Vanderbilt Using AI to Help Patients With cGVHD

NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded Vanderbilt University's Eric Tkaczyk, MD, PhD, a five year $4.2 million grant to validate using AI technology to measure skin changes in patients with "chronic Graft-Versus Host Disease" (cGVHD).

cGVHD is a common complication following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is a potentially curative treatment for life threatening blood diseases. This condition often manifests as skin redness and inflammation, bur current assessment methods are subjective and time consuming.

According to Dr. Tkaczyk, Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Biomedical Informatics, "This grant will allow us to refine and validate an AI tool that can accurately and efficiently measure cGVHD skin changes from patient photographs. By improving the consistency, objectivity, and efficiency of cGVHD assessments, we hope to enhance clinical trials and patient outcomes."

Dr. Tkaczyk and collaborators will assemble a database of more than 11,000 photographs and associated clinical information from diverse patient populations at five centers. These centers will include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, May clinic, NIH, University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The AI's accuracy at these centers will be compared to expert dermatologist assessments and standard in-person evaluations. If successful, this technology could enable frequent at-home monitoring, reduce the burden on healthcare providers, and serve as a valuable tool for observational and therapeutic studies.