# Human-centered CT-based CADx Tools for Traumatic Torso Hemorrhage

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2024 · $282,375

## Abstract

Trauma is responsible for 180,000 deaths annually in the United States and accounts for 59% of deaths in the
population younger than 45 years. 86% of preventable deaths are related to sequalae of massive torso
hemorrhage. Rapid precision diagnostic tools are needed to triage patients for early activation of massive
transfusion protocols and urgent surgical or angiographic hemostatic intervention to circumvent the vicious
cycle of acidosis, coagulopathy, hypothermia, and death resulting from exsanguination. Whole-body CT
angiography (WBCTA) is the workhorse screening and surgical planning modality for torso hemorrhage. Lethal
but preventable hemorrhage typically arises from pelvic fractures and solid organ lacerations, manifesting on
WBCTA as foci of contrast extravasation and pooled cavitary hemorrhage (e.g., pelvic hematoma, hemothorax,
or hemoperitoneum). Rapid assessment of WBCTA can result in earlier intervention, with associated survival
benefit, but reader fatigue, study volume, reading room distractions, and injuries involving multiple body
regions remain sources of diagnostic error and interpretation delays. Assessment of organ injury severity,
pelvic fracture severity, and overall hemorrhage burden remains reader dependent and subjective. Clinical
tools including the Shock Index have many confounders that impede forecasting of actionable hemorrhage-
related outcomes. Automated WBCTA computer aided diagnosis (CADx) tools that detect bleeding pelvic
fractures and organ lacerations, classify severity grade, and deliver precise voxelwise volumetric
measurements of multicavitary hemorrhage burden will greatly accelerate and standardize image analysis,
reduce turnaround time for reporting of critical results, improve the accuracy and objectivity of clinical decision
making, and ultimately reduce time to life-saving hemorrhage control interventions. To capitalize on the
benefits of automated point-of-care CT-based CADx tools in the fast-paced, and safety critical trauma care
setting, such tools must be rapid, accurate, generalizable, and elicit a high level of end-user trust. To minimize
bias, ensure clinical utility, and maximize robustness for turn-key deployment in future multicenter clinical trials,
the tools must scale to large diverse populations, and achieve human factors engineering goals established
through expert target user input. Our team will bring to bear combined technical and clinical expertise in trauma
radiology, medical image processing, and human-centered software design to create an orchestrated suite of
rapid, accurate, clinically relevant, and user-centered CADx tools for torso hemorrhage. In Aim 1, we will curate
and annotate a uniquely large dataset of consecutively selected admission trauma WBCTAs. In Aim 2, we will
use this big data approach and human-centered design principles to develop a suite of interactive high-trust
CADx tools. In Aim 3, we will assess generalizability with a large out-of-sample dataset and asse...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10912442
- **Project number:** 5R01GM148987-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** David Dreizin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $282,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10912442

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10912442, Human-centered CT-based CADx Tools for Traumatic Torso Hemorrhage (5R01GM148987-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10912442. Licensed CC0.

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