Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the world’s leading musculoskeletal health institution, has received support from Schmidt Futures to advance its research and development efforts in artificial intelligence and machine learning. This gift recognizes HSS as a pioneer in the field and supports the institution’s broader mission to advance musculoskeletal health through leading edge initiatives in research, education, and innovation. HSS will expand this legacy by creating the largest curated musculoskeletal data ecosystem in the world and making it available to a team of interdisciplinary researchers with the common goal of improving healthcare with better data and advanced analytics.

“The future of musculoskeletal care delivery will be driven by expertise increasingly augmented with data and technology to expand access, monitor musculoskeletal health, study movement, and prevent disease,” said HSS Chief Performance Officer Scott DeNegre. “We have a timely opportunity to marry the foremost experts in medicine, data science, and technology to design a better system of care.”

This support from Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, will be dedicated to creating the HSS Data Innovation Lab, with the mission of assembling exceptional artificial intelligence researchers and partnering them with clinicians to develop new technology and accelerate ongoing efforts to modernize care delivery. When grounded in trusted clinical expertise, artificial intelligence has the potential to transform healthcare delivery, unlocking the best practices in medical decision making and treatment planning, and enabling personalized, high quality, care to be delivered at scale.

“Together, we can not only revolutionize the delivery system, but also democratize high quality care and enable access for underserved communities across the globe,” said HSS President and CEO Bryan T. Kelly, MD, MBA.

The cornerstone of the HSS Data Innovation Lab will be the data ecosystem, which will enable the exploration of disease generation, injury risk factors, and successful treatment options across patients from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The knowledge, mathematical models, and technology solutions developed in the lab will expand access to care, improve clinical outcomes, and advance our understanding of musculoskeletal disease. The output of the lab will be made available to healthcare providers and patients across the globe, laying the foundation for significant disruption in our field and enabling humans to live longer and healthier lives.