Enabling data-driven precision health with real world data under the “Aptitude project” framework

In this project, wearables were used to monitor physical activity and improve the health and independence of citizens over 65 in Andorra. Genomcore's multi-modal platform allowed data interoperability, including wearable data retrieval and integration, data storage and analytics for precision health analyses.

Enabling data-driven precision health with real world data under the “Aptitude project” framework

In this project, wearables were used to monitor physical activity and improve the health and independence of citizens over 65 in Andorra. Genomcore's multi-modal platform allowed data interoperability, including wearable data retrieval and integration, data storage and analytics for precision health analyses.

Challenge

To use innovative health data sources, such as wearable data, to continuously monitor the patient’s health and create personalized treatment and rehabilitation guidelines accordingly.

Solution

A GDPR and HIPAA compliant multimodal platform that is able to overcome the methodological and analytical challenges particularly in terms of integrating and characterizing multimodal, multiscale and heterogeneous unstructured data.

Conclusion in numbers

During the pilot study, wearable data from more than 50 patients was collected regarding physical activity – such as distance, METs, KCal and steps – and sleep monitoring. Data was structured and integrated in a multimodal database for its exploitation.

About THE AndorraN health care system (Saas)

The Andorran Health Care System (SAAS) was created in 1986 as a parapublic entity with its own legal and financial autonomy that takes on the management and administration of all public resources – human, material, and financial – dedicated to healthcare. The fundamental objectives of SAAS are to promote efficient use of available resources for improving the population’s health, to provide health services to the entire population, to establish appropriate organization for coordinated healthcare, to integrate publicly used healthcare resources into a single body, and to ensure quality healthcare provision and expense control.

Over the past few years, Andorra has focused on digitalizing its healthcare system. This includes the promotion of electronic medical records as a universal register of healthcare information for all providers, as well as the recent law regarding the rights and duties of healthcare system users and professionals. This digitalization effort is taking place within the Digital Transformation Program of Andorra, defined by the Government under the H23 horizon, in which the healthcare sector is expected to be one of the verticals with the most impact and return.

About the pilot study

Telemedicine represents a qualitative leap in the relationship between the patient and the healthcare professional. In recent years, there has been a tremendous effort to progressively digitalize the SAAS under the Government’s Digital Transformation Plan. With the aim to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the health system, several initiatives for advanced digitalization have started in Andorra such as the launch of the Salut d’Andorra App.

An important aspect of this digitalization effort is the ability to analyze the data generated by new technologies like wearables. According to recent studies, physical inactivity is a significant modifiable risk factor for non-communicable diseases and mental health issues, with the estimated cost of inaction on physical inactivity in public health systems being $47.6 billion per year. To address this, we established a collaboration with the SAAS under the Aptitude project in the Escaldes-Engordany parish. The goal of this pilot project is to improve the resilience of individuals over 65 years of age, reducing their dependence and risk of institutionalization, by implementing interventions related to physical activity and nutrition, as well as promoting training, research, and innovation in geriatrics.

CHALLENGE

Current patient management is incomplete and discontinuous, which negatively affects patients’ outcome and may lead to waste of public health service resources. It is very difficult to measure or quantify the patient’s status without the integration of real time data, lifestyle habits and patient’s environment. In this context, new technologies -such as wearables and mobile health (mHealth) solutions – enable a new approach of patient-centric healthcare and can address the data paucity that exists between doctor visits to drive new insights and results. 

The aim of the pilot project together with SAAS was to utilize wearable data to continuously monitor the health of patients through physical activity metrics. This data was then used to help health professionals determine the patient’s best physical activities to achieve their health and fitness goals and create personalized treatment guidelines accordingly.

However, the emergence of these innovative health data sources has posed some methodological and analytical challenges in integrating and interpreting these data, particularly in terms of characterizing multimodal, multiscale and heterogeneous data that might be structured or unstructured.

SOLUTION

Genomcore overcomes these challenges by offering a multi-modal platform that is able to integrate real world data (RWD) through automated data transformation processes that convert unstructured time series data to structured datasets required for precision health analyses. With our built-in solutions we can retrieve data directly from wearable devices and integrate multiple data sources – clinical, genomics, wearables, social media, etc. – in one single centralized repository for its joint exploitation. Our technological framework enables a multimodal patient-centered approach that ensures data-driven decision making and actionability.

The platform allows to connect and integrate patient’s wearables so that data is automatically transferred to the platform and it is during this process that data extraction, harmonization, and structurization are carried out. This means that the captured data is standardized, making it easier to compare and analyze, and correlated it with other types of data – including clinical, demographic, genetic, or environmental data. This multi-layered approach provides a more comprehensive and accurate evaluation of a patient’s overall health status. One of the key advantages of Genomcore’s platform is that it consolidates all the data into a centralized repository, making it much easier to analyze and exploit the data collected, and provides healthcare professionals with a wide range of tools for data aggregation, statistics, advanced analytics, and business intelligence.

CONCLUSIONS IN NUMBERS

As part of the pilot study, wearable data was collected from more than 50 patients. These included but were not limited to physical activity – such as distance, metabolic equivalents (METs), calories burned, and steps taken – as well as sleep monitoring metrics – such as deep/light/REM sleep and awake duration times. The resulting database offered a comprehensive view of each patient’s physical status and sleep patterns, allowing healthcare professionals to gain insights into the patient’s daily routine, which could eventually be useful in identifying potential health issues or monitoring treatment’s effectiveness.

The use of RWD has the potential to revolutionize the field of healthcare. By providing real-time, continuous data, healthcare professionals can gain a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of their patient’s overall health that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.. This pilot study has demonstrated the potential of integrating wearable data in a clinical environment, which can be particularly useful for patients with chronic conditions or those undergoing rehabilitation. As technology continues to advance, the integration of RWD is likely to become even more common, which presents exciting opportunities for healthcare professionals to improve patient care and outcomes.

For this project, we offered our professional platform, Genomcore Biomed, as a solution to integrate data from wearable devices, allowing healthcare professionals to easily access, visualize, and utilize the retrieved data. Our goal is to drive digital transformation in healthcare by enabling the integration of multiscale patient data. As patient-centered care becomes increasingly important, we aim to harness the vast amounts of data from wearables and other consumer sources to empower patients and healthcare providers alike.

At Genomcore, we are very proud to have contributed with our technological solutions to the implementation of data-driven precision medicine by integrating RWD in the clinical setting.