Members in Europe: VITO commits to innovation in health-empowermentprivacy - VLEVA Article

Our members are very active in Europe, that much is clear. That is why we will let them talk about their European projects and ambitions in the coming weeks. This week: VITO.

The Flemish Institute for Technological Research is active in many fields, with innovation as the driving force behind all its actions.

Flanders and VITO in personalized health

The Flemish department of EWI (Economy Science & Innovation) coordinates the SAPHIRe Consortium. SAPHIRe makes the link between Europe and its regions, by identifying regional policy needs and linking them to the European agenda in the field of personalized health. Among other things, this led to Flanders being one of the leading EU regions for personalized health through EWI within the framework of the European Smart Specialization Platform. The initiative, which fits within the theme Industrial Modernization, with VITO as its leader, has an important focus on health data as a lever for science and innovation.

Technical Assistance Facility 

The role of data is ever increasing in today's economic system. Digital data has become an essential resource for innovation and economic growth. At the same time, people and society are increasingly aware of both their current digital vulnerability and the value of their personal data. In particular, health data.

Consequently, this sector is moving toward a model in which data-driven health management and prevention are increasingly important. It is creating new collaborations across the ecosystem: healthcare providers and companies, research, government and citizens. To enable this transition, future-oriented data concepts on a regional as well as a European scale are crucial.

In a partnership with Domus Medica, Vlaams Patiëntenplatform, Zorgnet-Icuro and the Koning Bouwdewijnstichting, VITO is working on a data concept in which the citizen plays a central role in the management of his data, and in which privacy goes hand in hand with innovation and health. A Technical Assistance Facility application was recently submitted to Europe for this, with VITO as coordinator for the regions Flanders, East Netherlands and Oulu (Finland). This application is EU-wide one of the six honored applications of 2019. The project started in March 2020.

Interreg Empowercare

Also in the European project Empowercare, VITO takes up responsibility to empower - in this case - elderly people in their own health management. EMPOWERCARE (EMPOWERing individuals & communities to manage their own CARE) is a project from the Interreg 2Seas program that started in January 2020, with a consortium of 13 partners from UK, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Within the consortium, VITO is implementing the BIBopp empowerment technology together with Domus Medica and LiCalab. Citizens are provided with tools developed in co-creation with them. For example, they can monitor their own health through evidence-based screening via the digital Health Guide (Geozndheidsgids). Flemish general practitioners (Domus Medica) have been using it in their practices for years. Linked to this is a personalized local action plan: based on his personal advice, the citizen can choose what he wants to focus on, in his neighborhood, and completely tailored to his preferences.

The most unique feature of BIBopp is its data management. Through an innovative data platform, the citizen themself decides with whom they share their data. For example, they can send to their primary care physician. This is a step toward integrated care, but this data is also important for society. Analysis of the aggregated data provide insights into the health status of the population. Policymakers can use these insights. Or new health services can be developed with it. Which in turn benefits the citizen. And so BIBopp completes the cycle.

Source: www.vleva.eu/nl/blog/leden-europa-vito-zet-op-innovatie-gezondheid-empowerment-privacy