Researchers at Iowa City-based University of Iowa Healthcare are developing an artificial intelligence-based tool to treat interventional radiology patients — with or without a physician operating it.
Led by interventional radiologist Sandeep Laroia, MD, the team is creating an algorithmic-based device that would determine the course of treatment for patients with simple ailments. The researchers recently got a business innovation grant from the National Science Foundation.
"The idea is to have a device perform simpler medical tasks without involving me or another team member — that way we can focus on more complex tasks," Dr. Laroia said in an Oct. 25 health system news release. "Maybe the device does the procedure on its own or maybe I start the procedure and it alerts me when it's done."
He said the technology could help with staffing shortages, keep distance between providers and patients during a pandemic, and improve access to care in rural areas.