Project Structure
The overall implementation strategy for the METABO platform and environment relies on the interrelated development of four main sub-projects or streamlines (SP):
Sub-project1: Comprehensive monitoring.
It includes the identification, adaptation and integration of existing state-of-art and beyond-state-of-art monitoring tools and equipments (sensors, medical and physical data analysis devices) not or minimally invasive, able to collect personal and ambient parameters and to elaborate them in order to provide immediate alerting in case of critical situations. Collected data are also stored and maintained for modelling and analysis.
Sub-project2: Patient’s metabolic simulation and modelling.
Metabolic modeling focuses on capturing the glucose response to patient’s lifestyle and treatment. Its role consists in the development of personal metabolic models that predict blood glucose values, the provision of immediate alerting and decision support to the patient.
The involved architectural modules are presented below.
- Feature Extractor: Calculates and interprets the monitored data to diabetes-related features.
- Personal Metabolic Model: It is composed of two main functional submodules; the physiological model and the glucose predictive model able to provide predictions of the patient’s blood glucose profile over a specific time horizon.
- What-If Advisor: Generates personalized advices on actions to be taken or avoided according to pre-defined “what-if” queries selected by the patient. The result is mainly triggered by the glucose value predicted by the Personal Metabolic Model according to the selected scenario.
- METABO CDSS Model: Generates short-term and long-term alerts on hypo/hyper-glycaemic events and provides recommendations to the patient (e.g,. correction of bolus insulin, extra fingerstick testing, etc.)
Sub-project3: Personalization of healthcare processes.
Based on the results of the monitoring and modelling activities and on best practice assessed by clinical guidelines and evidence-based medicine (EBM), with the aim of providing healthcare professionals with a permanent and continuous data flow and data analysis mechanisms, supporting their therapeutic decisions for each individual. This includes the identification of behavioural patterns and the implementation of simulation technologies to activate pathway actions when needed. Organizational impacts of the introduction of METABO into the care provision flows at primary and secondary care levels, in GPs surgeries, hospitals departments and dedicated centers for metabolic diseases, will be analyzed to identify benefits in terms of performance, improved treatments and cost reduction for the healthcare system.
Sub-project4: Integrated METABO Platform.
To integrate the results of the above three research areas and make the three RTD using Representational State Transfer architecture Subprojects systems interoperate. Interoperability-related components will be developed for semantic data sharing and user interface access and harmonization and communication. This Sub-Project also includes Pilot activities, as detailed in the following, aimed at validating the overall endeavor results.
Supporting WorkPackages.
To ensure coherence among these four streams, crossover activities will address ethical, legal, economical and social issues and will deal with all managerial and supporting activities (dissemination, demonstration, training and business strategies):
- Project management, Quality Assurance and Risk management
- Training, Dissemination, Demonstration and Clustering
- Socio-economic, Organizational Legal and Ethical analysis.
- Market and Business scenarios analysis
