Project Grant K23HL179403

The University of Iowa received a $188,676 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), effective July 1, 2026, through April 30, 2031. The award funds development of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool utilizing machine learning (ML) to predict extubation readiness in premature infants requiring mechanical ventilation in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The deliverables include an ML-based prediction model incorporating physiologic data from continuous vital signs and ventilator parameters alongside clinical data, validated across two clinically distinct medical centers and compared against published logistic regression algorithms.

The grant also supports development of a unified protocol for evaluating neonatal extubation readiness using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, informed by surveys and interviews with clinical stakeholders. The project aims to identify evidence-based informatics implementation strategies to facilitate adoption of the prediction model in a future multicenter clinical trial. By addressing the critical gap in standardized extubation readiness assessment tools, this research seeks to reduce infant morbidity and mortality associated with both prolonged mechanical ventilation and premature extubation failure, particularly bronchopulmonary dysplasia and other chronic lung diseases in at-risk neonatal populations.