ÌÇÐÄVlog

Research topic

Digital health and health informatics

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Our research supports public, private, and non-profit sectors in improving health responses and advancements driving innovation at the intersection of technology and health that is scalable to deploy prevention and intervention programmes across organisational systems.

Research supporting both assessment and delivery of services for optimal health is accelerated by leveraging novel technologies and groundbreaking methodologies. At the ÌÇÐÄVlog, we push the boundaries of research into the use of digital health to provide more granular insights into health; and opportunities for enhancing patient and population health and wellbeing. Through advanced analytics techniques and data science in health informatics we enhance opportunities for clinical and public health interventions and prevention strategies.

Bolstered by our interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships, we conduct research using state-of-the-art wearable devices, ambulatory self-report and computing technologies to help manage depression, understand bone health and mobility, reduce stress, improve sleep, and deliver gamified interventions for promoting physical activity.

Experts in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering have developed a VR application based on cognitive behavioural therapy to support young people with body dysmorphic disorder. The PEDAL project is looking at VR and an exercise bike to help people with dementia to navigate their local environment.  The NEVERMIND e-health project implemented a smart shirt and a mobile application with lifestyle behavioural advice, mindfulness-based therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy for the self-management of depressive symptoms in patients with severe primary somatic conditions.

Experts in the Schools of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, and Health and Social Care use advanced health informatics methods to answer urgent epidemiological and clinical questions. AI and machine learning models have been developed for skin cancer detection, tooth identification and counting, hospital waiting list optimisation and prioritisation, identification of neural biomarkers that predict presence of depersonalization or derealization disorder among individuals who have experienced severe trauma or prolonged stress and anxiety.

Through our industry partnerships we enhance patients and population health and wellbeing while fostering business growth. In partnership with YuLife, a health insurance provider, we are conducting an RCT to evaluate and amplify the benefits to health and risk profile of customers who engage with the YuLife gamification app using the latest modelling techniques and research from the public health and wellbeing domain.

Research projects

Computational methods towards monitoring in-vivo hip joint loads during physical exercises (CHOOSE)

This project aims to develop a rapid and accurate method to quantify femoral neck loads during ballistic exercise training.

There are two objectives: the first is to quantify the effects of different ballistic exercises on peak femoral loads; and the second is to quantify the accuracy of using wearable sensors and machine learning in the prediction of femoral loads.

Team members

  • Dr Zainab Altai - Research Follow in the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences (SRES), ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Dr Bernard Liew - Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences (SRES), ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Dr Jason Moran - Senior Lecturer in the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences (SRES), ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Dr Xiaojun Zhai - Reader in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE), ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • - Reader in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London
  • , University of Ghana

YuLife - The role of gamification in promoting positive health behaviours and health risk reduction

This project will evaluate and amplify the benefits to health and risk profile of customers who engage with the YuLife app using the latest modelling techniques and research from the public health and wellbeing domain.

Team members

  • Dr Tasos Papastylianou - Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Dr Honor Bixby - Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Prof. Mariachiara Di Cesare - Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Dr Abbas Salami - KTP Associate, Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, ÌÇÐÄVlog

NEVERMIND - A smartphone and wearable-based solution for the self-management of depressive symptoms in patients with severe primary somatic conditions

In this project, researchers are working to reduce depressive symptoms among patients diagnosed with severe somatic conditions.

The NEVERMIND e-health system consists of a smart shirt and a mobile application with lifestyle behavioural advice, mindfulness-based therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy.

Team members

  • Dr Tasos Papastylianou - Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Prof. Luca Citi - Professor in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE), ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • Prof. Riccardo Poli - Professor in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering (CSEE), ÌÇÐÄVlog
  • - Researcher in the Eye Diseases Research Group, Ku Leuven

Related papers

  • Carli, Vladimir and Petros, Nuhamin Gebrewold and Hadlaczky, Gergö and Vitcheva, Tereza and Berchialla, Paola and Bianchi, Silvia and Carletto, Sara and Christinaki, Eirini and Citi, Luca and Dinis, Sérgio and Gentili, Claudio and Geraldes, Vera and Giovinazzo, Lorena and Gonzalez-Martinez, Sergio and Meyer, Björn and Ostacoli, Luca and Ottaviano, Manuel and Ouakinin, Silvia and Papastylianou, Tasos and Paradiso, Rita and Poli, Riccardo and Rocha, Isabel and Settanta, Carmen and Scilingo, Enzo Pasquale and Valenza, Gaetano (2022) . eClinicalMedicine, 48. p. 101423. DOI

Check4Cancer

By analysing a vast dataset of skin lesions, Dr Haider, in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, has developed an AI model with exceptional accuracy, surpassing traditional methods. This project has a transformative impact by advancing the field of skin cancer detection through AI innovation.

The new C4C risk score and the integration of image and metadata enhance diagnostic precision, reducing false positives and unnecessary biopsies. Commercializing this technology as a Class IIa medical device in the near future, and expanding its application to diverse skin tones, will improve early detection globally.

This partnership exemplifies cutting-edge research translating into practical, life-saving solutions in healthcare.

CoughDetect

CoughDetect is a web application that provided cheap and readily available COVID-19 pre-screening, easily accessible on mobile phones, PCs and laptops.

Dr Andreu-Perez, from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, has developed using more than 8,000 clinically validated samples of coughs, an artificial intelligence model to recognise the sound of COVID-19-positive coughs.

In testing, CoughDetect was found to yield detection rates similar to alternative rapid testing, while being exceptionally cost-effective, with one pre-screening session costing less than 10 US cents in cloud computing power. The application has been deployed across a number of clinics in Mexico, with the team using CoughDetect data to map the prevalence of COVID-19 by location over time.

Optimising inpatient scheduling and reducing patients’ waiting times

Dr Kampouridis, Dr Doctor, and Dr Yang from Schools of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, in partnership with East Suffolk and North ÌÇÐÄVlog NHS Foundation Trust are developing an AI driven decision support tool for consultants and operational managers responsible for scheduling patients’ surgeries.

The project is providing a baseline for improving patient throughput for selected elective pathways and helping to remove potential bottlenecks within selected patient elective pathways. The project focuses on the scheduling of Trauma and Orthopaedics surgeries with the potential to expand to other specialities.

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