A collaborative research project between AI4OPT and Shriners Children’s earned top recognition at a recent Shriners–Georgia Tech event, with doctoral researcher Asal Roudbari receiving a Best Poster Award for her work on applying artificial intelligence to pediatric healthcare.

Recognition Builds on Previous Success

The recognition follows a similar achievement last year, when the same research team received a Best Poster Award at SAIL, underscoring the sustained impact and quality of the collaboration. Shriners Children’s leadership has expressed strong enthusiasm for the work led by Reza Zandehshahvar and Roudbari.

Advancing AI-Driven Care for Pediatric Scoliosis

Roudbari’s research focuses on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare. Working closely with clinicians and researchers at Shriners Children’s, the team is developing more personalized risk assessment tools and decision-support guidance to assist clinicians in making timely, informed treatment decisions.

Addressing the Challenges of Real-World Clinical Data

A central challenge of the project involves accounting for the temporal effects of longitudinal patient visits when predicting future outcomes. The team is working with real-world clinical data that are irregular and complex, requiring advanced AI methods to model how patient histories evolve over time.

Impact on Patients, Families, and Clinicians

The research has the potential to significantly improve clinical decision-making for children with scoliosis by enabling earlier intervention and more tailored treatment plans. Faster and more accurate assessments could reduce delays in care, improve patient outcomes, and lessen the emotional and financial burden on families.