Craig Jones

Craig Jones, assistant research professor of computer science, has been awarded a Discovery grant from the Department of Defense. Jones, an affiliate of the Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare, along with co-investigator, Clifford Weiss of Johns Hopkins Medicine, received the two-year grant of $310,000 to study artificial intelligence/machine learning-guided treatments for venous malformations.

Venous malformations (VM) can happen unsystematically, affecting 1 in 100 people. These vascular deformities can form at birth and persist throughout the patient’s life, most commonly impacting veins and lymphatic systems.  Effected vessels can be enlarged and tangled, presenting under the skin as a large bruise or swollen area.

“They can involve any body part and affect patients of any age as they grow throughout life,” according to the grant’s abstract.  “As a result, patients can suffer from various symptoms, including debilitating pain, functional loss, cosmetic deformity, swelling, bleeding, or weakness.”

The team’s research under this grant will aim to create an automated imaging tool to predict the best treatment outcomes from patient’s MRI scans.  As these venous malformations can change in the body between treatments, this tool will help clinicians to determine the best path of treatment based on what is present in patient scans.

This AI tool would be the first of its kind in assessing VM treatment options, added Jones.