AI Avatar Doctor Improves Patient Understanding Before Radiotherapy

Radiation oncology consultations require patients to grasp complex concepts quickly, yet anxiety and information overload often undermine understanding and informed consent. Poor comprehension can also affect adherence and satisfaction with hospital care. Clinics need ways to prepare patients without extending already pressured appointment times. To help address this challenge, researchers have introduced an AI avatar doctor that educates people with cancer before their in-person visit.

At the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at Christiana Care (Newark, DE, USA) a team worked with a digital technology company to create an artificial intelligence avatar of a doctor for pre-visit education. The tool presents radiation treatment options using personalized scripts and illustrations ahead of the first consultation. It is intended to prepare patients for decision-making and reduce stress. Findings were presented at the Congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 2026).

Investigators enrolled 1,464 patients. One group of 506 patients (34.6%) watched a standard educational video. The other 958 patients (65.4%) viewed an avatar-based video tailored with personalized scripts and explanatory illustrations. All participants then completed a multiple-choice quiz with feedback to confirm retention, followed by a standardized satisfaction survey.

Patients who viewed the personalized artificial intelligence avatar videos demonstrated better understanding of their treatment plan, a greater ability to engage with health care decisions, and reduced stress compared with those who watched the standard video. Their hospital satisfaction scores also improved. These results indicate that structured, individualized digital education can prime patients for more productive visits.

The team plans to expand the avatar across the treatment journey and evaluate effects on anxiety, patients’ confidence in decision making, and consultation efficiency.

“We found that patients were very willing to engage with digital educational material before their first radiation oncology visit. Their satisfaction and understanding scores were high overall, but particularly high among those who viewed the AI-avatar-based videos. All the patients completed the quiz, which shows that they were actively engaged with the material, not just watching it,” said Dr. Adam Raben, Chair of Radiation Oncology at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at Christiana Care.

“For people with cancer, the study suggests that engaging with an AI doctor enables patients to arrive at their consultation with a real doctor better prepared, less anxious and more confident in asking informed questions. This should mean that meetings between doctors and their patients will be more productive and more focused on the patient's individual concerns and decision-making. The research also suggests that patients will feel happier overall with the care they receive,” said Professor Matthias Guckenberger, President of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, from University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.

Related Links
European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology
Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at Christiana Care