Setting clearer time limits for ventilator (breathing machine) care
Official title: Quantifying Uncertainty to Inform Time-Limited Trials of Invasive Mechanical Ventilation
Funded at Boston University Medical Campus · NIH-11107912 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will develop ways to help doctors and families decide how long to try ventilator (breathing machine) support for people with sudden severe breathing failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston University Medical Campus NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2025 |
| Project end | May 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $761,599 |
| NIH project number | 1R01HL179666-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11107912 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People newly started on invasive mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure and their families would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People not on ventilators, those already established on long-term ventilator dependence, or patients in settings without time for a planned trial may not benefit from this work.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one is put on a ventilator for sudden severe breathing failure, this work aims to reduce uncertainty about how long to continue that support. The team will analyze clinical data and build tools to estimate how likely someone is to get better over different time frames. They plan to define practical time-limited trial lengths and guide which patients might benefit from a trial. The goal is to make shared decision-making clearer so care matches patients' goals.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help patients and families avoid unwanted prolonged ventilation and make clearer, goal-aligned decisions about life-sustaining care.
How similar studies have gone: Time-limited trials are recommended by expert groups but there is limited empirical evidence on optimal durations and decision tools, so this work is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston University Medical Campus
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Law, Anica C — Boston University Medical Campus
- Study coordinator: Law, Anica C
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Advancing Acute Respiratory Infection Care for Kids on Home Ventilators
This grant aims to improve how doctors and families manage acute respiratory infections in children who rely on invasive long-term home ventilation.
-
A Tablet-Based Emotion Regulation Program for Surrogate Decision-Makers of ICU Patients on Ventilation
A randomized trial tests a brief tablet program to help people who decide for ICU patients on ventilation feel less anxious and make better decisions.
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Optimizing pain relief for children on mechanical ventilation
A large, multi-site trial tests whether adding non-opioid pain medicines to standard opioid care can reduce pain and lower opioid use in children on breathing machines in PICUs.
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Role of titin in diaphragm weakness during mechanical ventilation
This grant studies how the diaphragm’s core proteins work together, especially titin and myosin, to understand why diaphragm weakness happens during mechanical ventilation.
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Time-limited trials to guide invasive ventilation decisions
A scientific team is testing how short, structured trials of life-support in ICU patients with acute respiratory failure can help patients and families choose the best path.
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How breathing machines can harm the kidneys
Doctors will look at how ventilators change kidney filtering and salt handling in people who are critically ill to help prevent kidney damage.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.