Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MISTRAL (a toolkit for dynaMic health Impact analysiS to predicT disability-Related costs in the Aging population based on three case studies of steeL-industry exposed areas in europe)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-01-01 al 2024-06-30
The interactions between health, environment, socioeconomic status, and geography on population health, both in biomedical and health economics terms, are very complex. A system capable of efficiently analyzing these non-linear relationships by defining measurable quantitative outputs is needed. MISTRAL will create a web-based platform for a dynamic and flexible health impact assessment relying on AI predictive modelling. It will be capable of full, scalable adaptation modelling from the geographical control down to individual risk levels, and to manage counterfactual analyses as an interactive AI. The development of a web platform based on open real-world data, carrying evidence from urban realities consistent with the environmental problems, defines a new model of approach to the forecasting of the impact. The platform aims not only to model the policy choices in terms of the selection of risk factors and related interventions, but it actively indicates what trade-offs can support the decisions, consistently and adherently sustaining the health needs of the country.
MISTRAL Project combines a solid scientific approach with cutting-edge Al-based technologies to provide immersive digital tools enabling stakeholders to build dynamic and personalized policies. In RP1, all WPs were operational, resulting in submitting 21 out of 21 planned deliverables and achieving 2 scheduled milestones.
Below is a summary of each WP's key accomplishments during this period.
WP1 developed and launched the MISTRAL virtual infrastructure, which can provide secure, federated data processing and administration. Continuous endeavours encompass refining the platform's usability, augmenting data accessibility, and incorporating supplementary datasets. The infrastructure has been developed and deployed physically in Taranto (Urban Health Center). All the devices and high-performing machines are dedicated only to the MISTRAL project and all the partners. The core of the infrastructure is the MISTRAL Platform (https://mistralplatform.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra)) the central server that is now going to the ZEPHYR digital survey. It will be developed further for the project, offering a solid basis for sophisticated Health Impact Assessments (HIA) and opening up access to a more extensive network of academics for collaboration and creative data analysis and modeling. In the Taranto case study, the first AIRWINGS devices - suitable for indoor air quality monitoring - are being validated concurrently, and after several data security controls will be deployed among the strategic indoor places.
WP2 worked in synergies with WP1 and WP3 to successfully contribute to the draft and release of the first version of the Data Management Plan (DMP) and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and to support the principal and secondary study coordinators in dealing with their local Ethical Committees (EC).
WP3's activities connected to the ZEPHYR study started successfully in Taranto (study coordinator) in March 2024; until now, we have reached 50% of the sample. Enrollment in Rybnik (PL) started in June 2024. More than 500 urine and blood samples have been collected and will be shipped to Hasselt University for the black carbon analysis. ASLTA has gathered different environmental exposure data from Copernicus on air pollution and identified patterns in air pollution over time, supported by UNIBA (Physics) for weather data, land use, street configuration, building heights surrounding the area, and traffic exposure indicators, to create different multi-modal physical photochemical dispersion models on the three cities.
WP4’s primary focus has been developing innovative analytical methods and models to enhance Health Impact Assessment (HIA) tools. New models and approaches are currently under study after systematic reviews have been planned and ongoing. WP5 is the foundation for integrating population health researchers and data scientists. Preliminary activities consisting of board committees set up and community engagement events have been scheduled to create a sustainable and responsive engagement framework.
Under WP6, the coordination team organized various meetings, including the Kick-off, General Assembly, and Plenary meetings, to review the project’s status and progress. At this project stage, communication and dissemination (WP7) are mainly focused on raising awareness and engaging with potential adopters of the project results through workshops, webinars, and participation in events. Generally, KPIs related to communication and dissemination align with the initially established targets.
Below is a summary of each WP's key accomplishments during this period.
WP1 developed and launched the MISTRAL virtual infrastructure, which can provide secure, federated data processing and administration. Continuous endeavours encompass refining the platform's usability, augmenting data accessibility, and incorporating supplementary datasets. The infrastructure has been developed and deployed physically in Taranto (Urban Health Center). All the devices and high-performing machines are dedicated only to the MISTRAL project and all the partners. The core of the infrastructure is the MISTRAL Platform (https://mistralplatform.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra)) the central server that is now going to the ZEPHYR digital survey. It will be developed further for the project, offering a solid basis for sophisticated Health Impact Assessments (HIA) and opening up access to a more extensive network of academics for collaboration and creative data analysis and modeling. In the Taranto case study, the first AIRWINGS devices - suitable for indoor air quality monitoring - are being validated concurrently, and after several data security controls will be deployed among the strategic indoor places.
WP2 worked in synergies with WP1 and WP3 to successfully contribute to the draft and release of the first version of the Data Management Plan (DMP) and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and to support the principal and secondary study coordinators in dealing with their local Ethical Committees (EC).
WP3's activities connected to the ZEPHYR study started successfully in Taranto (study coordinator) in March 2024; until now, we have reached 50% of the sample. Enrollment in Rybnik (PL) started in June 2024. More than 500 urine and blood samples have been collected and will be shipped to Hasselt University for the black carbon analysis. ASLTA has gathered different environmental exposure data from Copernicus on air pollution and identified patterns in air pollution over time, supported by UNIBA (Physics) for weather data, land use, street configuration, building heights surrounding the area, and traffic exposure indicators, to create different multi-modal physical photochemical dispersion models on the three cities.
WP4’s primary focus has been developing innovative analytical methods and models to enhance Health Impact Assessment (HIA) tools. New models and approaches are currently under study after systematic reviews have been planned and ongoing. WP5 is the foundation for integrating population health researchers and data scientists. Preliminary activities consisting of board committees set up and community engagement events have been scheduled to create a sustainable and responsive engagement framework.
Under WP6, the coordination team organized various meetings, including the Kick-off, General Assembly, and Plenary meetings, to review the project’s status and progress. At this project stage, communication and dissemination (WP7) are mainly focused on raising awareness and engaging with potential adopters of the project results through workshops, webinars, and participation in events. Generally, KPIs related to communication and dissemination align with the initially established targets.
The MISTRAL Project is in its early stage, therefore many of the results beyond the state of the art are works in progress. The development and deployment of the MISTRAL dashboard and infrastructure (network architecture, data and security engineering) that will enable all the subsequent activities, and its evaluation through a usability questionnaire, represents the most significant achievements in RP1.
Besides that, other significant developments include:
- the design and deployment of a "template format" for the studies in Taranto to be replicated in all the use cases (Belgium and Poland);
- the study and release of tailored socio-economic questionnaires designed after careful literature review and existing databases;
. the introduction of advanced privacy-preserving techniques such as Differential Privacy and Homomorphic Encryption to protect sensitive health data;
- the successful coordination with the METEOR cluster to align and foster scientific research in environment and health.
Besides that, other significant developments include:
- the design and deployment of a "template format" for the studies in Taranto to be replicated in all the use cases (Belgium and Poland);
- the study and release of tailored socio-economic questionnaires designed after careful literature review and existing databases;
. the introduction of advanced privacy-preserving techniques such as Differential Privacy and Homomorphic Encryption to protect sensitive health data;
- the successful coordination with the METEOR cluster to align and foster scientific research in environment and health.