Open Innovation Challenge by Acció

Knowledge by therapeutic area and identification of opportunities with AI for the pharmaceutical industry In the pharmaceutical industry, the discovery and development of new drugs is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of various therapeutic areas and market needs. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), significant opportunities have been created to improve this process by analysing large volumes of data, identifying patterns and generating knowledge. 

The main objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive AI platform that allows Gebro Pharma to generate knowledge both for the development of new medicines and for the creation of innovative digital services. This platform will integrate advanced data analytics, predictive models and natural language processing to provide insights. 

The system will use natural language processing and machine learning techniques to analyse a wide range of information sources, such as scientific publications, medical databases, clinical trial reports, pharmaceutical patents and drug sales data.

Movement Disorders such as Parkinson´s disease present with important challenges in both diagnostic, follow-up and stratification of disease severity. We are looking for objective metrics that can evaluate and track motor symptoms in these diseases and facilitate complex clinical decisions related to advanced therapies such as deep brain stimulation (DBS). One candidate is the use of inertial sensors to identify and track motor symptoms via wearable devices. Currently, the public health system employs no objective metrics for these symptoms and relies on clinical instruments, such as the Unified Parkinson´s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), with inherent biases due to the subjective nature of the evaluations. Furthermore, in the field of advanced therapies, an increasing number of data sources are being proposed as viable biomarkers, such as local field potentials -LFPs- or electroencephalography -EEG-. Having objective metrics regarding clinical examinations that could be correlated to these signals could prove key to improve patient care. We are looking for an IT solution that would allow: – An easy correlation of sensor metrics to established clinical scores, so these evaluations can be useful for neurologists in a clinical setting. In Parkinson´s disease, these solutions should have approximate scores related to the UPDRS scores, for instance. – Easy access to raw data in a research setting, so information from the sensors can be easily related to other metrics, such as LFPs or EEG

We are seeking a technological innovation “challenge 1” that enables instant visualization of the total cardiovascular risk based upon inputs collected in the patient´s EHR. The solution should integrate a cardiovascular risk assessment tool that activates upon accessing to patient’s EHR, displaying the risk level through a (color-coded) notification system. The solution should extract and analyze existing patient data from the EHR without requiring additional input from healthcare professionals. This innovation should allow for the stratification of the patients based on their personalized risk profile.

As a next step and based on the most updated and relevant guidelines, we are interested in:

a) Empowering patients by making them active participants in their own care through the provision of tailored educational content “Challenge 2”. This includes, for instance, offering personalized online information or recommendations on their expected next steps, hosting webinars focused on specific topics, and providing chatbots for enquiries, among others. This solution should integrate seamlessly with existing digital health platforms provided by the different regional health services.

b) Supporting physicians in achieving greater efficiency by enabling screening or monitoring actions tailored to the patient’s profile. For instance, automating follow-up tests within 4-6 weeks after discharge following a cardiovascular event.

Specific Objectives:

1) Develop a Visual CV risk Notification System: Implement an intuitive (color-based) system to assess and indicate the total cardiovascular risk levels, through inputs collected automatically from the EHR interface.

2) Develop a digital solution that provides personalized educational content based on a patient’s cardiovascular risk assessment, accessible through regional health service digital platforms.

Introducing digital solutions into the mental health treatment The aim of the project is to create a digital platform connected to several digital devices (forms, questionnaires, apps, chatbots…) in order to obtain real data in real time from the patients to be able to monitor their daily situation (both physical and emotional). It is mandatory that the digital platform is capable of managing high volumes of data and report them in a structured way so, it can be read and managed by healthcare professionals. 

The following devices should be connected to this digital platform: 

– Digital solutions (access to tele therapies, pot casts, videos…) for patients with low / moderate risk of mental health disorders in order to accelerate their recovery 

– Monitoring solutions that capture key information such as physical activity, geolocalization, social interactions, pharmaceutical follow up, among others for patients with high risk of mental health disorders in order to anticipate relapse episodes or self-harm attempts.

