The Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) is participating in a research project aimed at predicting, monitoring, and managing the progression of diseases in the elderly, such as dementia and frailty, based on a comprehensive and human-centered approach.

This innovative project, funded by the European Union, is titled "COMFORTAGE - Prediction, Monitoring, and Personalized Recommendations for Prevention and Relief of Dementia and Frailty." 

The project is being implemented by a consortium of 38 partners, led by the University of Piraeus.

CUT will collaborate with a multitude of specialists in the health sector (neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, nurses, memory clinic clinicians), technical experts (data scientists, artificial intelligence experts, robotics specialists), social scientists, and Digital Innovation Hubs. The aim is to create a pan-European framework for solutions in the prevention, monitoring, and management of diseases in the elderly, such as dementia and frailty, using a comprehensive and human-centered approach.

The project framework will integrate medical/clinical innovations (e.g., innovative approaches in risk factor analysis and personalized prediction, AI-based medical devices, integrated data sources of clinical age-related data), cutting-edge AI and Data Science technologies (e.g., explainable and secure AI, serious games, digital patient twins, virtual support technologies for reliable, precise, safe, and personalized clinical decision-making, Digital Innovation Hubs (e.g., smart homes, robotics) to facilitate and promote research activities in the field of health and patient well-being, and social innovations for advancing perspectives and co-creating new or improving existing solutions for assistance and support in the smooth social integration and interaction of the individuals under study.

The project will also facilitate the unification, harmonization, and management of a range of different data sources, including biobanks, epidemiological studies, medical records, longitudinal observation studies, real patient data, as well as alternative secondary data sources such as sensors, wearable devices, and mobile phones, using a standardized structure called the Holistic Health Folder.

The CUT team is coordinated by the Software Engineering and Intelligent Information Systems Research Lab, led by Professor Andreas S. Andreou, and supported by the e-Health Lab, headed by Assistant Professor Euthymios Kyriakou. Both labs are part of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering & Informatics.