Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1499651
Health Matters: Providence Saint John's Health Center | 9 radiation treatment and chemotherapy, aimed at discouraging the tumor 's regrowth. Sherrod describes herself as a regular social media and app user and says she's a fan of Providence's MyChart app as well. She also uses her insurer 's app regularly to file and track claims. To date, 85 Providence Saint John's cancer patients have downloaded Ronin. WHAT IS RONIN? Project Ronin is funded by tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison, who co-founded database company Oracle in 1977. Ellison has long had an interest in improving health care, and since 1997 he has overseen the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine, which focuses on providing research grants to scientists studying either aging or infectious diseases. The name Ronin comes from feudal Japan and refers to a samurai warrior without a master, explains Project Ronin senior manager Nicole Moore. "At Ronin, we are a company not bound by special interests—our only goal is to improve the lives of patients and fundamentally revolutionize cancer care," she says. The company was founded by bioinformatics entrepreneur Dave Hodgson, who serves as CEO, and world- renowned doctor and author David B. Agus, MD, who also works with Ellison's foundation. The new technology will ultimately empower patients and help them and their clinical teams make better-informed care decisions. The second phase of Project Ronin, which is currently being designed, will connect doctors and care teams to a new dashboard that will offer additional patient insights and will be powered by safe and validated artificial intelligence (AI). With real-time AI data analysis from Project Ronin's end- to-end cancer care platform, care teams will be able to manage symptoms better and prevent avoidable emergency department visits. Ultimately, the hope is that will mean a higher standard of care and improved patient outcomes. For Sherrod, that better outcome has already arrived in the form of an all-clear diagnosis. In January, she had laser surgery to clean up dead tissue from her original surgery, and there was no evidence of new cancer growth. "It's good news," says Sherrod. "The original site is looking clean."