The task force on the future of academic health at the University of Minnesota held their second meeting on Wednesday to discuss its recommendations to the governor.

The meeting featured presentations on the current state of Minnesota’s healthcare system, recommendations based on the 2015 Blue Ribbon Commission and the University’s five-point vision for academic health.

University Board of Regent member, Penny Wheeler, Dean Jakub Tolar of the Medical School and Dean Connie Delaney of the School of Nursing were named as members of the task force at the end of September. All three attended the meeting.

In her opening statement, former State Health Commissioner and task force chair Jan Malcolm said the current Minnesota health care system wasn’t designed for the challenges the state is facing today.

“This is the critical moment in time both to respond to some present challenges, but also it’s a great time to think bigger and envision the system we want for all Minnesotans,” Malcolm said.

Nearly one-third of rural physicians plan to leave the workforce within the next five years, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Work satisfaction has dropped among nearly all healthcare professionals over the past four years.

“What we’ve been feeling in health care, we now are seeing,” Wheeler said. “The health care system in general is maxed out.”

According to Wheeler, the University has a massive impact in healthcare across the state. One of the bigger talking points of the meeting was improving healthcare delivery in rural areas.

Minnesota has a lot of unique assets and strengths, and recognizing them will help implement a stronger healthcare system, Wheeler said.

Douglas Peterson, a legal officer at the University, said recommendations to the task force are based on the University’s five-point plan for improving health care.

The five-point plan was introduced in January as a part of MPact 2025. The vision aims to help the University develop a world-class healthcare system where they are in control of University medical facilities while providing opportunities for partnerships with other healthcare systems.

Peterson said the five-point plan recommends a new state-of-the-art hospital to be built on East Bank campus. The current facilities on East and West banks are aging and a new hospital complex would help advance medicine for at least the next half-century, he said.

According to Peterson, partnerships like M Health Fairview and the proposed University-CentraCare program are essential to ensuring the University’s success in health care.

“The University cannot be an island,” Peterson said. “If we do this in isolation, we’re going to fail.”

The partnership between the University and CentraCare would place another regional University Medical School campus in St. Cloud by fall 2025.

Kenneth Holman, CEO of CentraCare, said at the Board of Regents meeting Thursday that he was excited to enter into the partnership with the University and hopes their collaboration will help support rural health in Minnesota for the next few decades.

“If this gets approved holistically, we are serving a profound community effort across all of Minnesota,” Wheeler said in response to Holman’s comments.

The University’s partnership with CentraCare is in its infancy, but there is still concern about the relations between the University and Fairview Health.

University representatives are meeting with Fairview leaders weekly to discuss the future of the partnership, Tolar said.

According to Wheeler, the task force can give recommendations, but Fairview and the University must reach a final decision between themselves.

The task force will hold its next meeting Oct. 25. Meetings will continue biweekly until Jan. 10, 2024, five days before the task force must submit its final recommendations.

The task force on the future of academic health at the University of Minnesota held their second meeting on Wednesday to discuss its recommendations to the governor.

The meeting featured presentations on the current state of Minnesota’s healthcare system, recommendations based on the 2015 Blue Ribbon Commission and the University’s five-point vision for academic health.

University Board of Regent member, Penny Wheeler, Dean Jakub Tolar of the Medical School and Dean Connie Delaney of the School of Nursing were named as members of the task force at the end of September. All three attended the meeting.

In her opening statement, former State Health Commissioner and task force chair Jan Malcolm said the current Minnesota health care system wasn’t designed for the challenges the state is facing today.

“This is the critical moment in time both to respond to some present challenges, but also it’s a great time to think bigger and envision the system we want for all Minnesotans,” Malcolm said.

Nearly one-third of rural physicians plan to leave the workforce within the next five years, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Work satisfaction has dropped among nearly all healthcare professionals over the past four years.

“What we’ve been feeling in health care, we now are seeing,” Wheeler said. “The health care system in general is maxed out.”

According to Wheeler, the University has a massive impact in healthcare across the state. One of the bigger talking points of the meeting was improving healthcare delivery in rural areas.

