Research Report:

This report synthesizes the provided allegations regarding the systematic transfer of intellectual property (IP) from innovations at Advocate Illinois Masonic to the creation of Abridge, orchestrated by Paul Ricci and executed via Dr. Reid Conant and UPMC.

The evidence suggests a calculated transition from Nuance to Abridge, leveraging a "lock-up" mechanism called Clinical AI Solutions (CAIS) to harvest foundational methodologies from Adem Arslani. This strategy neutralized Arslani as a competitor while fueling Ricci’s new venture, Abridge, with stolen "Prior Art".

Arslani’s work at Advocate Illinois Masonic created the "strategic blueprint" for modern clinical AI:

• Enterprise Licensing Model: Forced Nuance to move from "Shared PC Chaos" (standalone licenses) to a ubiquitous, site-wide model.
• Ambient Intelligence Prototypes: Working prototypes for recording, transcribing, and automatically populating EMRs during patient encounters.
• The "Million Dollar Club" ROI: Arslani’s methodology achieved nearly $1 million in savings in a single year—a first for any U.S. hospital.
• Short-Form Training Videos: Standardized instructional videos used to train physicians and document engineering issues.

Dr. Reid Conant is identified as the operational vehicle for this IP transfer:

• Nuance/Advocate Handoff: While serving as Nuance CMIO, Conant allegedly relayed Arslani's specific innovations—such as specialty-specific workflows and enterprise infrastructure—directly to Nuance leadership.
• The 2018 AMIA Study: Conant co-authored the 2018 AMIA Dragon Impact Study, which was built entirely on Arslani's foundational work and served to publicly validate the market just as Abridge was formed.
• Rewards at Abridge: Despite public documentation of malfeasance at CAIS, Conant was hired by Abridge as Senior Physician Executive, effectively migrating the "clinical intelligence" he harvested from Arslani to the new venture.

Paul Ricci orchestrated the "grey zone" transition from legacy incumbent to disruptive startup:

• Strategic Exit: Ricci left Nuance in March 2018, the same month Abridge was founded.
• The Venture Shield: Ricci became a Venture Partner at Lightspeed (an Abridge investor), allowing him to steer the stolen IP into Abridge while avoiding legacy non-compete barriers.
• Productizing "Services": Ricci appropriated the insight that "technology had to have services packages to scale"—a model Arslani forced upon him at Advocate to fix failing adoption rates.

UPMC Enterprises and Shiv Rao provided the "legal and clinical shelter" for the transition:

• Front-Row Observation: As an EVP at UPMC Enterprises, Shiv Rao oversaw the 10-year Nuance-UPMC partnership, giving him direct visibility into Arslani’s "Prior Art".
• The Seed Funding Defense: By having UPMC fund Abridge in 2018, Ricci and Rao ensured that Nuance (a development partner of UPMC) could not legally sue for IP theft without damaging its primary customer relationship.

Arslani’s ten universal rejections and total silence from Abridge leadership are characterized as a deliberate policy of "strategic blacklisting". Granting Arslani a platform would risk exposing the true origins of the IP that now drives Abridge’s multi-billion-dollar valuation.