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More than 90 undergraduate students from the School of Computer Engineering of the University of Málaga (UMA) and the University of Seville (US) have participated in this first edition of the Dedalus Datathon in Andalusia.
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This initiative is part of the company’s growth strategy, which already has 260 professionals in Andalusia, and more than 50% of its workforce in Iberia (Spain and Portugal), spread across its centres of excellence in Málaga and Seville.
A team of 5 students from the University of Seville has won the first edition of the Digital Health Datathon in Andalusia, promoted by Dedalus, a leading company in digital health solutions and clinical diagnostics in Europe. The initiative has had the collaboration of the School of Computer Engineering of theUniversity of Málaga(UMA) and theUniversity of Seville(US).
The main objective of the competition is to attract creativity, talent and motivation through the search for digital solutions to a challenge linked to ICU patients. Since the beginning of February, virtually, students of computer engineering, health engineering, with their specialisations in biocomputing and biomedical engineering, and telecommunications, among others, have been working on the development of ideas and digital solutions, using the infrastructure and development environments provided by the Datathon organisation, and with the advice of a team of mentors.
For 10 days, participants have been working on the resolution of a challenge that consisted of the characterisation analysis of a cohort corresponding to the population of ICU admissions to identify patterns in the symptoms identified, complementary tests requested and treatments administered, and implementation of data quality techniques, as well as visualisation through interactive dashboards to facilitate informed decision-making by professionals.
The first-prize-winning team, Bioblaze, from the University of Seville, was awarded for its end-to-end solution to support the management of an ICU unit, focused on cardiovascular patients. The second prize went to Biocodex, from the University of Málaga, for its solution to identify patterns in ICU patients with cardiovascular problems and a graphical interface to support doctors in making informed decisions.
The ceremony took place on Monday, 20th February, simultaneously at the Higher Technical Schools of Computer Engineering of the University of Málaga (UMA) and the University of Sevilla (US), in a ceremony that brought together all the participants together with members of the jury made up of executives and professionals from the Andalusian Health Service, the Andalusian Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, the Progreso y Salud Foundation, the Social Council of the University of Málaga, Málaga Tech Park, Dedalus and AWS.
In this regard, Francisco Sánchez Laguna, head of the Andalusian Health Service’s Information and Communication Technologies Sub-Directorate, stressed that “initiatives such as this are very important to highlight the value of the health engineering degree, a fundamental professional profile to promote digital health and advance in the humanisation of technology; as well as to stimulate the Andalusian pool and position it strongly in the face of the challenges that we will tackle together in the healthcare of the future.”
Andalusia, key to the company’s growth strategy in the Iberia region.
This initiative is part of the company’s growth strategy, which already has 260 professionals in Andalusia, more than 50% of its workforce in Iberia (Spain and Portugal), at its centres of excellence based in Málaga TechPark and Seville. Both centres are working on the development of hospital management solutions, open digital health record platforms, care coordination and chronic care management, digital pathology, data management and analytics and artificial intelligence, among other digital solutions that respond to the needs of the healthcare system. In the words of Marisa Felipe, CEO of Dedalus Iberia, “Andalusia is key to our growth strategy, both in the Iberia region and in the rest of the world. Innovation is part of our DNA at Dedalus, and with this Datathon we aim to attract the best professionals to develop and successfully undertake the transformational projects that we carry out with our clients to improve healthcare through technological tools and solutions that help to improve the experience of professionals and patients.”
Commitment to scientific and technological excellence
The universities of Málaga (UMA) and Seville (US) have joined this innovative and pioneering initiative in Andalusia. According to the director of theETSI Informática de Málaga, “having Dedalus, a world leader in digital health, for an initiative of this level is a luxury and makes visible the collaboration that we have been developing for a long time. It has been a very enriching and immersive experience for our students that has challenged them to solve a real problem in today’s healthcare”.
Likewise, Mª del Carmen Romero, director of the ETSI Informática de Sevilla, states that “it has been an excellent opportunity for the students of the Health Engineering Degree because they have been able to apply their skills and knowledge to real problems and challenges in the field of health from different perspectives, receiving the support of both academic and professional mentors, which has led them to creative and innovative solutions that could perfectly be transferred to the health field to improve patient care and decision making in hospital management.”
About Dedalus
Dedalus is the leading company in digital health solutions and clinical diagnostics in Europe, and one of the largest in the world. Thanks to an innovative approach, based on state-of-the-art, comprehensive and process-oriented solutions, Dedalus accompanies healthcare organisations around the world on the journey towards digital transformation, working today with more than 6,300 healthcare organisations and 5,700 laboratories.
The company has more than 7,000 highly qualified professionals and the largest digital health R&D team in the sector in Europe, comprising 40% of the total workforce. Dedalus has the clear purpose of being the preferred technology partner to promote the creation of an integrated digital health ecosystem in which all parties involved collaborate actively to promote continuity of care and improve the health outcomes of every citizen. For more information: dedalus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube