Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1491222
25 INNOVATION Don't shy away from AI, says MUSC innovation leader By Naomi Diaz A rman Kilic, MD, director of the Schiller Surgical Innovation Center at the Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina, is working on 25 different projects that utilize artificial intelligence. "The center's goal is to unite all the various innovation efforts that are happening within the department," said Dr. Kilic in a Jan. 4. blog post from MUSC. "A large focus of that is AI and machine learning. We have probably somewhere in the range of 20 to 25 different AI projects that are ongoing right now in the surgical department through the Innovation Center with a wide variety of domains like surgical oncology, trauma, chest wall surgery, transplantation, cardiac surgery and vascular surgery." The Schiller Surgical Innovation Center is currently working on a project that uses AI to analyze patient wounds from a photo, as well as one that uses data to model the risk of cardiac surgical procedures. Dr. Kilic says the health system is exploring AI as it can be "much quicker and more accurate when making data- driven recommendations," and it will be crucial for medical professionals to embrace the technology as its role in healthcare expands. "We will ultimately be the gatekeepers to this technology and guide when and how it is used," said Dr. Kilic. "I don't think we should shy away from it because in my mind, it's the same thing as a new device or a new pharmaceutical. Innovation is an inherent part of what we do in medicine." n How UPMC created an innovation hub in Pittsburgh By Giles Bruce U PMC has created an innovation hub in its home base of Pittsburgh by greatly expanding its cancer research and precision medicine footprints, Pittsburgh Business Times reported Jan. 3. e focal point is the 250,000-square-foot Assembly research center that includes UPMC's Institute for Precision Medicine and University of Pittsburgh's Department of Immunology, according to the story. It sits across the street from UPMC Hillman Cancer Center's flagship facility and is located near two UPMC biotech spinoffs, BlueSphere Bio and Novasenta. "Space is a significant expense for biotech companies because they need high-quality space with the right infrastructure," Dario Vignali, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and co-founder of Novasenta, told the news outlet. "It's going to be cheaper in Pittsburgh than in some of the other biotech hubs in the country. ese lower costs, plus UPMC Enterprises, is a big part of why a biotech hub is being created here. When other companies see things being started here, they may think, 'Something's happening in Pittsburgh. We should look into it.'" A neighboring property called e Annex is set to be used as an incubator space, the Business Times reported. n Image Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette