AI to Detect Care Needs Before They Arise
AI to Detect Care Needs Before They Arise
AI to Detect Care Needs Before They Arise
A new EU-funded research project aims to improve care for older people by using AI to predict their care needs. By collecting data from individuals in their homes, the project will enable the early detection of health issues, allowing for swift interventions that reduce hospital admissions, relieve pressure on both patients and healthcare staff, and prevent costly emergency care and aftercare.
The Engineering Faculty of Mondragon Unibertsitatea participates in the PAI project, a project funded by the European Union with other partners from Sweden and Norway. The project aims to improve the health and well-being of older people by detecting early health issues and alerting healthcare professionals for prompt interventions, thereby reducing the severity of illnesses. That is, to detect care needs before they occur.
“Identifying health decline at an early stage often leads to more effective and less invasive treatments, which can have a significant positive impact on the quality of life for older individuals,” says Hanife Rexhepi, senior lecturer in informatics at the University of Skövde and the leader of the university’s involvement in the project.
Interdisciplinary Project Across Borders
The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Skövde (Sweden), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and the Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute and Mondragon University in Spain.
“Introducing such AI solutions is complex because the quality of data and access to data vary across regions, care levels, and countries. Therefore, knowledge is needed about the best solutions to create guidelines that will help healthcare across Europe use AI effectively,” says Aslak Steinsbekk, professor of behavioural sciences in medicine and the project leader.
The project team will work interdisciplinarily, with each member bringing their expertise. The Spanish team will lead the effort to collect patient data from the three countries and evaluate the impact of the developed AI solution, while the Norwegian team will be responsible for developing and training the AI algorithms and overseeing the project’s progress. The Swedish team is responsible for the implementation of the AI solution. This involves, among other things, analysing how the solution can best become part of healthcare staff workflows and developing concrete recommendations for its use. The goal is to create a more proactive approach in healthcare, allowing patients to actively participate in their own care. The team is also responsible for disseminating the research findings to support broader adoption.
“Healthcare faces significant challenges in providing timely and high-quality care to a growing elderly population with complex care needs, all while the workforce is shrinking. To meet the rising demand, European healthcare systems need to adopt a more proactive and preventive strategy through the early detection of health decline and rapid interventions. Our project aligns well with this challenge,” says Hanife Rexhepi.
Transforming Health and Care Systems, THCS; (GA Nº101095654 of the EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme).
