Research underway at Washington State University will help medical practitioners understand how artificial intelligence can assist diabetes patients with glucose tracking and follow-up care. The effort is funded by the National Institute of Health’s AIM-AHEAD Program, which helps communities improve healthcare outcomes through the development and application of artificial intelligence and machine learning models.
“All Washingtonians deserve access to the best tools we have, and our rural clinics have not been receiving the investments they need to fully leverage the promise of artificial intelligence,” said Anna Zamora-Kapoor, lead investigator on the project and associate professor in both the Department of Sociology and the Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences. “It’s important that we’re leveling the playing field, and these projects show that with a very small investment, we can improve rural health in Washington state.”
For three months, the project will provide approximately 20 Type 2 diabetes patients with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) connected to an AI-powered interface, designed by Clinic Chat LLC. The CGMs will track patient glucose levels and Clinic Chat will provide patients with messages in both English and Spanish about the advantages of a healthy diet, exercise, and sleep. Patients will be able to ask questions to an AI chatbot trained exclusively on existing medical literature on diabetes management.
“Type 2 diabetes is a condition where you might see a healthcare provider every so often, and what truly matters is your daily habits, like what you eat at home or what your exercise routine is,” said Zamora-Kapoor.
The research project is a joint partnership between WSU, Three Rivers Family Medicine in Brewster, and Clinic Chat LLC, an AI company specializing in machine learning and natural language processing within healthcare. Zamora-Kapoor had previously worked with Three Rivers Family Medicine in her research on rural healthcare, and when she reached back out with this opportunity, the clinic was enthusiastic about continuing their partnership.
Once the three-month monitoring window is completed, the team will assess patient usage and overall satisfaction with the CGMs and AI chatbot. The research team will determine how the technologies assisted patients with glucose management and whether the interventions had any effects on patients’ daily habits and overall health.
While this research effort focuses on diabetes management, Zamora-Kapoor is hopeful that projects like these will continue supporting Washington’s rural health care clinics.
“We want to conduct research together with our communities, as true partners that collaborate and participate in every step of the research process,” she said.
