AI-powered multimodal virtual patient for medical student training
Official title: AI-Enhanced Multimodal Conversational Virtual Patient for Interactive Medical Student Training
Funded at University of Idaho · NIH-11424725 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A computer-based, image-aware virtual patient that talks with medical students to improve diagnostic skills and clinical communication.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Idaho NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Moscow, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $139,208 |
| NIH project number | 1R16EB039694-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11424725 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Medical students and trainees in health professions who will use the CVP system in a supervised course.
✕Less likely to help
Non-student users or settings not using the CVP system may not benefit from this project.
What this research studies
This project will create an interactive virtual patient using multimodal artificial intelligence to blend medical images with patient stories. It will generate diverse, realistic patient profiles and allow real-time, AI-driven dialogue and feedback on diagnostic accuracy and communication. The approach includes testing in a dermoscopy-focused medical school course to see how well students learn from this simulated patient. The study aims to make medical training safer, more efficient, and better aligned with real clinical challenges.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, future clinicians may diagnose more accurately and communicate more effectively through realistic AI-guided simulations.
How similar studies have gone: Prior simulation-based training with virtual patients shows educational gains; this work adds multimodal, image-integrated dialogue for enhanced realism.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Idaho
Moscow, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Boyu — University of Idaho
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Boyu
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.