Minnesota has a lot of unique assets and strengths, and recognizing them will help implement a stronger healthcare system, Wheeler said.

Douglas Peterson, a legal officer at the University, said recommendations to the task force are based on the University’s five-point plan for improving health care.

The five-point plan was introduced in January as a part of MPact 2025. The vision aims to help the University develop a world-class healthcare system where they are in control of University medical facilities while providing opportunities for partnerships with other healthcare systems.

Peterson said the five-point plan recommends a new state-of-the-art hospital to be built on East Bank campus. The current facilities on East and West banks are aging and a new hospital complex would help advance medicine for at least the next half-century, he said.

According to Peterson, partnerships like M Health Fairview and the proposed University-CentraCare program are essential to ensuring the University’s success in health care.

“The University cannot be an island,” Peterson said. “If we do this in isolation, we’re going to fail.”

The partnership between the University and CentraCare would place another regional University Medical School campus in St. Cloud by fall 2025.

Kenneth Holman, CEO of CentraCare, said at the Board of Regents meeting Thursday that he was excited to enter into the partnership with the University and hopes their collaboration will help support rural health in Minnesota for the next few decades.

“If this gets approved holistically, we are serving a profound community effort across all of Minnesota,” Wheeler said in response to Holman’s comments.

The University’s partnership with CentraCare is in its infancy, but there is still concern about the relations between the University and Fairview Health.

University representatives are meeting with Fairview leaders weekly to discuss the future of the partnership, Tolar said.

According to Wheeler, the task force can give recommendations, but Fairview and the University must reach a final decision between themselves.

The task force will hold its next meeting Oct. 25. Meetings will continue biweekly until Jan. 10, 2024, five days before the task force must submit its final recommendations.

The task force on the future of academic health at the University of Minnesota held their second meeting on Wednesday to discuss its recommendations to the governor.

The meeting featured presentations on the current state of Minnesota’s healthcare system, recommendations based on the 2015 Blue Ribbon Commission and the University’s five-point vision for academic health.

University Board of Regent member, Penny Wheeler, Dean Jakub Tolar of the Medical School and Dean Connie Delaney of the School of Nursing were named as members of the task force at the end of September. All three attended the meeting.

In her opening statement, former State Health Commissioner and task force chair Jan Malcolm said the current Minnesota health care system wasn’t designed for the challenges the state is facing today.

“This is the critical moment in time both to respond to some present challenges, but also it’s a great time to think bigger and envision the system we want for all Minnesotans,” Malcolm said.

Nearly one-third of rural physicians plan to leave the workforce within the next five years, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Work satisfaction has dropped among nearly all healthcare professionals over the past four years.

“What we’ve been feeling in health care, we now are seeing,” Wheeler said. “The health care system in general is maxed out.”

According to Wheeler, the University has a massive impact in healthcare across the state. One of the bigger talking points of the meeting was improving healthcare delivery in rural areas.

Minnesota has a lot of unique assets and strengths, and recognizing them will help implement a stronger healthcare system, Wheeler said.

Douglas Peterson, a legal officer at the University, said recommendations to the task force are based on the University’s five-point plan for improving health care.

The five-point plan was introduced in January as a part of MPact 2025. The vision aims to help the University develop a world-class healthcare system where they are in control of University medical facilities while providing opportunities for partnerships with other healthcare systems.

Peterson said the five-point plan recommends a new state-of-the-art hospital to be built on East Bank campus. The current facilities on East and West banks are aging and a new hospital complex would help advance medicine for at least the next half-century, he said.

According to Peterson, partnerships like M Health Fairview and the proposed University-CentraCare program are essential to ensuring the University’s success in health care.

“The University cannot be an island,” Peterson said. “If we do this in isolation, we’re going to fail.”

The partnership between the University and CentraCare would place another regional University Medical School campus in St. Cloud by fall 2025.

Kenneth Holman, CEO of CentraCare, said at the Board of Regents meeting Thursday that he was excited to enter into the partnership with the University and hopes their collaboration will help support rural health in Minnesota for the next few decades.

