‘Not a new AI center’: Seattle Children’s launches $10M pediatric innovation institute

Seattle Children’s researchers. (Seattle Children’s Photo) Seattle Children’s is announcing today the launch of its Institute for Pediatric Innovation , a $10 million initiative with eight focus areas and a chief innovation officer yet to be named. The hospital is positioning the institute as the “core engine” driving its strategic plan. CEO Dr. Christopher Longhurst has specific health challenges in mind where he hopes today’s technology could quickly improve care for pediatric patients. “The question is, with this new generation of tools — not just AI and large language models, but precision health tools, whole genome sequencing, etc. — how can we leverage these tools to solve problems in ways that we have not before?” Longhurst said in an interview with GeekWire. Dr. Christopher Longhurst, CEO of Seattle Children’s. (Seattle Children’s Photo) Seattle Children’s has approximately 600,000 patient visits last year and reported approximately $2.6 billion in expenses. Longhurst became CEO in January after a decade at UC San Diego Health, where he founded and directed the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation. The institute is Seattle Children’s most prominent new organization-wide initiative since he took the job. The institute “is not a new AI center. This isn’t about the shiny objects or the tools. This is about the outcomes that we can achieve and the impact that we can have,” Longhurst said. “So really, the focus here is impact at scale.” The organization will concentrate on eight areas: AI tools. Seattle Children’s plans to develop, test and use new technology tools. One example is a digital care platform specific to pediatric patients where families and providers can manage appointments, medications, results and communications. The hospital is already helping build one with industry partners and Longhurst is eager to include an AI chatbot for caregivers. Other AI work includes a pilot of an automated tool that rapidly generates anonymous copies of medical images for research and a listening tool that drafts clinical notes during appointments. Industry partnerships. Longhurst said these cut across the other focus areas. The hospital is working with industry on the care platform, for example, and plans to partner on seeking FDA approval for pediatric uses of existing devices. Innovation unit. The hospital is establishing a facility that offers advanced care and can …