SickKids launches trailblazing artificial intelligence program for paediatric health

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is harnessing the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance patient care, streamline hospital operations and fuel Precision Child Health.  

SickKids Artificial Intelligence (SKAI) is a trailblazing AI program designed to help improve clinical care, education, research and operations using AI systems, while ensuring that AI is used safely, ethically and effectively for the benefit of patients, families and staff. 

SKAI is a flagship initiative of the SickKids 2030 Strategy and has three major components: an in-house service to develop and support AI systems intended for deployment, a research arm where scientists are using AI to accelerate discovery, and a community-building element that includes widespread AI literacy and knowledge sharing. 

“For decades, SickKids has been the most trusted name in children’s health. Through SKAI, we’ll become the most trusted name in health AI," says Dr. Ronald Cohn, President & CEO, SickKids. "Using AI, we can unlock possibilities that were once unimaginable in child health and transform data into actionable knowledge, paving the way for individualized care for our patients and families.”  

Ensuring AI is used responsibly: SKAI Service

An important part of SKAI is the SKAI Service – one of the most comprehensive healthcare AI services in Canada. It brings together multi-disciplinary expertise from across the organization to develop, assess, monitor and scale AI systems intended for deployment where it matters most – at the point of impact for patients, families and staff.  

“We’ve built a streamlined process to scale impactful AI at SickKids, innovating not just in how we use AI technologies, but also across policy, governance, and regulatory frameworks,” says Dr. Devin Singh, Emergency Department Physician and Co-Lead of the SKAI Service. “SKAI will remove silos and streamline the responsible development and deployment of AI initiatives to benefit patients, families and staff.” 

Through the SKAI Service, AI systems undergo thoughtful development and assessment, prioritizing people-centred innovation and safe, ethical use, before being deployed in a clinical or operational setting. An Adoption of AI Systems Policy requires that each AI system intended for clinical care, clinical operations or business operations passes through the SKAI Service for support, assessment, monitoring, and optimization aligned to responsible AI principles.   

“All the necessary expertise sits at the table with the SKAI Service, from legal, ethics and IT to nursing, engineering and computer science,” says Dr. Anna Goldenberg, Senior Scientist, Varma Family Chair in AI and Co-Lead of the SKAI Service. “We’re introducing AI at SickKids to help achieve next-generation efficiency and precision in care for children’s health.” 

Through the support offered by the SKAI Service as part of the SKAI program – new potential for AI and machine learning can flourish.