Duke Health leaders have selected seven high-potential innovation projects to be implemented as part of the Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI)’s annual call for project ideas in Automation to Enhance Healthcare Operational Efficiency. In addition to providing funding for these projects, the DIHI team will work with various Duke Health and Duke University partners to provide access to data, analytics, statistical analysis, machine learning, and AI resources while driving project and implementation management.
Congratulations to the members of the collaborative project below connected to Duke Orthopaedic Surgery!
Using Machine Learning to Appropriately Triage Patients with Low Back Pain (LBP)
- Muhammad Abd-El-Barr MD, PhD – Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery
- Christine Goertz, DC, PhD – Orthopaedic Surgery, DCRI
- Oren Gottfried, MD – Neurosurgery
- Walter Wiggins MD, PhD – Radiology
- Timothy Dunn, PhD – Biomedical Engineering
- Shilpa Shelton – Service Line VP, Musculoskeletal, Spine, and Rehabilitative Services
Muhammad Abd-El-Barr MD, PhD shared his perspectives about this project and award:
Low back pain is a prevalent and costly problem that is challenging to diagnose and treat since most patients present with nonspecific complaints that cannot be easily attributed to a single disease process.
Just as the causes of low back pain are diverse, so too are treatment options: ranging from nonpharmacologic (spinal manipulation, massage, exercise, physical therapy) to pharmacologic (NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, opioids, tramadol) to surgical (decompression, fusion, and deformity surgery).
For clinicians, this variety of diagnostic and treatment methods can be a source of frustration and a 'waste' of valuable time and resources. It is even more problematic for patients, as the incorrect treatment can lead to worse outcomes, especially in the long run.
This award will allow us to automate the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain by using advanced machine learning to ensure that patients at Duke and beyond can "access the right treatment at the right time."
To do so, we will combine the excellent resources of the Duke Institute of Health Innovations (DIHI), with a genuinely outstanding interdisciplinary team that includes surgeons, chiropractors, researchers, and experts in health utilization and artificial intelligence.
This project highlights the commitment that Duke Health is making to provide our patients who experience low back pain with the best care possible. This vital project is hoped to transform how we approach this problematic condition locally, nationally, and internationally.