“If this gets approved holistically, we are serving a profound community effort across all of Minnesota,” Wheeler said in response to Holman’s comments.

The University’s partnership with CentraCare is in its infancy, but there is still concern about the relations between the University and Fairview Health.

University representatives are meeting with Fairview leaders weekly to discuss the future of the partnership, Tolar said.

According to Wheeler, the task force can give recommendations, but Fairview and the University must reach a final decision between themselves.

The task force will hold its next meeting Oct. 25. Meetings will continue biweekly until Jan. 10, 2024, five days before the task force must submit its final recommendations.

A team headed by researchers at the University of Minnesota has developed a new kind of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine that produces images similar in quality to a standard machine while taking up much less space.

This new machine separates into four pieces and fits into the bed of a truck, allowing it to be driven to remote communities where residents may not ordinarily have access to MRI scanners. A standard MRI machine weighs 4,500 kilograms; the new one only weighs 400.

Michael Garwood, associate director of the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) and lead researcher on the project, said 90% of the world’s population does not have access to an MRI machine.

Dependable access to an MRI machine is important for helping diagnose, monitor and treat injuries and diseases, according to Garwood.

“This is the motivating factor for all this work, there’s just not enough MRIs,” Garwood said. “You can’t access 90% of the world’s population with it and it’s time to do something about that.”

Unlike a standard machine, Garwood’s MRI only scans the head, which is one of the reasons this new machine can be as small as it is and still function properly.

The machine looks like a hooded hair dryer from a salon. The patient sits in the chair, which is raised until their head is fully under the dome. There is a strip of glass placed at eye level for the patient to look out of during the procedure, reducing feelings of claustrophobia.

Garwood said keeping children in mind when designing the machine was a priority. Kids can get scared when going through the larger machine, so Garwood wanted to make the MRI process more inviting and less intimidating.

Garwood said he originally designed the machine to run at 1.5 tesla, a unit of measurement for magnetic flux, just like a standard MRI machine. However, by using paraffin wax as a binding agent instead of epoxy, the machine was able to run at about half power.

Even though it is a lower operating field than standard MRI machines, Garwood said, his machine will not affect the images it generates and is safe for human use.

On a personal tour of the lab, Garwood showed off the machine’s inner workings. When asked for a photo, he opted to raise himself into the machine while the magnet was on, performing what was essentially the first unofficial human trial.

Despite Garwood not taking a scan of his brain while having his photo taken, it was a demonstration of how close the team is to beginning actual testing on people. Controlled human trials, Garwood estimated, will begin sometime in the next two months.

Initially, the researchers had only performed scans on water bottles and lemons in the machine. These scans still yielded high-quality images with no need to upscale them with artificial intelligence (AI).

The project required collaboration from researchers within the University, Yale, Columbia and out-of-country scientists from Brazil and New Zealand.

One of Garwood’s professor colleagues from Brazil, Alberto Tannus, designed a spectrometer that acts as the brain of the machine. It was designed separately from Garwood’s project and was originally meant to act as a research instrument.

Contained in a 1-inch-by-1-inch processing chip, the spectrometer creates interconnections between logical ports. Like calling a general customer service line and being re-routed to a more specific department, the spectrometer helps the machine get information where it needs to go.

Tannus said the research was hard to conduct because of funding. In Brazil specifically, Tannus said he was dealing with a shy budget.

“Something that I learned is if you can do it with this very low budget here in Brazil, you can do it with any amount of money anywhere in the world,” Tannus said.

Ben Parkinson, a researcher on Garwood’s team from New Zealand, said when the team had to design a magnet for the machine, they had to use a different process because of how small their machine is compared to a traditional MRI.

Garwood’s machine can produce clinical-quality images at a smaller size because it only gathers images from the head. Its smaller size and lower tesla also allow it to have a less uniform magnetic field than a standard MRI machine.

Parkinson said another difference between their machine and a standard MRI is the temperature control. A standard machine needs the coils inside the magnet to be cooled off in a bath of liquid helium.

