Computerized records from a robust caseload of animals treated at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine could soon become a digital goldmine, embedding research into clinical operations to treat diseases like cancer.

With support from the UF strategic funding initiative, a state-of-the-art, AI-enabled digital imaging platform will be developed to collect, collate, and analyze patient data. This innovative, first-of-its-kind veterinary learning health care system will create a path for the development of precision medicine — medical solutions customized to each patient with the aid of molecular and genomic data sets. It will also address bottlenecks in the pathway to implementing personalized cancer diagnoses and treatments, including the scarcity of veterinary pathologists and the heterogeneous nature of cancer disorders.

“We need to do everything we can to eliminate barriers to cancer treatments, and creating an AI-enabled digital imaging platform will help us do that,” UF President Ben Sasse said. “This will be a transformative project that positions UF as a national leader in cancer treatments and medical innovation.”

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