Zoekresultaten

Classification of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Healthy-Control blood samples using Transfer Learning

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe inflammatory condition of the central nervous system (CNS) affecting about 2.5 million people globally. It is more common in females, usually diagnosed in their 30s and 40s, and can shorten life expectancy by 5 to 10 years. While MS is rarely fatal; its effects on a person's life can be profound, which signifies comprehensive management and support. Most studies regarding MS focus on how lymphocytes and other immune cells are involved in the disease. However, little attention has been given to red blood cells (erythrocytes), which might also be important in developing MS. Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown significant potential in medical imaging for analyzing blood cells, enabling accurate and efficient diagnosis of various conditions through automated image analysis. The project aims to implement an AI pipeline based on Deep Learning (DL) algorithms (e.g., Transfer Learning approach) to classify MS and Healthy Blood cells.

Community of Practice for a Healthy Lifestyle

Cultivating new talents of palliative care in nursing education and training for China

The project aims to improve palliative care in China through the competence development of Chinese teachers, professionals, and students focusing on the horizontal priority of digital transformation.Palliative care (PC) has been recognised as a public health priority, and during recent years, has seen advances in several aspects. However, severe inequities in the access and availability of PC worldwide remain. Annually, approximately 56.8 million people need palliative care, where 25.7% of the care focuses on the last year of person’s life (Connor, 2020).China has set aims for reaching the health care standards of the developed countries by 2030 through the Healthy China Strategy 2030, where one of the improvement areas in health care includes palliative care, thus continuing the previous efforts.The project provides a constructive, holistic, and innovative set of actions aimed at resulting in lasting outcomes and continued development of palliative care education and services. Raising the awareness of all stakeholders on palliative care, including the public, is highly relevant and needed. Evidence based practice guidelines and education are urgently required for both general and specialised palliative care levels, to increase the competencies for health educators, professionals, and students. This is to improve the availability and quality of person-centered palliative care in China. Considering the aging population, increase in various chronic illnesses, the challenging care environment, and the moderate health care resources, competence development and the utilisation of digitalisation in palliative care are paramount in supporting the transition of experts into the palliative care practice environment.General objective of the project is to enhance the competences in palliative care in China through education and training to improve the quality of life for citizens. Project develops the competences of current and future health care professionals in China to transform the palliative care theory and practice to impact the target groups and the society in the long-term. As recognised by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), palliative care competences need to be developed in collaboration. This includes shared willingness to learn from each other to improve the sought outcomes in palliative care (EAPC 2019). Since all individuals have a right to health care, project develops person-centered and culturally sensitive practices taking into consideration ethics and social norms. As concepts around palliative care can focus on physical, psychological, social, or spiritual related illnesses (WHO 2020), project develops innovative pedagogy focusing on evidence-based practice, communication, and competence development utilising digital methods and tools. Concepts of reflection, values and views are in the forefront to improve palliative care for the future. Important aspects in project development include health promotion, digital competences and digital health literacy skills of professionals, patients, and their caregivers. Project objective is tied to the principles of the European Commission’s (EU) Digital Decade that stresses the importance of placing people and their rights in the forefront of the digital transformation, while enhancing solidarity, inclusion, freedom of choice and participation. In addition, concepts of safety, security, empowerment, and the promotion of sustainable actions are valued. (European Commission: Digital targets for 2030).Through the existing collaboration, strategic focus areas of the partners, and the principles of the call, the PalcNet project consortium was formed by the following partners: JAMK University of Applied Sciences (JAMK ), Ramon Llull University (URL), Hanze University of Applied Sciences (HUAS), Beijing Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), Guangzhou Health Science College (GHSC), Beihua University (BHU), and Harbin Medical University (HMU). As project develops new knowledge, innovations and practice through capacity building, finalisation of the consortium considered partners development strategy regarding health care, (especially palliative care), ability to create long-term impact, including the focus on enhancing higher education according to the horizontal priority. In addition, partners’ expertise and geographical location was also considered important to facilitate long-term impact of the results.Primary target groups of the project include partner country’s (China) staff members, teachers, researchers, health care professionals and bachelor level students engaging in project implementation. Secondary target groups include those groups who will use the outputs and results and continue in further development in palliative care upon the lifetime of the project.

ELSA AI lab Northern Netherlands (ELSA-NN)

The ELSA AI lab Northern Netherlands (ELSA-NN) is committed to the promotion of healthy living, working and ageing. By investigating cultural, ethical, legal, socio-political, and psychological aspects of the use of AI in different decision-makingcontexts and integrating this knowledge into an online ELSA tool, ELSA-NN aims to contribute to knowledge about trustworthy human-centric AI and development and implementation of health technology innovations, including AI, in theNorthern region.The research in ELSA-NN will focus on developing and mapping ELSA knowledge around three general concepts of importance for the development, monitoring and implementation of trustworthy and human-centric AI: availability, use,and performance. These concepts will be explored in two lines of research: 1) use case research investigating the use of different AI applications with different types of data in different decision-making contexts at different time periods duringthe life course, and 2) an exploration among stakeholders in the Northern region of needs, knowledge, (digital) health literacy, attitudes and values concerning the use of AI in decision-making for healthy living, working and ageing. Specificfocus will be on investigating low social economic status (SES) perspectives, since health disparities between high and low SES groups are growing world-wide, including in the Northern region and existing health inequalities may increase with theintroduction and use of innovative health technologies such as AI.ELSA-NN will be integrated within the AI hub Northern-Netherlands, the Health Technology Research & Innovation Cluster (HTRIC) and the Data Science Center in Health (DASH). They offer a solid base and infrastructure for the ELSA-NNconsortium, which will be extended with additional partners, especially patient/citizens, private, governmental and researchrepresentatives, to have a quadruple-helix consortium. ELSA-NN will be set-up as a learning health system in which much attention will be paid to dialogue, communication and education.

European Bachelor in Physical Activity and Lifestyle Counselling (co-financed by the European Union Project Number: 510029-LLP-1-NL-ERASMUS-ECDSP Programme: Lifelong learning programme Sub-programme: Erasmus)

From Data to Action: Promoting Active Lifestyle in Wheelchair Users with Spinal Cord Injury or Amputation

Wheelchair users with a spinal cord injury (SCI) or amputation generally lead an inactive lifestyle, associated with reduced fitness and health. Digital interventions and sport and lifestyle applications (E-platforms) may be helpful in achieving a healthy lifestyle. Despite the potential positive effects of E-platforms in the general population, no studies are known investigating the effects for wheelchair users and existing E-platforms can not be used to the same extent and in the same manner by this population due to differences in physiology, body composition, exercise forms and responses, and risk injury. It is, therefore, our aim to adapt an existing E-platform (Virtuagym) within this project by using existing data collections and new data to be collected within the project. To reach this aim we intend to make several relevant databases from our network available for analysis, combine and reanalyze these existing databases to adapt the existing E-platform enabling wheelchair users to use it, evaluate and improve the use of the adapted E-platform, evaluate changes in healthy active lifestyle parameters, fitness, health and quality of life in users of the E-platform (both wheelchair users and general population) and identify determinants of these changes, identify factors affecting transitions from an inactive lifestyle, through an intermediate level, to an athlete level, comparing wheelchair users with the general population, and comparing Dutch with Brazilian individuals. The analysis of large datasets of exercise and fitness data from various types of individuals with and without disabilities, collected over the last years both in the Netherlands and Brazil, is an innovative and potentially fruitful approach. It is expected that the comparison of e.g. wheelchair users in Amsterdam vs. Sao Paulo or recreative athletes vs. elite athletes provides new insight in the factors determining a healthy and active lifestyle.