AnnualReport2021

WORKING TOGETHER TO FIND ANSWERS

Researchers will de-identify the core data elements to use from Shriners Hospitals’ motion analysis centers, surgical procedures and rehabilitation/ clinical information. Ultimately, they intend to create a sports medicine registry that will be easily accessible to researchers within the consortium, giving our clinicians an opportunity to have a greater impact in the treatment of pediatric sports injuries. COMBINING OUR RESEARCH SKILLS Many of our clinical research projects are multicenter efforts that bring together physicians and scientists from our various locations with similar research interests and different but overlapping areas of expertise. Here is an example of another multicenter effort. Shriners Hospitals for Children is an internationally recognized leader in clinical motion analysis. In the simplest terms, motion analysis brings the animation techniques used in Hollywood to the clinical and research setting. In our analysis centers, high- speed cameras, reflective markers, force platforms and muscle sensors record, measure and evaluate how a child with a mobility impairment actually moves. The data collected helps provide an understanding of the interactions between the child’s muscles, joints and bones, which helps the patient’s medical team create an effective care plan. The goal of this project is to explore the applications of machine learning algorithms to quantitative motion analysis data to more effectively and efficiently recommend evidence-based interventions for pediatric patients with movement disorders. This project includes our Chicago, Northern California, Texas and Philadelphia research centers.

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Georgia Tech and Emory University and Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Together, they intend to develop an advanced technology platform to improve scoliosis patient care at multiple Shriners Hospitals sites. The two Shriners Hospitals sites involved in the study have accumulated extensive data from more than 1,000 patients over the past decade – insight that can help clinicians make better care decisions. The lab at GIT will develop a FHIR application to enable clinicians at both Shriners Hospitals sites to share and access clinical data seamlessly. Georgia Tech staff is also developing a multimodal AI algorithm to streamline the process of predicting clinical outcomes in scoliosis patients. Sports Medicine Registry Project Synopsis: Six Shriners Hospitals for Children locations (Northern California, Erie, Chicago, Portland, Philadelphia and Canada), as part of the Shriners Sports Medicine Consortium, are working with researcher Minoru Shinohara, who directs the Human Neuromuscular Physiology Lab at Georgia Tech. Their goal is to develop a comprehensive registry that will help clinical researchers answer many large-scale questions in pediatric sports medicine.

The collaboration between experts at Georgia Institute of Technology and Shriners Hospitals for Children is expanding to encompass the fields of precision medicine and big data analysis and interpretation in 2021. The new initiative will create pilot research projects and tools that align with the needs and aims of Shriners Hospitals’ network of clinicians to enable state-of-the-art clinical research and facilitate clinical practice. The seed grants will support Georgia Tech faculty and research associates working directly with Shriners Hospitals for Children physicians and surgeons. The overall goal remains to improve the lives of children treated at Shriners Hospitals. The initial seed grant opportunity supported by Shriners Hospitals inspired investigator partners to conceptualize seven innovative clinical research projects. GL-SMART (Greenville- Lexington Shriners Hospitals Multisite AI-enabled Rehabilitation Technology) Project Synopsis: This is a multisite collaboration between our locations in Greenville and Lexington, the Here are two examples:

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