Health
The possibilities of collecting and using data of various kinds on a large scale in the field of health have increased significantly. Big Data & Health focuses on the use of data of different kinds and from different sources in order to provide the best lifestyle advice, prevention, diagnostics and treatment tailored to the individual.
An important development in this respect is the movement from the general to the individual personalised supply of services and towards the participation of the individual and his/her environment (health care providers, informal carers, etc.) in his/her own health. Major challenges lie in the (automatic) interpretation of large amounts of data.
The acquisition and processing of big data also requires the right facilities: facilities and processes for the responsible storage of data and for ensuring (future) access, quality and analysis of data. An important aspect here is regulated access to data that guarantees anonymity, integrity and security of data, even when different data sources are combined.
The fragmentation of data between hospitals, citizens, research institutions, policy organisations, industry and other parties, combined with differences in regulations, forms a potential barrier to the use of the potential of Big Data for health.
Role of NWO and TNO
NWO funds Big Data & Health research in collaboration with the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Education, Culture and Science.
Big Data research for prevention and early detection of cardiovascular disease
The Dutch Heart Foundation, NWO, ZonMw, Top Sector LSH and the Netherlands eScience Center join forces to develop a public-private research programme under the umbrella of the Big Data research platform Commit2Data. For the preparation of project proposals a working meeting is organised.
The aim of the programme is to exploit (new) connections between the health and life sciences, data science and the creative industry for the development of new approaches in the prevention and early detection of cardiovascular diseases. Citizens and patients will have a central role in this. The Knowledge and Innovation Agenda ICT, LSH, and ClickNL and the principles of vital functioning and positive health are the guiding principles as regards content.
Target projects
The programme will consist of 4 to 6 different public-private scientific research projects with a size of approximately 1.5 M EUR (per project). Each project is aimed at answering important questions on prevention and early detection of cardiovascular diseases and includes scientific research in the field of data science and the creative industry. These projects are partly funded by a company or civil society organisations (under certain conditions).
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