DARPA Triage Challenge

Background
The DARPA Triage Challenge is a three-year effort aimed at galvanizing the discovery of novel traumatic injury signatures to enhance triage decision-making in mass-casualty settings. The challenge is under the authority of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Biological Technologies Office (BTO). The goal is to support medical responders in scalable, timely, and accurate triage, particularly in mass casualty incidents when medical resources are limited relative to the need.

Grant Details
The DARPA Triage Challenge aims to bring together multi-disciplinary teams and industries to identify physiological signatures and develop sensor and algorithm strategies for complex MCI settings. The challenge involves both real-world and virtual competitions for primary and secondary triage. The primary goal is to identify physiological signatures of traumatic injuries that can be captured with stand-off and contact-based sensors to enable medical responders to maximize lives saved and optimize the use of medical resources in complex MCI settings. The priority is development of these physiological signature-based models, not development of new sensor or sensor platform technology.

Eligibility Requirements
Teams may enter the DARPA Triage Challenge via five distinct tracks: Track A (DARPA-funded), Track B (Self-funded), Track C (Self-funded), Track D (DARPA-funded), and Track E (Self-funded). Teams planning to register for Tracks B, C, or E do not need to respond to the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) but should plan to register on the DARPA Triage Challenge website when team registration opens. DARPA may fund up to seven teams in Track A and up to six teams in Track D. DARPA-funded teams are not eligible for prizes in Challenge 1 and Challenge 2 but are eligible for prizes in the Final Challenge.

Period of Performance
The DARPA Triage Challenge is a three-year effort with three sequential 12-month phases for Primary Triage and Secondary Triage in parallel, each culminating in a challenge event. The competition events will be held each year, with a mix of in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats. Additionally, technical workshops will be hosted at specific intervals throughout the challenge.

Grant Value
The total prize pool for the DARPA Triage Challenge is approximately $7 million. The individual awards vary based on the competition track, with potential awards ranging from $200k up to $2.5M per team.

Place of Performance
The physical simulations of casualty scenarios for Real-World competitors will be held at various locations in the continental United States. Virtual competitions will be conducted remotely via online submissions.