Science Is the Language of Trust: neuRealities at Mayo Clinic’s Rural Healthcare Conference
In healthcare and education, science is the language of trust. And science is built on credible, independent evidence.
This week, Joshua W. Ohde, PhD, Evidence & Outcomes Researcher at neuRealities, took part in the poster presentations at Transforming Community, Regional, and Rural Healthcare 2026, hosted by the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development. He presented our poster, “Closing the First Care Gap: A Knowledge Graph-Based Conversational AI for Breast Cancer Patient Education.”
Joshua W. Ohde, PhD, Evidence & Outcomes Researcher at neuRealities, presented the poster, “Closing the First Care Gap: A Knowledge Graph-Based Conversational AI for Breast Cancer Patient Education.”
The challenge: Patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer often wait weeks for a first specialist visit, and the wait is longer in rural and community settings. Many turn to unverified sources, including public AI tools, while care teams are stretched thin answering portal and nurse-line questions.
The approach: neuRealities and the Mayo Clinic Breast Clinic developed the AI Breast Cancer Education (ABCE) tool, an AI Expert that gives clear, empathetic answers drawn only from Mayo Clinic-approved content. Every response cites its sources and links to the exact video timestamp or document passage, so patients can see where an answer comes from.
Early findings: A three-phase validation study is underway.
Phase 1: Fifteen Mayo Clinic subject-matter experts tested ABCE live. They valued that it draws only from vetted materials, cites its sources, and links to the exact passage. Nurses rated accuracy, conversational flow, empathy, and response boundaries favorably.
Phase 2: Past patients who tried ABCE at home found it very helpful and empathetic. One breast cancer survivor said, “If my journey was just beginning, I would have used it extensively.”
Phase 3: An ongoing pilot is recruiting new patients through nurse navigators, with results expected by the end of 2026.
Because ABCE stays tied to a single source of truth, updates to Mayo Clinic’s materials carry through to patient-facing answers without retraining. Our goal is real-time, trustworthy answers for patients throughout a stressful journey, wherever they live.
Thank you to our poster co-authors and collaborators, including Joshua Ohde, Abigail Sandberg, M.S.N., R.N., Heather Preston, M.S., Sarah Harper, M.A., M.B.A., Bridget Nilsen, Alexander Fidel, M.S., Jonathan M. Morris, M.D., and Sandhya Pruthi, M.D. and everyone who stopped by during the conference.
Explore the work: Breast Cancer Patient Education Showcase — neuRealities
Learn more about the conference: Transforming Community, Regional, and Rural Healthcare 2026