Garwood’s MRI uses a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet, which helps the coils inside cool faster and more efficiently.

Cristoph Juchem, an associate professor at Columbia University in New York, designed the hardware for the coils inside of the magnet.

A traditional MRI machine uses gradient coils to predictably manipulate the magnetic fields and typically relies on a set of three coils. The array Juchem developed houses 31 coils that can be controlled individually to create more flexible and dynamic patterns.

Juchem said getting a project like this off the ground is a hard enough task and is very excited they are nearing human trials.

“The fact that we get clean images, even though it’s not human yet, means we’re certainly on the right track and now the next goal is to do this on people like you and me,” Juchem said.

The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents requested $200 million for building repairs from the state and received in turn $43.4 million during the 2023 legislative session. Now, the board is planning to request $500 million for 2024.

The funding came from a statewide program called Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) and is designated toward older University buildings in need of smaller repairs or large-scale renovations.

HEAPR funding covers building repairs across all University campuses, except Rochester since they rent their buildings. 

Mondale Hall on the West Bank and Nils Hasselmo Hall on the East Bank are receiving roof replacements through this year’s funding. Buildings, like the Phillips Wangensteen Building and the Weisman Art Museum, have HEAPR funds put toward modernizing elevators. Others, like the Field House, are receiving accessibility upgrades to their restrooms.

In Duluth, heating and ventilation systems will be replaced in two buildings, Crookston will renovate the exterior of Owen Hall and Morris will replace the roof of its Humanities Fine Arts building.

If the Board’s $500 million request is approved in full, their focus on the Twin Cities campus will be on infrastructure and other internal repairs that had been neglected for “too long,” Vice President of University Services Alice Roberts-Davis said.

“The University has some beautiful facilities,” Roberts-Davis said. “We also have some labs that look like 1975, and those are the ones that we want to focus on.”

Next year, HEAPR funding will tackle bigger restoration projects across the other University campuses, like fixing Crookston’s heating plant, Roberts-Davis said. The Morris campus will be updating its multi-ethnic center, which currently has no elevators or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access.

Assistant Vice President of Finance and Systems at the University, Brian Swanson, said HEAPR items are placed on a waitlist once a building that needs repair is reported. They are then prioritized in order of importance and cost per project.

Swanson said that even if there are high-priority projects on the list, they may be pushed back due to a lack of HEAPR funding for that year.

The proposed renovations to the Morris campus’s multi-ethnic center were originally included in the $200 million proposal for 2023 but had to be pushed back because the University only received $43.4 million.

“There just wasn’t enough money in their share of the appropriation to tackle that project,” Swanson said. “The campus then looks at what are the next set of high-priority projects that they can accomplish within the amount of money they can get.”

According to Swanson, the same will happen to projects in the 2024 HEAPR request if the full amount is not provided.

Another one of the University’s main priorities is to renovate Eddy Hall, the oldest building on campus. Eddy Hall, which sits on the edge of the East Bank campus in The Knoll, is unused by students and staff.

The renovated Eddy Hall would host classes for the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and provide a space to support first-generation students at the University, said Michael Rodriguez, dean of CEHD.

Another function Eddy Hall would provide is serving as the center for the TRIO program, according to Rodriguez. TRIO is a support program for students from underrepresented backgrounds working toward a college degree.

“We envision this space as student-centered and student-facing,” Rodriguez said during a tour of Eddy Hall.

The University will be moving classes for the CEHD into Eddy Hall once it is fully renovated. 

Their next step, according to Roberts-Davis, will be to demolish Peik Hall, another building near The Knoll, and other buildings they think do not need to be reinvested in.

Unlike Eddy Hall, Peik Hall is still actively used as a teaching space for undergraduate classes.

According to Roberts-Davis, the University is trying to consolidate square footage by getting rid of unnecessary buildings, like Peik Hall, and moving more classes into newly renovated spaces.

After Peik’s demolition, Roberts-Davis said, there are no immediate plans on how the space would be used.

