On 1 October, the MEDIWARN project was launched locally at the University of Malta Medical School. This project is one of the projects sponsored by the European Regional Development Fund, selected through the Interreg Italia-Malta 2014-2020. As such, it is a collaboration between the University of Catania (through the Faculty of Engineering), the University of Malta (through the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery), and the Policlinico Vittorio Emanuele in Catania.
The aim of this project is to develop a continuous monitoring system for an acute nursing area, which feeds into an intelligent warning system. MEDIWARN would then analyse this information in real time. With the use of advanced fuzzy logic, such analysis would predict when a patient would be starting to deteriorate. Hence, by alerting medical staff to such situations, the MEDIWARN system would allow earlier interventions, with a higher chance of success of treating a patient.
MEDIWARN is an active discussion between medical experts in Catania and in Malta, which will lead to a model that will predict a patient’s wellbeing. This model will be then translated into computer algorithms by engineers at the University of Catania. The whole project is to last thirty months, including validation of the system in a clinical setting.
With the help of the lead partners, the University of Catania, the other two partners, the University of Malta and the Policlinico Vittoria Emanuele, will be using the resources offered through the European Regional Development Funds, to help make an impact on healthcare not only in the two regions, but hopefully even globally. It will also serve as a foundation for a future collaboration with centres in Catania.