ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Health is boosting its efforts to integrate the latest technology, including artificial intelligence, in how it cares for patients.
News 6 anchor Bridgett Ellison took a tour of the newly expanded Orlando Health Digestive Institute in downtown Orlando Tuesday and spoke with a patient who credits the team with saving her life.
[Learn how Orlando Health is using AI to detect tumors and cancer sooner]
“I had never done a second opinion in my life and it’s what saved my life,” Leila Braswell said.
Leila Braswell found the Orlando Health Digestive Institute team while searching for a second opinion. A mass on her pancreas identified in an MRI did not show up in regular endoscopic ultrasound at another practice. That’s when she turned to Orlando Health.
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Gastroenterologist Dr. Shyam Varadarajulu is one of Braswell’s doctors and serves as president of the Orlando Health Digestive Institute.
He says the team there is pioneering artificial intelligence technology for earlier diagnosis and treatments like Braswell’s case. One of the tools inside their newly expanded institute is the endoscopic ultrasound featuring AI software which can detect tiny tumors much sooner. Dr. Varadarajulu leads the groundbreaking research on the technology through a clinical study in collaboration with experts in Europe.
“One of the major problems in diagnosing pancreatic cancer is that it is not diagnosed at an early stage,” said Dr. Shyam Varadarajulu. “Artificial intelligence could help doctors find challenging tumors earlier which could lead to a life-saving treatment plan for patients.”
This AI software also helps doctors at the institute with treating other diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.
The expansion at the institute includes another first for Central Florida, shockwave lithotripsy for treating pancreatic stones.
A three-member liver team has also been developed in preparation for a solid organ transplant program expected in next two years.
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