The budgeting, design and construction for Eddy Hall could see the space being open and accessible to students by late 2026 or early 2027, according to Roberts-Davis. Peik Hall’s demolition would likely begin after Eddy Hall reopens.

Fraser Hall’s construction is not being covered by HEAPR funding, despite how similar the renovation process is to HEAPR repairs.

According to Swanson, HEAPR funding is primarily meant to be a “catch-all” for campus projects. The Fraser Hall renovations are not only bigger but will also change the function of the building, which means the funds had to be requested separately.

“These are not glamorous kinds of projects, but they are really essential to keeping the campus running,” Swanson said.

Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday the names of members appointed to a task force created to assist in decision-making for the University of Minnesota’s health care system.

The members selected include Dean of the Medical School Jakub Tolar, Regent Penny Wheeler and Dean of the School of Nursing Connie Delaney.

The group was created to help the University’s healthcare system find better ways to support itself and to ensure it helps Minnesotans receive the best possible care in the most financially sustainable way.

“We are well-positioned to help solve Minnesota’s health care challenges and we are eager to partner with the state and communities to do so,” Tolar said in a statement after the initial announcement of the task force’s creation.

The executive order was signed by Walz on Aug. 10. The task force will be led by former State Health Commissioner Jan Malcom, who is also a University alum.

Senator Melissa Wiklund was also appointed on Tuesday by Senate majority leader Kari Dziedzic to serve as a part of the task force.

University leaders, including Interim President Jeff Ettinger, thanked Walz for creating the task force.

“The Governor’s Task Force is not just about continuing the University’s long history in educating, researching and providing the highest quality of health care well into the future,” Ettinger said in a statement on Thursday. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop a path to provide world-class health care to all Minnesotans.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A number of lawsuits have been filed against the University of Minnesota after a large data breach exposing at least seven million social security numbers was reported in mid-July.

One of the class-action lawsuits, brought by Jasmyn Martin –– a former women’s volleyball player for the Gophers, was filed against the University on Aug. 29. The suit claims the University did not take the proper steps in protecting students’ private data.

As opposed to a civil lawsuit, where Martin would be suing the University individually, class-action means other students and faculty affected by the data breach can join the suit and receive a part of a potential pay out.

“As a former Gopher student-athlete, I hope that this breach represents a learning experience for the University and that it takes steps to audit computer systems and databases and protect individuals’ confidential information going forward,” Martin said.

Martin attended the University for two years, when she provided her social security number (SSN) and other personal data, like medical and banking information.

Including Martin’s case, Kate Baxter-Kauf –– one of the lawyers representing Martin, said at least six lawsuits have been filed against the University so far, and most are trying for class-action status as well.

The first of these lawsuits to be made public was filed by Geoff Dittberner and Mary Wint, two former University employees. Both Dittberner and Wint were required to give their SSNs and personal identifiable information (PII) for employment purposes.

“UMN’s Data Breach resulted in the theft and exposure of confidential data, including social security numbers and other PII. Exposure of this type of data puts individuals at a significant and prolonged risk of fraud and identity theft,” Dittberner and Wint’s lawsuit reads.

The pair is being represented by Zimmerman Reed and is also seeking class-action status. Dittberner and Wint’s lawyers declined to comment.

The breach was first reported on July 21 by Cyber Express, a cyber security news site. 

The University’s database had been accessed without their knowledge. This allegedly led to unauthorized transfer of information, including over seven million unique SSNs and other private data.

The data extracted dates back to 1989 and includes personal information from current and past students, faculty and applicants to the University.

The University sent students and faculty an email notifying them of the breach on Aug. 22.

In a statement to students, faculty and staff, the University said “We investigate these situations immediately and fully, and are committed to keeping the community informed as additional, relevant information becomes available.”

According to University director of public relations Jake Ricker, the University did not comment right away to allow for more time to verify if the breach had actually occurred and that data was stolen.