Lack of adherence to medical treatments is a crucial driver of increased patient morbidity and mortality, with estimates indicating that between 20% and 50% (Pérez-Joval et al. 2019) of patients do not follow their medical prescriptions properly. This challenge is compounded by the fact that approximately 70% (Ortega et al., 2018) of non-adherence cases result from deliberate patient choice, highlighting the need to address this problem globally, especially among individuals with chronic diseases. 

Adherence is defined as the congruence between the patient’s behavior and the medical recommendations received (Hernández et al., 2020). The World Health Organisation (WHO) specifies it as aligning patient behavior concerning medication, diet, or lifestyle changes with health professionals’ suggestions. Non-adherence not only reduces the effectiveness of treatment but also leads to high additional costs due to hospitalizations for avoidable complications; medication switches to more potent drugs with higher risks of side effects and lower overall treatment efficacy. 

Multiple factors contribute to adherence issues, including misperceptions about disease severity, financial and logistical barriers, and a lack of confidence or understanding of the proposed treatment. In response to this, the development of strategies that promote adherence, mainly through the use of technology, becomes imperative. 

Analysis of the literature reveals different approaches to improve adherence, such as behavioral interventions, educational and social support, as well as strategies targeting health professionals. In addition, health empowerment is highlighted as crucial, focusing on improving individuals’ knowledge and skills to manage their health. 

In conclusion, we propose the challenge of creating some strategies or digital solutions to be incorporated into our telemedicine platform to increase patient adherence to treatments with the aim of improving patients’ health outcomes and indirectly increasing healthcare system efficiency.

Scientific evidence reveals that healthcare professionals dedicate only 15% of their time to direct value activities for the patient, those for which the patient seeks assistance at the hospital. These value activities are overshadowed by 55% of the time spent on tasks that do not add value and 30% on auxiliary tasks. This situation highlights the need to optimize internal processes and time management within the hospital environment. 

In this context, a significant opportunity for innovation is recognized through the implementation of advanced technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence. This technology can play a key role in reducing the time spent on administrative tasks and other low-value-added activities. Automating these tasks would not only improve the efficiency of the healthcare staff but also allow for greater focus on direct patient care, where true value is created.

 A prominent challenge where technology can offer substantial benefits to the hospital is in the automatic generation of reports using data from patients’ medical histories. Given that the hospital handles both structured and unstructured information, there emerges a pressing need to implement an advanced tool that can efficiently merge this data to create a variety of reports, including second opinion reports and summaries of medical histories. 

This challenge calls for the expertise of companies in the technology field to develop solutions that not only streamline the operations of healthcare professionals but also enhance the quality of patient care by automatically generating the various types of reports that healthcare professionals need (second opinion report, clinical life report) by taking information from the medical history.

At Mutual Médica, we are exploring a solution to automate the assessment of each policyholder’s risk, using both our accumulated history over the past years and other possible external sources of information that can provide relevant insights and enhance the accuracy of the analysis. The solution must be capable of automatically establishing or providing information to operationally establish differentiated risk levels to streamline both the processing of new policyholders and the management of benefits. Additionally, we aim to leverage this process to provide added value to our customers by materializing all this data into a personalized wellness plan, offering recommendations to improve their well-being and health, and increasing their healthy longevity through precise recommendations.

Social isolation is an increasingly universal challenge, specially affecting the 65-plus population. As an organization focused on preventing and improving people’s health and well-being, Althaia is seeking to implement smart home technologies to fight this problem. These technologies should:

-Be easy to implement at home.
-Be tailored to each person’s needs.
-Include tracking results.

Target solutions include:

-Sensors and Smart Home devices for monitoring and detecting changes in people’s behavior patterns that may evidence a risk of social isolation.

-Digital therapies and cognitive stimulation technologies. For instance, tools allowing the implementation of personalized cognitive care at home or humanized virtual assistants/portals.

– AR/VR/MX/IA technologies to improve people’s mental health. For instance, by boosting social interactions among people with reduced mobility, thus contributing to their autonomy and quality of life. These technologies could also be used to create a favorable environment to carry out mental health therapies.