Data-driven analysis, original research, and publications from MilenAi Digestive Health Consulting — examining the intersection of AI, nursing practice, and gastroenterology.
An analysis of the NIH RePORTER database spanning fiscal years 2020–2025 reveals a striking finding: not a single AI-focused research grant has been awarded to a nursing department. While NIH currently funds 23 projects combining artificial intelligence and endoscopy — housed at institutions like VA Boston, MD Anderson, and Memorial Sloan Kettering — every one sits within medical, engineering, or computer science departments.
This is not just a funding statistic — it is a systemic blind spot. Nurses are the primary operators of endoscopy equipment, the frontline monitors of sedation, and the clinical decision-makers during procedures. Yet the research infrastructure developing AI tools for these workflows excludes the very professionals who will implement them.
Our research is grounded in publicly accessible federal databases and peer-reviewed academic indices.
Federal grant database providing complete records of NIH-funded research projects, including departmental affiliations, funding amounts, and project abstracts.
Open academic index aggregating 250M+ scholarly works. Used for cross-referencing publication patterns and identifying research output gaps across disciplines.
National Library of Medicine database for biomedical literature. Used to analyze publication trends in GI nursing, endoscopy AI applications, and clinical education research.
Research papers, conference abstracts, and data analyses.
Comprehensive analysis of NIH RePORTER data demonstrating the complete absence of AI-focused research grants awarded to nursing departments in the gastroenterology and endoscopy domain, despite nurses being the primary operators of AI-augmented clinical tools.
Detailed breakdown of 23 active NIH-funded projects at the intersection of artificial intelligence and endoscopy, examining institutional affiliations, departmental homes, funding levels, and the absence of nursing-led principal investigators.
Upcoming submissions and presentations will be listed here as they are accepted. Areas of focus include AI adoption in endoscopy nursing workflows, clinical education innovation, and workforce development in gastroenterology.