The Dartmouth Center for Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence (CPHAI) is an interdisciplinary research center that uses artificial intelligence to aggregate patient data across various platforms and contexts to optimize patient care and outcomes. CPHAI's research and innovations aim to improve public health and advance healthcare delivery while upholding the highest ethical standards in the use of AI.

Researchers use AI and machine learning to harness the rapid increase in the volume of complex biomedical data such as medical image repositories, electronic health records, and multi-omics datasets, which contain numerous biological data markers like genetics, physiology, and more.

The technologies and systems created through CPHAI improve patient care and outcomes and offer world-class research and educational opportunities across the institution.

The era of precision medicine is still in its early stages. As technologies such as genetic sequencing and health monitoring tools become available to the general public, healthcare delivery will become increasingly personalized. These new individualized data sources will be combined with existing and growing repositories of medical images and electronic health records. As biomedical data becomes more diverse and complex, AI and machine learning methods are essential for integrating, analyzing, and utilizing these rich and massive amounts of data. These methods can be used to assess individual risk and provide preventive care. In addition, after the onset of disease, AI-based systems can provide data-driven health solutions to facilitate diagnosis in real time and support clinical decision-making based on comprehensive information obtained from various data sources. AI models can also predict how patients will respond to different drugs or treatments and guide personalized therapies. Overall, AI is a fundamental component of future effective healthcare delivery and precision health. By establishing a center that fosters and supports research at the intersection of AI and medicine, Dartmouth leads the way in this new era of precision health and empowers its students, staff, and faculty to shape the future of healthcare.

The new center supports novel, interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence and machine learning to harness the power of biomedical data to improve public health and advance healthcare delivery while ensuring the ethical use of AI.

Researchers work on projects such as developing AI-driven diagnostic tools, optimizing treatment strategies, and analyzing biomedical data to inform public health policies. The center enables researchers to evaluate new digital tools they develop in clinical settings, paving the way for creating and building applications that can be integrated into healthcare systems following FDA approval.

CPHAI also offers educational programs, workshops, and training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, researchers, and healthcare professionals to build skills and knowledge in AI and precision health. These initiatives help create a pipeline of talented individuals who contribute to the field's growth and innovation.

Precision health is a relatively new concept that personalizes healthcare by tailoring treatments and disease-prevention strategies to a person's unique biology, genes, medical history, lifestyle, and environment.

It is broader than precision medicine, which helps doctors treat a patient’s current health issues. Precision Health also assesses a patient's risk for future problems and, according to the CDC, focuses on “disease prevention and health promotion activities.”

Machine learning models trained on a host of different data sets can predict disease risk, enhance the accuracy of diagnoses, anticipate the course of an illness, and tailor treatment options best suited to the patient. For example, CPHAI will work with the departments of pathology and radiology to develop, evaluate, and disseminate AI systems that reduce diagnostic errors and improve the quality and efficiency of medical imaging. The center will enable computer systems to draw precise and complex inferences directly from image information, complementing the knowledge and experience of radiologists and medical imaging professionals.

We are committed to:

• Interdisciplinary collaboration: Bring together experts from various disciplines, including machine learning, medicine, biomedical research, ethics, and policy to work on innovative solutions that address pressing healthcare challenges.

• Ethical AI in healthcare: Partner with experts and stakeholders to ensure the ethical use of AI in healthcare by implementing a framework for transparency, fairness, accountability, and privacy protection. Comprehend the limitations and pitfalls of AI, and identify and eradicate potential biases.

• Real-world impact: Translate research into tangible improvements in healthcare delivery and public health, such as better patient outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, early detection and prevention of diseases, and more efficient resource allocation.

• Innovative research: Conduct high-quality and innovative investigations that lead to advancements in AI-driven precision health, resulting in new preventive and diagnostic tools, treatment strategies, and public health initiatives.

• Inclusivity and diversity: Stay committed to providing educational and training opportunities for underrepresented groups, actively recruiting diverse talent, and fostering an inclusive research environment.

• Education and training: Train future leaders in AI and precision health by providing mentorship, research opportunities, courses, lectures, seminars, and symposiums.

• Partnerships and engagement: Cultivate strong relationships with industry partners, healthcare organizations, community groups, and academic institutions to ensure the translational application of research and promote knowledge exchange.

