National Health Mission Area
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News
Aug 17, 2023Designing Conversational AI to Provide Medical Assistance on the Battlefield
Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL are working on a proof of concept for a conversational artificial intelligence agent that will be able to provide medical guidance to untrained soldiers in plain English, by applying knowledge gleaned from established care procedures. -
News
Aug 1, 2023Improving Patient Safety Outcomes With Precision Medicine
A collaboration between Johns Hopkins APL and Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore is applying data science expertise to combat preventable harms in the health care system, using the Precision Medicine Analytics Platform. -
News
Jul 27, 2023Johns Hopkins APL Restores Cold Sensation in Amputees’ Phantom Limbs
APL researchers have developed one of the world’s smallest, most intense refrigeration devices. The adhesive bandage-like device mimics the body’s natural and rapid ability to sense temperature, and bioengineers at the Lab are now using it to help amputees perceive a sense of cold in their phantom limbs. -
News
Jul 26, 2023Medics and Machines: Developing Robotic Technologies to Provide Assured Care in the Field
Johns Hopkins APL researchers are exploring how new capabilities in artificial intelligence, augmented reality and robotics might support collaborative intervention by teams of medics, AI-based virtual assistants and autonomous robots. -
News
Jun 21, 2023A Stimulating Option for Spinal Cord Injury Relief
Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating that a person can live with — as well as the most difficult to effectively treat. Johns Hopkins APL researchers are applying machine-learning techniques to enable existing technology to help restore autonomy and dignity to people who live with spinal cord injuries. -
News
May 16, 2023The Future of Pathogen Genomic Surveillance at Johns Hopkins APL
Future disease outbreaks aren’t probable, they’re inevitable. To prepare for those situations, researchers at APL are leveraging more than 30 years of public health and data analysis experience to develop strategies and tools that will best enable effective decision-making for outbreak response. -
Press Release
Mar 15, 2023New App Gives Emergency Responders Real-Time Data During Mass Casualty Incidents
Johns Hopkins APL is working with the federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a software application to help first responders and decision-makers stay up to date during national emergencies. -
News
Aug 10, 2022Ukraine Crisis Latest Activation for Johns Hopkins APL’s Disaster Response Corps
Through the Disaster Response Corps, APL is bringing its world-class expertise in data analytics, remote sensing, systems engineering and other relevant disciplines to monitor damaged medical infrastructure in Ukraine. -
Press Release
Jul 15, 2022Grabow Appointed National Health Mission Area Executive
Barry Grabow has been named mission area executive for Johns Hopkins APL’s National Health Mission Area, formally occupying a role he has held in an acting capacity since August. -
News
May 12, 2022Fatigue Monitoring System Holds Promise in Preventing Warfighter Injuries
Scientists at Johns Hopkins APL are working on a system to monitor physical fatigue in near-real time. Such a capability could prevent countless musculoskeletal injuries, and fits into a larger portfolio of work at the Laboratory focused on predictive health and human performance modeling. -
News
Mar 31, 2022Johns Hopkins Uses Augmented Reality to Deliver High-Quality, Low-Cost Pediatric CPR Feedback
To improve the quality of pediatric CPR, immersive technology specialists at APL and pediatric emergency physicians from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center are developing an augmented-reality-based CPR coaching system to be used in community care settings. -
News
Feb 2, 2022With Project Wonder, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins APL Seek to Generate Discoveries From Data
Wonder is, by its very nature, impossible to quantify. But, convinced of the fundamental role of wonder in the scientific enterprise, a team from Johns Hopkins Medicine and APL is leveraging the power of data to foster wonder, inspire novel insights and push the frontiers of precision medicine. -
Press Release
Jan 18, 2022Johns Hopkins APL’s Stoll Earns Homeland Security Award for Program Management
APL’s Robert Stoll has received a Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate 2021 William Deso Excellence in Program Management Award for his work on biothreat challenges. -
Press Release
Nov 10, 2021Johns Hopkins APL Paves the Way for Rapid, On-the-Spot Testing for Emergent Pathogens
Scientists at APL have created a foolproof, accurate, on-the-spot test for detecting RNA viruses that uses mature, off-the-shelf technology. -
