BARDA Backs AI Ultrasound to Bolster National Trauma Response

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 01, 2026

In a move that signals a significant shift in national emergency preparedness, a key U.S. government agency is investing heavily in artificial intelligence to combat one of trauma's most silent killers: internal bleeding. Flosonics Medical, a Canadian medical device innovator, recently announced a major development contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to create an AI-powered enhancement for its existing ultrasound technology. The partnership aims to equip first responders and clinicians with a tool that can detect life-threatening hemorrhage within minutes of injury, a capability that could prove decisive in mass casualty scenarios.

The contract, with an initial value of approximately $15 million and a potential total of $70 million, will fund the development of FloPredict. This AI software is designed to integrate with Flosonics' FDA-cleared FloPatch, a wireless, wearable ultrasound sensor. The collaboration falls under BARDA's Burn and Blast Medical Countermeasures program, highlighting its strategic importance for national resilience against threats ranging from industrial accidents to nuclear detonations.

The Unseen Enemy: A Critical Gap in Trauma Care

Uncontrolled bleeding is the leading cause of preventable death after traumatic injury. For decades, emergency medicine has operated under the principle of the "golden hour," the critical window where rapid intervention can mean the difference between life and death. Yet, identifying internal hemorrhage remains a formidable challenge, especially outside the controlled environment of a hospital.

"In a mass casualty event, the entire system is overwhelmed," explained a veteran trauma surgeon not affiliated with the project. "You don't have a CT scanner for every patient, and a standard ultrasound exam requires a trained operator and time we simply don't have. We are often forced to make life-or-death decisions based on deteriorating vital signs, which can be a late indicator that a patient is already in serious trouble."

Current diagnostic methods have limitations in chaotic settings. The Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) exam is a valuable point-of-care tool, but its accuracy depends heavily on the operator's skill and it can miss certain types of bleeds. The definitive gold standard, a CT scan, is resource-intensive and impractical for triaging dozens or hundreds of victims simultaneously. This diagnostic gap leaves clinicians in a race against time, trying to identify which patients need immediate surgical intervention or massive transfusions before it's too late.

An AI Lifeline: How FloPredict Changes the Game

Flosonics Medical aims to close this gap by combining wearable ultrasound with sophisticated AI. The foundation of the system is FloPatch, a small, adhesive patch worn on the neck over the carotid artery. Using Doppler ultrasound, it provides a non-invasive, real-time stream of data on a patient's hemodynamic status—essentially, how well blood is flowing through their system. The device is already in use in over 30 U.S. hospitals, helping clinicians guide fluid administration for patients in shock or with sepsis.

The new BARDA-funded project, FloPredict, adds a crucial layer of intelligence. The AI algorithm is being trained to analyze the complex Doppler waveforms collected by FloPatch and recognize the subtle hemodynamic patterns that signal the onset of internal hemorrhage, often before a patient's blood pressure begins to drop precipitously.

“Partnering with the U.S. government on a capability of this importance is a milestone for Flosonics,” said Joe Eibl, CEO and co-founder of Flosonics Medical. “There is a real gap in how clinicians detect internal bleeding in the critical minutes after injury, and this award lets us build toward closing it. It also reflects the broader potential of FloPatch: the same real-time assessment clinicians rely on in critical care today can be extended to the settings where fast answers matter most.”

The goal is to create a tool that is not only fast and accurate but also simple enough for any clinician or first responder to use. “We built FloPatch so that any clinician could see a patient's physiology in real time at the bedside, without waiting for a specialist. FloPredict will apply that same principle in trauma care,” added Dr. Jon-Emile Kenny, the company's CMO and co-founder. “The goal is software that recognizes hemodynamic patterns preceding deterioration from hemorrhage and surfaces them early enough to act on.”

A Strategic Bet on National Resilience

The involvement of BARDA, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), elevates this partnership beyond a typical medical device development deal. BARDA’s mission is to secure the nation against public health emergencies, including chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. Its funding is a clear indicator that the U.S. government views rapid hemorrhage detection as a critical component of national security.

In the harrowing scenario of a nuclear event or large-scale terrorist attack, medical infrastructure would be instantly overwhelmed. The ability to quickly and accurately triage casualties—identifying those with survivable injuries who need immediate intervention for internal bleeding—would be paramount to saving the maximum number of lives. FloPredict is being developed precisely for such a scenario, offering objective, physiological data to guide the allocation of scarce resources like blood products, operating rooms, and surgical teams.

This investment aligns with BARDA's strategy of fostering dual-use technologies that can be integrated into routine care, ensuring their commercial sustainability and availability when a disaster strikes. By supporting a tool with applications in everyday emergency departments and ICUs, BARDA helps create a robust market that can be leveraged for national preparedness without relying solely on government stockpiles.

From Bedside to Battlefield: The Path to Widespread Impact

The BARDA contract serves as a powerful validation of Flosonics' core technology, propelling the company from the critical care ward into the high-stakes arena of disaster response. However, the path from development to widespread field deployment involves surmounting several hurdles. Rigorous clinical trials will be needed to prove the AI's accuracy across diverse patient populations and injury types. Furthermore, seamless integration into the frantic workflow of emergency responders and military medics will require intuitive design and robust training protocols.

Despite these challenges, the potential for scalability is immense. If successful, FloPredict could become a standard tool for EMS crews at accident scenes, for military medics on the battlefield, and for disaster response teams across the globe. By providing early, actionable intelligence on a patient's condition, the technology promises to empower responders, optimize care, and ultimately give victims of trauma a better chance at survival.