How AI is Enhancing Pickleball Injury Research: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is using artificial intelligence to analyze pickleball injuries, a growing concern as the sport’s popularity surges. At the HIMSS25 conference, Kathy Bailey, a principal data intelligence analyst, will discuss how AI is improving data extraction and aiding clinical research.
AI Identifies Pickleball Injuries Faster
Pickleball participation has skyrocketed by over 200% in three years, according to Pickleheads. As more people play, injury rates have also risen, with falls leading to fractures, sprains, and muscle strains, according to NBC News.
To track these injuries, Cedars-Sinai is using AI to scan patient chart notes. The system identifies pickleball-related cases by extracting key details such as the injury type, severity, and date.
Bailey confirmed the AI-driven method has been more effective than traditional approaches.
“We identified more than enough patients that the study had hoped for, with 80% correctly identified in our sample,” (Kathy Bailey).
AI Enhances Accuracy and Efficiency
Cedars-Sinai’s AI tool uses GPT-4 to pull specific data points from unstructured clinical notes. This speeds up the process, reducing the need for manual chart reviews.
Bailey explained that AI improves data accuracy while cutting down on operational costs. It finds information often missed by structured medical codes, making large-scale studies possible.
In our pickleball injury study, the AI component—the large language model used—labeled relevant cases by scanning physician notes, providing rich contextual details about each injury, like how it happened, the severity, and injury site,” (Kathy Bailey).
A Step Forward for Clinical Research
Traditional data extraction methods, such as using SQL-based REGEX searches, fail to capture detailed injury information. AI fills this gap, giving researchers deeper insights into patient cases.
Bailey emphasized that AI makes research more efficient:
“AI can analyze thousands of charts in a fraction of the amount of time, compared to the weeks or months it would take for manual review, making large-scale studies more feasible.”(Kathy Bailey)
As AI technology continues to evolve, its role in medical research is expected to grow, helping doctors and scientists better understand injury trends and improve patient care.
News in Brief: How AI is Enhancing Pickleball Injury Research
Cedars-Sinai is using AI to track pickleball injuries, improving data accuracy and efficiency. AI scans chart notes to find injury details faster than traditional methods. Kathy Bailey will discuss this at HIMSS25. The project aims to improve clinical research by identifying more cases with greater precision and less manual effort.
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