Shriners Children’s, Georgia Tech build predictive AI for pediatric spinal surgery

By AI, Created 3:01 PM UTC, June 01, 2026, /AGP/ – Shriners Children’s and Georgia Tech are developing a predictive AI model aimed at spotting spinal cord signal changes during pediatric spinal surgery before they happen. The tool could help surgeons and anesthesiologists adjust operations in real time and potentially improve outcomes for children with complex spinal conditions.

Why it matters: - The AI tool is designed to flag children at risk for dangerous spinal cord signal changes before and during surgery. - Shriners Children’s says the model could help surgeons change the operation plan, adjust blood pressure management, or use staging and halo traction to reduce complications. - If successful, the model would be the first predictive AI system of its kind in pediatric spinal surgery.

What happened: - Shriners Children’s is developing an AI tool with Georgia Tech to predict potentially dangerous changes in the spinal cord during pediatric spinal surgery. - The work is being trained with natural language processing and machine learning. - The model uses thousands of data points from surgical procedures, clinical notes, X-rays and patient histories. - Dr. Bruce Brenn, director of anesthesia at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia, described the project as early-stage but potentially transformative.

The details: - The AI model is being built on decades of patient data from Shriners Children’s network. - The nonprofit’s network spans the U.S., Canada and Mexico. - Shriners Children’s says its volume of diverse and complex spinal surgery cases gives the project a strong data base. - Leanne West, chief research and innovation officer at Shriners Children’s and director of the Pediatric Innovation Network at Georgia Tech, said the collaboration combines clinical expertise with advanced AI tools. - Brenn said the model will not replace doctors or care teams, but will serve as an added resource for care decisions. - Brenn also said the system uses data from within Shriners Children’s own healthcare network, which he described as trustworthy. - Shriners Children’s has a preliminary manuscript under consideration for publication. - The organization says children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care regardless of ability to pay or insurance status. - Georgia Tech says it is a top public research university, enrolls more than 56,000 undergraduate and graduate students and conducts more than $1 billion in research annually. - More information is available at Shriners Children’s.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a broader push to use AI on high-volume clinical data to predict complications before they happen. - The most immediate value is likely not automation, but better planning in the operating room. - Because the data comes from a specialized pediatric system, the model may be better suited to rare and complex cases than a generic hospital dataset.

What’s next: - Shriners Children’s and Georgia Tech will continue training and refining the model. - The team expects the tool could eventually influence surgical timing, traction decisions and anesthesia management. - The next milestone is publication of the preliminary manuscript and further development of the predictive model.

The bottom line: - Shriners Children’s and Georgia Tech are trying to turn years of surgical data into a real-time safety tool that could make pediatric spine operations safer and more precise.