Press Release
Sep 30, 2021With Basestack, Johns Hopkins APL Enables Crucial Genomics Work Around the World
Genomics work has historically been the province of small, highly specialized laboratories with access to top-of-the-line hardware, infrastructure support and technical expertise. Now, a software platform developed largely by APL is making advanced genomics tools accessible and user-friendly for scientists and public health workers around the world. -
Feature Story
Apr 26, 2021‘We Had to Get This Right’: How Johns Hopkins Built the Coronavirus Tracking Global Dashboard: An Oral History
As COVID-19 cases multiplied in early 2020, so too did the number of users turning to the Johns Hopkins University dashboard, which tracked global cases of COVID-19 in real time and quickly became the go-to source for the public, the news media and even the U.S. government. But the system’s early infrastructure buckled under the sheer proliferation of data as cases continued to explode worldwide. This is the story of how the most trusted, accurate source of information available on the pandemic came to be, and how it became the data source relied upon globally for near-real-time tracking of the biggest health crisis this century. -
Press Release
Mar 18, 2021Amputee Makes Music with the Modular Prosthetic Limb
In 2018, Johnny Matheny became the first person to take home the world’s most advanced Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) — developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland — for a yearlong opportunity to determine how the arm functions in the real world. -
Press Release
Feb 19, 2021Johns Hopkins APL Partners with CDC to Protect Frontline Health Care Workers
Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, APL is collaborating with the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality on a study to characterize and analyze the airborne transmission of infectious agents in hospital settings — with the goal of reducing risks to frontline health care workers and patients. -
Press Release
Feb 1, 2021Latest Discovery Awards Fund Johns Hopkins APL-Led Projects in Public Health Messaging, Detecting Pathogens and Detecting Unconscious Bias
Three principal investigators from APL were among researchers from across the Johns Hopkins enterprise to earn funding in the sixth round of the Johns Hopkins Discovery Awards program. -
Press Release
Jan 25, 2021Johns Hopkins Researchers Tap Bluetooth Technology to Keep Health Workers Safe
Johns Hopkins APL researchers are working with Johns Hopkins Medicine and a technology startup to explore the use of Bluetooth Low Energy beacons with ultra-wideband capabilities to study the ability of health care workers to maintain safe distances from one another. -
Press Release
Jan 14, 2021Johns Hopkins APL Partners with InductiveHealth on Disease Informatics for Health Agencies
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists into a second year and conducting disease surveillance continues to be an important component of public health responses, APL has entered into an agreement with InductiveHealth Informatics to facilitate access by additional state and local governments to the APL-developed Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics, or ESSENCE. -
Press Release
Dec 3, 2020Johns Hopkins APL and Howard County Partner on Community Serology Study
APL is partnering with the Howard County Government to develop a study that will determine SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in the county population. The APL-led study will leverage the Laboratory’s expertise in health surveillance and data science to help provide Howard County leadership with a clearer picture of the virus’ spread through the county population. -
Press Release
Nov 23, 2020Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Resource Center Named as a Time Magazine Best Invention of 2020
Time named the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center to its list of 2020 Best Inventions, calling it “2020’s Go-To Data Source.” Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL provide essential data collection, curation and aggregation for the site, which delivers the most accurate information available on the COVID-19 pandemic. -
Press Release
Nov 3, 2020Second Annual National Health Symposium Event Summary Available
The event summary for the second annual National Health Symposium, organized by APL, is now available. -
Press Release
Oct 9, 2020Medical Support for the Next Generation of Military Operations
In a paper recently published by Military Medicine, APL’s Adam Cohen and Sarah Herman join several co-authors to summarize the major concepts discussed at a gathering of military surgeons and propose a more effective approach to prolonged field care research. -
Press Release