“Investigations of this nature take extensive time to conduct thoroughly and correctly so accurate notification can be sent to affected individuals,” said Ricker in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

Baxter-Kauf said there are ways organizations like the University could better protect themselves against an attack of this nature.

“There is a tendency to think that data breaches and hacks like this are just sort of inevitable, and that they’re something that happens and there’s nothing you can do about that, and that has not been my experience,” Baxter-Kauf said.

According to the lawsuit, under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, organizations like the University must “establish appropriate security safeguards for all records containing data on individuals.” 

The University has policies and procedures to respond to a data security breach, which states it “will provide timely and appropriate notice to affected individuals when there has been a breach of security involving private data about them.

Baxter-Kauf said they discovered the University may have not been following its cyber security regulations as well as they should have been.

“Educational institutions, especially big colleges and places that have lots of information like the University of Minnesota does, really need to do a better job of keeping track of data,” Baxter-Kauf said.

Both the St. Paul and Minneapolis Public School Districts also had data breach incidents this last year.

The Board of Regents held a non-public meeting on Tuesday to discuss the two lawsuits filed.

“You cannot get any more personal than social security numbers and I hope that the University takes greater precautions in the future to protect this highly personal and confidential information,” Martin said.

As the University of Minnesota begins the academic year, the Board of Regents discussed future plans at the September board meeting on Friday. 

The regents officially began the search for the 18th University president, and also discussed the future of the University-Fairview Health contract and the impacts of their public safety initiatives.

“I’m confident we will hire a dynamic, inclusive and visionary leader to advance the U of M and our service to the state,” said board chair Janie Mayeron.

The search for the 18th University of Minnesota president begins

The University is beginning its search for its 18th president after former president Joan Gabel left in June.

To assist with the search, the University has employed WittKieffer, a national search firm, as its executive search consultant. They will collaborate with the University search committee, which is expected to hold its first meeting in October.

Regents spoke to the WittKieffer team about what they want to see in potential candidates.

The chair of the search committee, Regent Mary Davenport, said one criterion for the University’s next president is for them to connect more with students, faculty and the Minnesota legislature.

“I hope that they hear a board moving forward together — with pride, with ambition, with excitement and ready to work fully with our next leader,” Davenport said to prospective candidates.

UMN and Fairview Health’s future

Interim President Jeff Ettinger discussed the future for the University and its longtime health partner, Fairview Health.

“Time is obviously of the essence, with a decision due by the end of the year on giving notice whether to renew the contract with Fairview Health Systems beyond 2026,” Ettinger said.

Fairview and the University first began affiliations in 1997. The agreement expanded in 2019, putting M Health Fairview into effect through Dec. 31, 2026, with the option to sign for a 10-year extension in 2023.

Medical School Dean Jakub Tolar said many improvements have been made since the beginning of M Health Fairview’s contract. Tolar also said the past five years of the partnership were the best out of the 30 years they have been working together.

“We have not done this alone. Our Fairview partners have been with us at every single point,” Tolar said. “This is a partnership, and I am deeply grateful to the front-line staff at Fairview that have risen to the challenges.”

Public safety in the 2023-2024 academic year

The University implemented additional safety measures across campus last summer in preparation for the 2023-2024 academic year. According to Ettinger and Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations  Myron Frans, these new measures had a positive impact across campus.

Frans discussed the new practices that had been rolled out over the summer in student residence halls. He said the turnstiles and additional video monitoring in Pioneer Hall, as well as the additional locks on student housing bathrooms, have proven successful.

“Over the summer, our housing and residential staff have elevated their safety and security efforts to create an environment where every student can feel safe and cared for,” Frans said.

The University’s police department began partnering with the Minneapolis Police Department, the Metro Transit Police Department, the state patrol and the county sheriff to allocate more overtime to allow for increased patrols on and near campus.

“It takes everyone to participate, and we’ve said this time and time again, but safety is everyone’s concern,” Frans said.

Editor’s Note: This story contains themes of depression and suicide.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School have begun a four-year research project with the intent of using electrical signals in the brain to diagnose severe mental health conditions, like suicidality.

