COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) – A groundbreaking new study at Ohio State University could transform how suicide is detected and prevented in the U.S., potentially saving thousands of lives each year according to NBC4 Columbus.
Backed by a $19.5 million award from the National Institutes of Health, the ARTEMIS study—short for Analyses to Reveal Trajectories and Early Markers of Imminent Shifts in Suicidal States—aims to help providers better identify who is most at risk, and when intervention is critical.
“In the state of Ohio, we lose five people every day to suicide,” said Tony Coder, CEO of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation. “We lose a child every 34 hours. The highest rates of suicide are actually individuals over the age of 65. So those folks are going to the doctor more regularly.”
And that’s exactly where the study is focused—in healthcare settings, where nearly half of those who die by suicide have recently visited a doctor.
🧪 A New Approach to Mental Health Monitoring
Dr. Melanie Bozzay, a lead researcher in OSU’s Department of Psychiatry, said the challenge lies in real-time detection.
“We have this kind of challenge in clinical care about how to identify which patients need treatment and when,” Bozzay said. “This project will help providers make decisions over very short time periods—possibly in real time.”
The ARTEMIS study plans to recruit 13,500 participants nationwide, including 4,000 from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, beginning in January 2026. Participants, aged 18–55, will come from diverse risk backgrounds but share one commonality: they’ve recently visited a healthcare provider.
Using smartphone sensors, cognitive tasks, and mental health check-ins, researchers will track how individuals manage stress, sleep, and daily emotional changes.
“It’s kind of like monitoring insulin for diabetes or blood pressure for heart conditions,” Bozzay explained. “We’re trying to create a way to monitor mental health just as routinely.”
🔍 Data-Driven Insights Could Save Lives
Rather than relying on traditional suicide screenings—which often miss high-risk individuals—the ARTEMIS approach is continuous, personalized, and data-rich.
“That gives us a sense of how people are coping with stressors that are coming up,” said Bozzay. “What’s working, what’s not, and what might be signs that someone is really struggling.”
Coder believes the impact could be profound—especially as mental health becomes a greater part of primary care.
“We need folks to have the best tools to meet mental health needs, not just physical health,” he said. “Better outcomes at the doctor’s office could literally be lifesaving.”