Solving critical clinical problems in precision health requires close collaboration between computer scientists, engineers, and clinical experts. As a unique organizational unit, the center works with laboratories and investigators from the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Dartmouth Cancer Center, Thayer School of Engineering, and Dartmouth Health clinical departments. The center is led by a director and associate directors, governed by the dean of the Geisel School of Medicine, and advised by a Dartmouth College/Health advisory committee of representatives and stakeholders from Geisel, Dartmouth Cancer Center, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Thayer, and Dartmouth Health.

Dartmouth undergraduates interested in pursuing a career in precision health and AI have the opportunity to get involved in the center's research activities as interns or research assistants. CPHAI helps the undergraduates find a suitable advisor from the center's faculty and investigators for their undergraduate honors thesis research or as part of the sophomore, junior, Presidential Research Scholar, and Women in Science programs.

The center collaborates with the Quantitative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and related departments to develop and implement educational programs for MS and PhD students. Center faculty deliver lectures and seminars as part of the existing QBS health data science courses and curriculum, providing the students with the necessary background and working knowledge of topics in AI and precision health. They also offer research opportunities for students, including independent studies, internships, capstone projects, and thesis projects, to help them develop their careers and work on machine learning solutions for real-world precision health problems. The center works with the Geisel Department of Medical Education and residency programs to incorporate AI and biomedical informatics topics into medical training programs and provide research opportunities for medical students and residents.

The development and application of AI technologies can profoundly impact society and the lives of individuals. CPHAI is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in the use of AI and fostering diversity and inclusion in the field of precision health and AI. The center works with the Dartmouth Ethics Institute, Neukom Institute, Wright Center, and other experts in the field to examine and ensure the ethical use of AI in healthcare. These research partnerships involve working with stakeholders to comprehend the limitations and pitfalls of utilizing AI for biomedical applications, identifying and eradicating any potential biases in these AI systems, and fostering trust among clinicians and patients in AI solutions.

CPHAI fosters an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to precision health and artificial intelligence, focusing not only on technological advancements but also on ethical and societal implications.

The center includes academics and clinicians from across the Dartmouth community, including the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Cancer Center, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Thayer School of Engineering, and clinical departments at Dartmouth Health.

Additionally, CPHAI focuses on upholding the highest ethical standards in the use of AI and fostering diversity and inclusion.

CPHAI's approach is holistic, encompassing research, education, policy, and community outreach. This comprehensive strategy enables CPHAI to address the complex challenges in AI and healthcare from multiple angles, ensuring a more robust and sustainable impact on the field.

CPHAI is located in Dartmouth's Williamson Translational Research Building on the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center campus in Lebanon, N.H. Depending on the nature of individual projects and resource availability, some researchers and collaborators may work in different locations across campus or remotely. This distributed structure is designed to promote collaboration among various departments and leverage the expertise of diverse faculty members and researchers.

By utilizing AI and machine learning to optimize diagnostics, treatment plans, and healthcare delivery, the work of CPHAI may lead to more efficient and cost-effective solutions. These improvements could, in turn, help lower healthcare costs for patients, providers, and insurers. It is essential, however, to consider that factors beyond technological advancements also influence healthcare affordability, such as policy, regulations, and healthcare system structures.

The establishment of CPHAI in Northern New England is an essential step toward fostering innovation and collaboration in the fields of precision health and artificial intelligence. It is poised to stimulate economic growth by attracting research grants, public and private funding, and industry partnerships, which can generate new job opportunities in the region. AI in the healthcare market is projected to experience tremendous growth in the near future; in 2020, it was valued at just under $5 billion and it is expected to reach $45.2 billion by 2026.

The center fosters significant improvements in healthcare and public health. Technologies developed by the center improve the quality and efficiency of clinical practice in multiple disciplines, including digital pathology, diagnostic imaging in radiology, dermatology, and ophthalmology, smart monitoring devices, and precision cancer care.

By focusing on interdisciplinary research and the ethical use of AI, the center aims to develop innovative solutions that positively affect many aspects of healthcare, including personalized medicine, early detection and prevention, improved healthcare outcomes, enhanced public health initiatives, patient empowerment, ethical AI in healthcare, and greater inclusivity.