CLA Chatbot: Developing a Scalable Artificial Intelligence-Powered Communication Tool for Families Affected by Complex Lymphatic Anomalies
Awardee: Bryan Sisk
Institution: Washington University
Grant Amount: $60,679.00
Funding Period: February 1, 2024 - January 31, 2025
Summary:
Complex lymphatic anomalies (CLAs) affect the development, structure, and function of the lymphatic system causing variable and often severe clinical manifestations that are difficult to diagnose and treat. Accessing high-quality information is essential to receiving optimal care for patients with CLAs. In prior study of patients and caregivers with CLAs or other vascular anomalies, we found that having better quality of information exchange with clinicians was associated with better physical health, mental health, and ability to navigate the healthcare system. Parents also viewed accessing high-quality information as central to their role as advocates. Yet, most families with CLAs report poor communication with clinicians, limited access to reliable information, and reliance on social media and internet searches for information. To improve understanding and support the ability of patients and caregivers to manage CLAs, we will develop a novel and scalable communication tool that retrains ChatGPT large language model (LLM) to answer questions about complex lymphatic anomalies (CLAs). We hypothesize that CLA Chatbot will provide accurate, understandable, and comprehensive responses to questions generated by patients with CLAs and caregivers. CLA Chatbot will be scalable, easily translatable to other rare diseases, and will directly inform future federally funded efficacy trials.