The goal of the project is to assist doctors and clinicians in diagnosing underlying mental health conditions, like severe depression, in their early stages. The project, called Fast, Reliable Electrical Unconscious Detection (FREUD) is being led by University psychiatrist Dr. Alik Widge.

“Sometimes, when a person is experiencing such symptoms, they’re reluctant to disclose them to a clinician because that would require admitting to themselves that they need help, but they also want that help,” Widge said.

The first few years of the project would be dedicated to developing and testing with a long-term goal of simplifying it so it could be used widely and easily. The research will focus on observing electrical biomarkers in the brain. 

The subject would be shown some familiar images, like the Minneapolis skyline as well as unfamiliar images –– like a place they have never visited, just to calibrate the machine’s reaction to their brain’s natural reactions.

If a subject who suffers from severe mental health symptoms sees images relating to death, and those biomarkers show the same sense of familiarity as they did with the more tame set of images, it could tip clinicians off that the subject has thoughts of death.

“The conflict in whether or not to disclose their symptoms creates electrical signals in their brain that we think we can detect, by showing the person various images related to death and non-death-related themes,” Widge said.

The University will be working closely with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Washington, which will both be providing machine learning expertise to the program, according to Widge. The team will also be collaborating with Deliberate.ai and Intheon, two industry partners, who will be providing technical expertise on the project.

The funding for this project came from a four-year award given by the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a part of their Neural Evidence Aggregation Tool (NEAT) program. The program’s primary goal is to reduce veteran suicides.

According to a 2021 paper published as part of the Costs of War initiative from Brown University, the number of suicides committed by active-duty members and veterans of the U.S. military since Sept. 11, 2001 is over four times more than personnel killed in action post-9/11. 

DARPA program manager for NEAT, Dr. Greg Witkop, said the amount of military personnel killed in action compared to the much higher number who lost their lives to suicide is directly what inspired the DARPA program.

“If you think about that, we have lost four times the number to suicide than were actually killed in-theater in 20 years of war, which is what motivates this program,” Witkop said.

Witkop added many people, not just veterans, who have lost their lives to suicide also may not have displayed symptoms of a pre-existing mental illness or had symptoms that went undiagnosed. Giving clinicians additional screening information, as FREUD intends to do, could help save many more lives, according to Witkop.

Some of the technologies Witkop said the University team would be experimenting with include eye trackers and monitoring heart rate in conjunction with observing the patterns of the brain’s biomarkers to see how the body responds. 

Witkop added in collaborating with companies like Deliberate.ai and Intheon, the technology coming out of this project could be capable of picking up on patterns within the brain that most humans would miss.

“We’re gonna be asking these algorithms to help us find patterns so that we can make meaning of those in real-time,” Witkop said. “We absolutely are incorporating those technologies and those methods to give us better information.”

Witkop added the end result could look like an electroencephalogram, where the patient wears a head-mounted device detecting the brain’s electrical biomarkers.

The research to come out of FREUD would be a “massive boon” to the industry, said Dr. Alex Herman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University. The only ways for clinicians to diagnose their patients currently are by hearing what the patient is willing to share, according to Herman.

“Diagnosis is entirely based on psychiatric exams or interviews, combined with the history of symptoms. There are no current diagnostic tests available for clinical use,” Herman said.

For suicide prevention resources, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org.

Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health announced on Thursday the planned merger between the two companies has been dropped.

A Sanford Health spokesperson told the Minnesota Daily that “Sanford Health initiated the decision to discontinue the merger process.” MPR News reported Sanford’s board of trustees made the decision to stop the merger during a Thursday meeting and informed Fairview CEO James Hereford later in the day.

“Without support for this transaction from certain Minnesota stakeholders, we have determined it is in the best interest of Fairview Health Services to discontinue the merger process,” Hereford said in a statement issued Thursday.

The proposed merger between the two health systems was announced in November but faced pushback from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Sanford CEO and President Bill Gassen said in his statement the benefits of combining with Fairview had compelled Sanford “to exhaust all potential pathways to completing our proposed merger.”