A Generative AI Clinical Chatbot to Support APOE Testing (GRACE)

Описание: Amyloid-targeted therapies are now available for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). One step in the process of understanding if a patient is a candidate for these new therapies is APOE genotype testing. The APOE results can help providers and patients consider potential risks of treatment, but these results can also have an impact on relatives and could determine their risk for AD. While genetic testing has typically been performed with genetic professionals, known as genetic counselors (GCs), this could delay or prevent patient access to treatment. Thus, healthcare providers are sending APOE testing and returning results on their own and referring patients to GCs when a patient and family have additional questions. To address this important gap in access to genetic education, we have developed patient-centered clinical chatbots for patients and their relatives, to help them understand APOE testing and their results. In this pilot grant, we will be developing methods to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to improve our chatbots ability to answer individual patient questions with the expectation that this will increase engagement, the user experience and increasing awareness and understanding in families impacted by AD. Through the national Penn Telegenetics program and community clinical settings, these tools will be applicable and designed for diverse real-world patients of varying health literacy and community practices in the US.