experience in high growth, venture-backed health care companies. Lee has worked with diverse organizations such as HCA Hospitals, Cerner, Assurant Health and AXA Assistance. Lee is a serial founder and investor in the health care startup space. Prior to Alpine, he served as CEO of Statra, a health care analytics SaaS platform. He was co-founder and CTO of PxSource, which was acquired by Revolution EHR in 2015, as well as co-founder and CTO of Tesser Health, which was acquired by ELMC Group in 2019.

“Everyone in need deserves to be treated with love and care – that’s the driving force behind Alpine,” notes Lee. “We're thrilled to partner with OSF HealthCare and High Alpha Innovation to help both hospitals and patients with one of the most challenging problems facing health care today.”

“Launching a new venture such as Alpine has the power to change the world,” adds Elliott Parker, CEO of High Alpha Innovation. “This is a solution that the market needs, and the speed and learning power of AI will successfully get it into the hands of hospital systems much faster than other approaches."

Michelle Conger, chief strategy officer of OSF HealthCare and CEO of OSF OnCall Digital Health, says, “OSF Innovation is dedicated to leveraging technology and best practices to elevate care, and the launch of Alpine will both improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of health care. We’re excited to work with Humberto and the team at High Alpha Innovation to bring to life this important innovative solution.”

OSF Ventures, the investment arm of OSF HealthCare, has joined nine other investors in a $75 million Series B financing round to support Iowa-based Digital Diagnostics' efforts to speed growth, implementation and sales, plus deepen the development pipeline for digital tools aimed at improving patient access to early disease detection and treatment. OSF Ventures participated in the latest financing that was led by global investment firm KKR and also includes Cedar Pine, Kinderhook Industries, 8VC, Optum Ventures, , Gundersen Health System, Edward - Elmhurst Health Venture Capital and the University of Iowa.

Digital Diagnostics has a mission to benefit patients by transforming accessibility, affordability, equity and the quality of health care through technology that enables disease detection at the point of care that would typically involve specialists. The company currently has two autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) products, including the first-ever FDA De Novo cleared AI diagnostic platform that can make a diagnosis without physician review. The company’s IDx-DR platform can, within minutes of an easy exam, detect diabetic retinopathy (DR) (including macular edema (ME)) in the early stages for people who might not have had previous access to a diabetic eye exam.

OSF Medical Group has piloted use of the Digital Diagnostic platform. OSF Medical Group President Jeff Tillery, MD, has been impressed with the accuracy and ease of use of the equipment.

“That’s exciting because our goal always is to prevent disease or at a minimum, detect it early for better treatment results," says Tillery.

Diabetic retinopathy is the number one cause of blindness in the U.S.

OSF Ventures Vice President Mayank Taneja believes Digital Diagnostics is focusing on tools that can be scaled easily and that impact a large percentage of the population.

“Diabetes is a large and growing problem in the U.S. with more than 34.2 million people who are vulnerable to developing DR or ME. In addition, we know one-third of Americans don’t wear sunscreen and many, particularly vulnerable populations, are not educated about melanoma and other types of skin cancer and disease,” Taneja stresses. “OSF HealthCare and many health systems need options to address health equity and a key to that is providing more access to diagnosis and treatment through easy-to-use tools at a significant entry point – the primary care office.”

Digital Diagnostics is also focusing on improving outcomes for patients with other diseases.  One example is in dermatology where a platform is deployed for easy referrals and AI support using highly standardized skin images to detect melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.

John Bertrand, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Diagnostics commented, “We know OSF is committed to using ethical principles as it relates to the creation of algorithms to benefit patients, and we are proud that we have done that with our flagship product, IDx-DR. We plan to use what we’ve learned in the design, development and validation of IDx-DR as we push to make AI a standard of care.” Bertrand adds, “OSF HealthCare also shares our goal of transforming health care so we’re proud to have the Ventures team among our supporters.”