The Eastern Corridor Medical Engineering (ECME) project is a collaborative research project focusing on cardiovascular medicine.
It is a partnership between 5 leading academic research centres and Southern Health & Social Care Trust.
All have a strong track record in improving the quality of life of the public, through healthcare innovation.
The project will explore a range of research themes, develop industrially relevant platform technologies and work with healthcare professionals to change the way we treat those who have cardiac health issues.
This project is supported by the EU’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the SEUPB and was awarded €8.2 M to deliver the project’s outcomes.
The project addresses 5 themes of relevance to cardiac health.
Big Data
The project will use machine learning and data analytics to look for trends within cardiac health data.
Databases will then be mined using the latest analytical techniques, in order to look for trends that can be used to predict cardiac health issues in advance.
This information will also ensure that appropriate health care pathways are selected for individual patients.
ECME will avail of the opportunity of the Digital Single Market and the health benefits of data sharing while simultaneously ensuring the protection of personal data.
Smart Wearables
Research will be undertaken to develop wearable technologies that have the ability to generate clinical grade data from patients as they go about their day to day lives.
This data can be monitored by healthcare professionals helping them to monitor patients, intervene earlier and diagnose conditions more accurately.
Point of Care Diagnostics
New diagnostic techniques will be developed during the project to facilitate a more accurate identification of a range of conditions.
Some of the diagnostic tools will take advantage of the latest in nanotechnology to analyse blood composition.
Others will involve new health screening methods, allowing cardiologists to screen a larger percentage of the population and identify potential cardiac health problems.
Ambient Assisted Living
The work carried out within this research theme involves the creation of smart environments which are capable of monitoring patients using ambient sensing technology.
This will allow the monitoring of patients within the home and transmission of this data in a safe and secure way.
This will better inform all those who are responsible for the care of individuals to make optimal decisions and maximise their quality of life.
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Within this research theme, researchers will investigate how to optimise rehabilitation for patients who have had cardiac health issues.
Cardiac rehabilitation is associated with a 25% reduction in mortality over three years and is recognised as improving quality of life.
Our research will help to identify whether programmes should be delivered in hospital or in the community in order to improve compliance.
Find out more at https://www.ecme-research.com