The purpose of the ALIBIRD® mHealth platform is to facilitate clinical decision-making during cancer treatment with a dual objective: to empower and motivate patients to follow personalized recommendations and prescribed strategies for their treatment, and to support the remote monitoring of patients by medical professionals through the telemedicine system.
From the conceptualization phase, work was carried out under the Patient-Centered Design approach, with interdisciplinary work sessions, interviews and activities with patients and healthcare professionals from the Infanta Sofia University Hospital, nutritionists and researchers from IMDEA-Food and other groups in the consortium.
The patient’s mobile application includes scenarios for data recording and visualization, connection with activity wristbands, and personalized recommendations based on nutrigenetics and microbiota. This, on the one hand, allows the patient to follow the clinical guidelines associated with their treatment, and on the other hand, supports healthcare professionals in monitoring clinical data and decision making.
Pilot study
The pilot study underway at the Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía will evaluate the viability of the platform in a sample of 20 volunteer lung cancer patients under treatment. Over 6 months, the participants will use the mobile application to record data on their daily lives, both related to their lifestyle (diet, physical activity, sleep, etc.) and to the treatment (symptoms, mood, toxicity, etc.).
Furthermore, a second 3-month test scenario is planned to begin at the Hospital Universitario La Paz, where women breast cancer survivors will participate.
ALIBIRD2020-CM
The ALIBIRD2020-CM Program (S2018/BAA-4343) “Precision Nutrition Therapeutic Formulations for Cancer” aims to improve the treatment of cancer patients through precision nutritional products and strategies. For this purpose, the goal is to design new therapeutic nutritional supplements that are effective when directed to metabolic targets involved in tumor proliferation processes, metastasis, chemotherapy resistance, tumor cachexia and related metabolic alterations.
Through clinical trials that analyze the genetic profile and the composition of the microbiota, both in the development and progression of the disease, it is sought to generate knowledge of the individual characteristics of this population to achieve a greater response to each precision nutrition strategy. For patient data recording, clinical monitoring and intelligent data analysis, it is essential to have a tool such as the ALIBIRD® mHealth Platform designed and developed by the Biomedical Engineering and Telemedicine Centre (GBT) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid together with other members of the project.
This project is funded by the 2018 call for R&D Programs in Technology of the Region of Madrid and co-financed with Structural Funds of the European Union and concludes on December 31, 2022.
ALIBIRD consortium
ALIBIRD2020-CM is a multidisciplinary consortium that brings together more than 45 reference researchers around a scientific-technological objective on food for health with a clear vision of service to society. They are experts in different areas of Life Sciences from several research teams:
- INGREEN-UAM, Grupo de Ingredientes Alimentarios Bioactivos de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- ALIMENTA, Alimentos bioactivos, biodisponibilidad y mecanismos de acción del CSIC;
- GBT, Grupo de Bioingeniería y Telemedicina de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid;
- NUTRINVEST, Grupo de Investigación en Nutrición y Alimentos Funcionales, del Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario La Paz;
- ONCOGENOM, Grupo de Oncología Molecular y Genómica Nutricional del Cáncer de IMDEA Alimentación;
- POL, Laboratorio de Oncología de Precisión (POL) del Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofía;
- Plataforma GENYAL-LAB, laboratorio especializado en genómica de IMDEA Alimentación
The consortium collaborates with different companies and technology transfer networks to train nutritionists and doctors in the prescription of these innovative products against cancer. Likewise, in order to inform patients and the general public about the possibilities of modern nutrition, ALIBIRD carries out dissemination and communication actions.
More details of the project can be found on its web page: http://alibird.org/2020-CM/
