The University of Vermont announced September 30 that trauma surgeon and researcher Gary An received a federal research and development contract worth up to $38 million to develop artificial intelligence models of critically ill patients.
The university described it as the largest research award in its history. The project is funded through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, known as ARPA-H.
The proposed digital twins would give clinicians a way to simulate a patient's condition and test possible treatments virtually before choosing an intervention for the person in the intensive care unit. The university's announcement presents that capability as a research objective.
VTDigger reported that the work concerns patients with conditions such as severe burns or infections, for whom choosing an individualized treatment can be difficult. Its September 30 coverage described the award as support for refining an AI model designed to shorten intensive-care stays.
The funding ceiling matters: the announcement says up to $38 million, rather than identifying the full amount as money already spent or received. Likewise, a digital model intended to assist treatment decisions is still a research product, rather than evidence that the approach already improves outcomes for patients.
An works at UVM's Larner College of Medicine. The award follows another recent federal research investment at the university, which VTDigger reported was a $19 million grant for a national neuroscience observatory.
Sources