Sep 28, 2020Better and Safer Care: Johns Hopkins APL Leads Effort to Improve Performance of Medical Device Systems
APL is leading the development of a technical framework to guide organizations and industry in developing interoperable, safe, effective and secure medical systems that will deliver the next generation of medical care, in addition to providing a framework for implementing remote and autonomous care where appropriate. -
Press Release
Sep 8, 2020Johns Hopkins APL, Medicine Researchers Apply Data Fusion to Improve Breast Cancer Detection
Researchers at APL are collaborating with radiologists from Johns Hopkins Medicine to develop an upstream data fusion (UDF) method — leveraging artificial intelligence — that promises to significantly improve the accuracy of breast cancer screening. -
Press Release
Jun 30, 2020FDA’s M. Khair ElZarrad to Keynote Session II of Johns Hopkins APL’s National Health Virtual Speaker Series
M. Khair ElZarrad, the Deputy Director of the Office of Medical Policy in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, will be the featured speaker in the July installment of APL’s National Health Virtual Speaker Series. -
Press Release
Apr 15, 2020Two Ventilator Concepts Emerge From Design Thinking Workshop Led by Johns Hopkins APL
Experts from across the Johns Hopkins enterprise gathered virtually on March 25 to discuss ways to address the projected shortfall in ventilators required during an anticipated surge of critically ill COVID-19 patients. -
Press Release
Apr 15, 2020Johns Hopkins APL to Host Virtual Event Exploring ‘Operationalizing’ Artificial Intelligence in Health
This event will bring together partners in the community — federal government, Department of Defense, academia and industry — to explore the role of AI in real-world health care settings. -
Press Release
Mar 30, 2020Johns Hopkins APL Scientist Developing Device to Reduce Blindness in Poor and Rural Areas
George Coles, a medical-device researcher at Johns Hopkins APL, is part of a team that has developed a handheld device that allows surgeons to quickly and inexpensively perform sight-saving cataract surgery. -
Press Release
Mar 25, 2020Johns Hopkins APL-Developed Health Surveillance Tool Augments Nation’s COVID-19 Response
As the world grapples with COVID-19, and the United States works to ramp up testing and mitigation capabilities, a public health electronic surveillance tool developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is helping to fill gaps by tracking the virus’ spread symptomatically. -
Press Release
Feb 18, 2020JHU Researchers Begin to Tackle Bias in AI Used in Disease Diagnosis and Health Care
Every year, millions of patients receive medical diagnoses, care and treatment plans based on algorithms. But a recent study finding a lack of ethnic diversity in the source data for one widely used treatment-decision algorithm has researchers suggesting that similar tools used by hospitals, health care systems and government agencies could be doing more harm than good. -
Press Release
Feb 14, 2020POSTPONED: Second Annual Health Symposium to Focus on Operationalizing Artificial Intelligence
On April 21–22, 2020, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, is hosting its second annual National Health Symposium. -
Press Release
Oct 1, 2019Researchers Share Vision for a Better Visual Prosthesis
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory intend to capitalize on recent advances in computer vision — including developments in object recognition, depth sensing, and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technologies — to augment the capabilities of two commercial retinal prostheses. -
Press Release
Jun 27, 2019Inaugural National Health Symposium Event Summary Available
The official event summary for the inaugural National Health Symposium, held March 5–6 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, is available. -
Press Release
Jun 20, 2019Leveraging Deep Learning for Eye Health Requires More Attention to Technical, Clinical Considerations
Much has been written recently about the success of artificial intelligence and deep learning systems in accurately detecting and diagnosing ocular diseases, and research results of new applications are being published with increasing frequency. But less is known about the practical considerations for actually clinically deploying DL algorithms for medical imaging. -
Press Release
Jun 4, 2019Johns Hopkins Team Develops Digital Health Roadmap
Despite the common wisdom that more is always better, when it comes to finding reliable health information in the digital age, that adage has mostly led to a crowded, unregulated and confusing place. -
Press Release
May 30, 2019Hopkins Researchers Release Tool to Enable Better Health Care
