Advancing Global Health Education Through AI and Digital Humans
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Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., is an expert in women’s health and breast cancer and has spent her career leading professional education for healthcare colleagues. Dr. Pruthi is bringing these areas of expertise together to explore a new frontier in education: an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated digital human that mirrors her voice, facial expressions and mannerisms and can deliver trusted educational content in multiple languages.
In addition to her educational leadership, Dr. Pruthi was also recently named chair of the Doctors Mayo Society, a group of physician, scientist and administrative leaders committed to advancing Mayo Clinic's mission through philanthropy.
Dr. Pruthi sat down with Mayo Clinic Magazine to share why she’s inspired by this work in AI and its potential impact. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
You wear many hats at Mayo Clinic — as a clinician, educator and leader in patient education. What sparked your interest in pursuing this project?
This project really grew out of my work in professional education. I serve as the associate dean of the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development. I have the opportunity to teach healthcare colleagues around the world, and often I am presenting complex medical content in English to audiences who are more comfortable in another language. I kept thinking, wouldn’t it be more effective if they could see me presenting but hear the content in the language they’re most comfortable with?
AI must always keep the human in the loop. The technology is powerful, but it should enhance care — not replace the clinician.
— Sandhya Pruthi, M.D.
At the same time, in my role leading health education for patients, especially in breast cancer, we have developed extensive video resources. But what if a patient is Spanish-speaking, Arabic-speaking or Mandarin-speaking? Wouldn’t it feel more personal and impactful if that same trusted information could be delivered in their preferred language?
That question — how to improve understanding while preserving trust — is really where this began.
In simple terms, what are you building?
At its core, we are building a digital human — an AI-generated version of me that mirrors my voice, facial expressions and mannerisms. I provide the educational content in English, AI tools translate it, and the digital human delivers it while still appearing and sounding like me.
But the project goes beyond translation. We are taking a two-track approach. First, we validate the medical accuracy of translations in Arabic, Spanish and Mandarin using oncology physicians and nurses who are fluent in those languages. Accuracy is essential.
Second, we focus on delivery, whether through lectures, patient portals, Zoom sessions or clinical settings. We are also building an interactive, agentic AI tool that draws only from Mayo Clinic-approved breast cancer education materials. Patients can ask questions — for example, about biopsy procedures or cancer types — and receive responses grounded in trusted content.
How are you ensuring this work is responsible and medically accurate?
In medicine, we cannot afford inaccuracies. That is why validation is central to this work.
We are carefully reviewing translations with subject matter experts and building guardrails into the AI system so it draws only from curated Mayo Clinic materials. Before broader implementation, we plan to test the tools with small groups of patients and learners to assess quality and understanding.
For me, AI must always keep the human in the loop. The technology is powerful, but it should enhance care — not replace the clinician.
What impact do you hope this will have?
My hope is that patients feel they are receiving trusted information directly from their provider in the language that makes them most comfortable. That authenticity matters in medicine. Trust matters. When someone is navigating a cancer diagnosis, clarity can reduce anxiety and improve understanding.
For healthcare professionals globally, this could significantly expand access to Mayo Clinic education. Not everyone can travel for training, and I cannot be everywhere. A validated digital human allows us to extend expertise without losing authenticity.
How has philanthropic support shaped this work?
Quite honestly, this would not have moved forward in the same way without philanthropic support. Having support as a Mayo Clinic Richard M. Schulze Scholar in Artificial Intelligence has enabled us to think beyond the status quo. We’ve been able to fast-track our work thanks to the technology that is now available and rigorously test what AI can do responsibly.
It allowed us to validate, refine and accelerate the work while maintaining Mayo Clinic’s standards.
For me, that is the true value of this support — innovation grounded in trust and patient-centered care.
Dr. Pruthi is a recipient of the Mayo Clinic Richard M. Schulze Scholars in Artificial Intelligence award. The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation’s generous support aims to empower Mayo Clinic professionals who seek to redefine healthcare and education using advanced technologies and entrepreneurial thinking, with an emphasis on educational innovation.
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