Back UPF obtains four new industrial doctorates, in the fields of ICT and Biomedicine

UPF obtains four new industrial doctorates, in the fields of ICT and Biomedicine

The four new projects will focus on the optimization of mobility and logistics for social care services, the use of artificial intelligence to help patients receiving life-sustaining treatment, medical and technological applications based on nanotechnology and their implications for regulatory science.

21.09.2020

Imatge inicial

Pompeu Fabra University has received four new Industrial Doctorate grants in the first partial decision in the 2020 call, the eighth since the start of this programme managed by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) of the Generalitat (Government) of Catalonia.

The four projects achieved were presented by the UPF Doctoral School and will last three years. Thanks to a collaboration agreement between the University and the respective company or institution, they will be carried out within the doctoral programmes in Information and Communication Technologies (3 projects) and Biomedicine (1 project).

With these four new projects, the University has achieved  40 success stories, since the Industrial Doctorates Plan was launched in 2013.

Three projects are related to the doctoral programme in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): First, “Mobility Optimization for Social Care Services”, a project by PhD student Laura Portell Penadés, which she is to conduct at the Barcelona City Council Institut Municipal de Persones amb Discapacitat  (IMPD) - municipal institute for persons with disabilities. The thesis supervisor is Helena Ramalhinho, director of the Business Analytics Research Group (BARG) at the Department of Economics and Business, with Sergi Morera Vizcaino as tutor at the IMPD.

Second, the project “Logistics Optimization of the Home Social Care Services”, which complements the previous one, will be carried out by Daniel López Badell at the Barcelona City Council Municipal Institute of Social Services (IMSS). Thesis supervision will be provided by Jésica de Armas, a member of the BARG. Albert Julià Cano will be responsible for the project at the IMSS.

Third, “Artificial Intelligence to support and act preventively in the care of patients under life support treatment”, in collaboration with the company Better Care. The thesis supervisor will again be Jésica de Armas, a researcher of the BARG at the Department of Economics and Business, along with Oscar Camara, coordinator of the PhySense Research Group (Sensing in Physiology and Biomedicine Research Group) at the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC-UPF). At the company, the project tutor will be Rudys Magrans Nicieza.

Finally, and as part of the doctoral programme in Biomedicine, the project “Nanomedicine Medical Technology Applications in Regulatory Science” will be conducted by PhD student Francisco Diego Rodríguez Gómez, at the company Asphalion. The thesis supervisor is Pilar Rivera, coordinator of the Integrative Biomedical Materials and Nanomedicine Lab of the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS), with two in-company co-supervisors, Oriol Penón and Dominique Monferrer.

The four new projects achieved by UPF, lasting three years, are co-financed (with a subsidy for the university, the company and the doctoral student). They are endowed with a grant of 21,600 euros (for the company or institution) and 33,960 euros for the University (which includes the grant for the doctoral student). With these four new projects, the University has achieved 40 success stories, since the Industrial Doctorates Plan was launched in 2013.

Mobility and logistics in social services and the use of artificial intelligence in patients receiving life-sustaining treatment, the focus of the three ICT projects

Mobility Optimization for Social Care Services” will take place at the Barcelona City Council Institut Municipal de Persones amb Discapacitat (IMPD) - municipal institute for persons with disabilities, within the council’s social care section. Among the social services offered, providing mobility to the many people who need it and doing so more efficiently stand out.

The project aims to develop mathematical models and algorithms based on research and operational analysis (so far successfully applied to various industries) in the social care sector. It highlights the mobility services available to people with special needs, such as people with physical disabilities or reduced mobility. It also aims to provide managers with a system that can help them make better decisions, provide better services and reduce costs, while generating a positive impact on users and the social organization.

Logistics Optimization of the Home Social Care Services” will take place at the Barcelona City Council Municipal Institute of Social Services (IMSS). One of the Institute’s lines of action is home social care, aimed at people with needs arising from illness, disability, old age or poverty, in order to meet their specific needs in the home. Cleaning, laundry, personal accompaniment and care or meals-on-wheels are some of the services offered.

The industrial doctorate project aims to expand mathematical models and algorithms of research and analysis of operations in this sector, and include their peculiarities. It also aims to provide management systems to help improve decisions and generate a positive impact on patients and users, carers and society as a whole.

Artificial Intelligence to support and act preventively in the care of patients under life support treatment” will be carried out in collaboration with Better Care, a startup composed of a multidisciplinary team of professionals, which seeks to tackle the lack of connectivity between the many medical devices used in hospital intensive care units.

In Spain, each year over a hundred thousand patients receive mechanical ventilation due to various diseases related to respiratory failure. This project aims to provide healthcare personnel with solutions based on artificial intelligence to make predictions that help support and act preventively in the treatment of patients with mechanical ventilation under life support treatment.

Investigating emerging issues in nanotechnology and its implications for regulatory science

The project “Nanomedicine Medical Technology Applications in Regulatory Science” will be undertaken in collaboration with the company Asphalion, an international consultant dealing with regulatory and scientific affairs offering comprehensive services for drug development and regulatory affairs to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies.

The doctoral thesis aims to investigate a range of emerging issues in the field of nanotechnology, its implications for regulatory science in general (the scientific and technical foundations on which regulations are based in various industries), and more specifically for medical devices and in vitro diagnostics involving nanotechnology, from the perspective of the European Union. The results of the research should serve to clarify the current understanding of the applications of “MedTech” nanotechnology in regulatory science, identify relevant gaps and contribute to the development of new guidelines for innovative products and solutions.

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