Department
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Major
Engineering Management
Research Advisor
Canfield, Casey I.
Advisor's Department
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Funding Source
National Science Foundation (U.S.)
Abstract
Currently, there are about 94,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. Less than one-third will receive a new kidney this year. Unfortunately, some kidneys that could have been transplanted into a new recipient, end up being discarded. The largest group of discarded kidneys are ones that are high-risk. At present, an organ procurement organization will send out offers for an available kidney to transplant centers. These offers go out in chronological order following the kidney transplant waiting list. A single high-risk kidney could potentially go through hundreds of offers before being accepted by a transplant center. The longer the kidney is outside of the donor’s body, the less likely it can be transplanted successfully. Therefore, we need a better approach to make this process more efficient. Through the use of artificial intelligence, our team hopes to find a way to help reduce kidney discard, and help patients in need of a new kidney, find a match sooner. In order to develop an effective AI system, we hosted a virtual design-a-thon workshop with stakeholders from transplant centers, organ procurement organizations, and transplant patients. By completing design activities, these stakeholders helped us describe the potential solution space and prioritize our development efforts.
Biography
Casey Hines is a senior studying Engineering Management with an emphasis in Industrial Engineering. After graduation, Casey will be attending graduate school to pursue a master's degree in Systems Engineering. He has been an active member of Engineers Without Borders for seven semesters while at MST. Additionally, He is an active member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. When not working on schoolwork, he enjoys spending his time outdoors flying his drone, hiking, or spending time with friends.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Engineering poster presentation, Third place
Presentation Date
28 Apr 2017, 2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Co-Designing AI Tools to Reduce Kidney Discard
Currently, there are about 94,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. Less than one-third will receive a new kidney this year. Unfortunately, some kidneys that could have been transplanted into a new recipient, end up being discarded. The largest group of discarded kidneys are ones that are high-risk. At present, an organ procurement organization will send out offers for an available kidney to transplant centers. These offers go out in chronological order following the kidney transplant waiting list. A single high-risk kidney could potentially go through hundreds of offers before being accepted by a transplant center. The longer the kidney is outside of the donor’s body, the less likely it can be transplanted successfully. Therefore, we need a better approach to make this process more efficient. Through the use of artificial intelligence, our team hopes to find a way to help reduce kidney discard, and help patients in need of a new kidney, find a match sooner. In order to develop an effective AI system, we hosted a virtual design-a-thon workshop with stakeholders from transplant centers, organ procurement organizations, and transplant patients. By completing design activities, these stakeholders helped us describe the potential solution space and prioritize our development efforts.
