New Dartmouth Center Applies AI to Improve Health Outcomes

The Center's inaugural director, Saeed Hassanpour, stands outside the Williamson Translational Research Building, where the Center is based, on the campus of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)

The center is being launched with initial funding of $2 million from the Geisel School of Medicine and Dartmouth Cancer Center and is based in the Williamson Translational Research Building, a Dartmouth-owned building on the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center campus in Lebanon, NH.

CPHAI will be governed by the dean of Geisel and advised by a committee that will have representatives and stakeholders from Geisel, Dartmouth Cancer Center, Thayer School of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Dartmouth Health.

"It is truly a Dartmouth center with leaders and advisers from across the institution connecting clinicians and AI scientists," says Geisel Dean Duane Compton.

By harnessing the power of AI and machine learning, CPHAI aims to create a toolbox of digital technologies that will empower providers to identify and deliver the most effective health care strategy for each patient.

Researchers will work on projects such as developing AI-driven diagnostic tools, optimizing treatment strategies, and analyzing biomedical data to inform public health policies.

AI models created through collaborations with radiologists and pathologists will be able to draw precise and complex inferences directly from medical images that complement the knowledge and experience of human imaging professionals and make diagnoses more reliable and efficient, reducing potential diagnostic errors.

The center will also enable researchers to evaluate new digital tools they develop in clinical settings, paving the way for creating and building applications that can be integrated into health care systems after seeking FDA approval.

"What makes CPHAI unique is its interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to precision health and artificial intelligence, focusing not only on technological advancements but also on ethical and societal implications," says Saeed Hassanpour, associate professor of biomedical data science, epidemiology, and computer science, who serves as the center's inaugural director.