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Johns Hopkins Medicine have launched the Precision Medicine Analytics Platform (PMAP), a new data analytics tool that will facilitate big-data research across the JHU enterprise and enable clinicians to make discoveries and improve their patient care. -
Press Release
Mar 27, 2019Five Ways to Improve Hospital Labor Productivity
In 2017, U.S. health care spending increased 3.9 percent to $3.5 trillion — close to 18 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. But more isn’t always good; this growth has broad negative impacts on federal, state and local budgets, as well as on employers and individuals. -
Press Release
Mar 5, 2019APL’s National Health Mission Area Ready for South by Southwest Spotlight
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is taking its health surveillance expertise to the 2019 South by Southwest Interactive Festival, set for March 8–17 in Austin, Texas. -
Press Release
Jan 30, 2019Bridging the Health Divide from Research to Operations: Johns Hopkins APL Hosts Inaugural National Health Symposium
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory will host “Bridging the Health Divide: From Research to Operations,” an inaugural National Health Symposium, held in partnership with the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) on March 5–6, 2019 -
Press Release
Jan 8, 2019Study: Digital Health Companies Have Minimal Impact on Disease Burden, Health Care Costs
Leading digital health companies have not yet demonstrated substantial impact on disease burden or cost in the U.S. health care system, according to a new study published in the January issue of Health Affairs. -
Press Release
Dec 17, 2018Johns Hopkins APL and Medicine Scientists Develop Tool to Reduce Healthcare Associated Infections
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 1 million healthcare associated infections (HAIs) occur annually, and many of the approximately 100,000 associated deaths occur in patients with compromised immune systems. While there are signs of a downward trend in this infection rate as hospitals adopt new protocols, these infections continue to represent a significant — and preventable — burden. -
Press Release
Oct 12, 2018Johns Hopkins APL Experts Contribute to National Academy of Medicine Publication on Ways to Drive Interoperability in Health Care
While health care has made great strides in recent years with the proliferation of electronic health records (EHRs), interoperability among health care technologies remains very limited, says a new National Academy of Medicine (NAM) special publication, co-chaired by Johns Hopkins APL National Health Mission Area (NHMA) Executive Sezin Palmer, patient safety advocate Peter Pronovost and Michael M. E. Johns of Emory University’s schools of Medicine and Public Health. -
Press Release
Oct 1, 2018Do Robot Swarms Work Like Brains?
A new study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (SOM) and Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) will combine research into navigational planning in brains with autonomous robotic swarms to drive advances in both fields. -
Press Release
Aug 2, 2018APL, Navy Teaming Up to Improve Military Health Care
Health systems engineers from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, are working with the Navy to expand the role of Navy hospital corpsmen stateside and improve access to medical care for military members through a pilot program called Connected Corpsmen in the Community (CCC). -
Press Release
Jul 24, 2018APL Health Initiative Targets Real-Time Disaster Response
When a natural disaster strikes, government agencies quickly activate a decentralized and often disparate network of response teams to collect, analyze and operationalize all types of data and information. However, current data-management strategies and traditional epidemiological methods are not well-equipped to deal with the growing complexities of today’s disaster landscape. -
Press Release
Jun 28, 2018Johns Hopkins Research Points to Increasing Role of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging and Diagnostics
The advent of electronic medical records with large image databases, along with advances in artificial intelligence with deep learning, is offering medical professionals new opportunities to dramatically improve image analysis and disease diagnostics. -
Press Release
Mar 5, 2018From Advances in Health Care Tech to Touching the Sun, APL Experts Bring Innovation to 2018 South by Southwest
Engineers and scientists from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) will discuss their innovative work on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and health care technology advances at 2018’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival, held March 9–18 in Austin, Texas. -
Press Release
Feb 23, 2018APL Retinal Prosthetics Tech Offers Blind Patients a New Outlook
One in 4,000 people suffer from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disorder that leads to loss of cells in the retina and progressive loss of vision. -
Press Release
Oct 12, 2017Public Health Officials Leverage APL-Developed Disease-Surveillance System to Manage Opioid Epidemic
Federal government and state public health officials are leveraging a disease surveillance system developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, to better track opioid-related deaths. -
Press Release
Oct 9, 2017New Research Allows Preservation of Therapeutics in Adverse Conditions
A recent study by biological engineers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, demonstrated a significant advancement in the preservation of particular types of medicines, known as protein expression systems, for field applications — enabling those medicines to be stored and reconstituted on site in adverse conditions. -
Press Release
Apr 19, 2017Johns Hopkins APL Collaborates with Facebook’s Building 8 to Develop Breakthrough Brain–Computer Interface Technologies
For the past decade, APL has led the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics (RP) Program, and in the process created the most advanced neurally controlled prosthetic limb in the world. Using this technology, patients whose bodies are paralyzed have been able to feed themselves, reached out to loved ones and even control a flight simulator. -
Press Release
Apr 10, 2017APL Helps Liberia Better Prepare for Health Threats
Nearly two years have passed since the deadly outbreak of Ebola in Liberia began to taper off, but the root causes of the epidemic — dilapidated health facilities, shortages of staff and equipment, and fractured trust in the system — persist. -
Press Release
Feb 9, 2017APL Researchers Gain Insight into Protecting Patients, Caregivers from Infectious Disease
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) have mapped the movements of a simulated pathogen through a medical biocontainment facility, taking a critical first step in developing protocols to prevent the spread of infectious disease and protect hospital patients and caregivers. -
Press Release
Oct 17, 2016Johns Hopkins inHealth and Applied Physics Laboratory Join Forces to Revolutionize Medicine
Johns Hopkins Medicine, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, today announced a joint effort to apply rigorous data analysis and systems engineering practices in an effort to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of disease. -
Press Release
Jan 12, 2016APL’s Modular Prosthetic Limb Reaches New Levels of Operability
A pioneering surgical technique has allowed an amputee to attach the Modular Prosthetic Limb developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) directly to his residual limb, enabling a greater range of motion and comfort than previously possible. -
Press Release
Sep 1, 2015Johns Hopkins APL, Wilmer Eye Institute to Develop Tools to Detect Age-Related Macular Degeneration
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop image analysis and machine-learning tools to detect age-related macular degeneration. -
Press Release
Feb 11, 2015Researchers Reduce Shunt Maintenance for Hydrocephalus Patients
Shunts are the most common form of treatment for hydrocephalus, the excess fluid buildup in the ventricles of the brain. -
Press Release
Jan 14, 2015Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Receives $4 Million to Develop a Retinal Prosthesis
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Maryland, has received $4 million in funding from the Mann Fund to develop a next-generation retinal prosthesis system. -
Press Release
Dec 16, 2014Amputee Makes History with APL’s Modular Prosthetic Limb
A Colorado man made history at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) this summer when he became the first bilateral shoulder-level amputee to wear and simultaneously control two of the Laboratory’s Modular Prosthetic Limbs. -
Press Release
Sep 27, 2013Maryland High School Students to Help Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Create a Map of the Brain
This fall, about 2,000 juniors and seniors from high schools across Maryland will have the opportunity to help the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., process hundreds of thousands of high-resolution brain tissue images to create a picture of how the cortex — the outer part of the brain where most cognitive processes are thought to occur — is wired at a single neuron level. -
Press Release
Aug 31, 2012Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Partners with Hopkins Medicine on $8.9 Million Program to Improve Patient Safety
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) will partner with the Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality to design, implement and deploy an integrated set of interventions to reduce medical errors in intensive care units.