Papers by Stella Christopoulou
BioMedInformatics, Mar 4, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
medRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Mar 20, 2024
The proposed Holistic Ecosystem for clinical Protocols and Trials Management (clinicalNET) projec... more The proposed Holistic Ecosystem for clinical Protocols and Trials Management (clinicalNET) project aims to establish a human and technical network of healthcare researchers, business partners, and stakeholders. The consortium will include specialists from various fields, including healthcare management, medicine, computer engineering, marketing, publishing, and public relations. The project will design and implement a semantically enabled information system for representing data and knowledge gathered during clinical trials. The clinicalNET project will define specifications for healthcare management services and knowledge engineering techniques, creating an intelligent collaborative web tool for information production and provision in healthcare. It will follow EU health policies and promote participation from leading researchers, stakeholders, and organizations. The clinicalNET will provide a health holistic ecosystem approach with open standards, trusted networks, and co-creator networks.
Advances in Healthcare Information Systems and Administration
The healthcare sector is crucial for the health and well-being of citizens, and many research eff... more The healthcare sector is crucial for the health and well-being of citizens, and many research efforts are being carried out which aim to support people's health and ultimately improve their quality of life. As a result, there is a growing need for technology-based solutions to support people in providing health services. In this chapter, research is presented which aims to develop a conceptual framework that supports personalized healthcare for pervasive computing that allows monitoring the health and wellbeing of patients anytime and anywhere. Thus, the author proposes virtual health mentor (vhMentor), an ontological and a rule-based model for the representation of knowledge and the exportation of the required interpretations. In case vhMentor detects a health problem, it will send a notification to the patient with instructions, while alternatively caregivers will be notified to investigate the problem and provide help. The system is expected to offer assisted living to long-t...
Advances in healthcare information systems and administration book series, Nov 18, 2022
BioMedInformatics
Background: Nowadays, much research deals with the application of the automated meta-analysis of ... more Background: Nowadays, much research deals with the application of the automated meta-analysis of clinical trials through appropriate machine learning tools to extract the results that can then be applied in daily clinical practice. Methods: The author performed a systematic search of the literature from 27 September 2022–22 November 2022 in PUBMED, in the first 6 pages of Google Scholar and in the online catalog, the Systematic Review Toolbox. Moreover, a second search of the literature was performed from 7 January 2023–20 January 2023 in the first 10 pages of Google Scholar and in the Semantic Google Scholar. Results: 38 approaches in 39 articles met the criteria and were included in this overview. These articles describe in detail machine learning approaches, methods, and tools that have been or can potentially be applied to the meta-analysis of clinical trials. Nevertheless, while the other tasks of a systematic review have significantly developed, the automation of meta-analyses...
The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the requirements and to lead to synergies between two... more The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the requirements and to lead to synergies between two extremely demanding areas, those of medicine and information technology. In the field of medicine, the requirements are primarily concerned with ensuring the application of documented knowledge - with the application of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) - and the correct and safe use of medical technology products that have been tested through clinical trials. In the field of technology, the requirements relate to the exploitation of new and innovative technologies to meet the medical community's requirements to the maximum extent possible, ensuring the efficiency, usability, reliability of the systems used, cost reduction and improvement and the quality of life of patients. In this thesis, the basic concepts and methods of EBM are first presented. The following describes in detail the emerging IT technologies that primarily serve the provision of personalized tele-counseling health sys...
Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας. Σχολή Θετικών Επιστημών. Τμήμα Πληροφορικής με Εφαρμογές στη Βιοϊατρική, 2019
BioMedInformatics
Background: The application of machine learning (ML) tools (MLTs) to support clinical trials outp... more Background: The application of machine learning (ML) tools (MLTs) to support clinical trials outputs in evidence-based health informatics can be an effective, useful, feasible, and acceptable way to advance medical research and provide precision medicine. Methods: In this study, the author used the rapid review approach and snowballing methods. The review was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, COCHRANE LIBRARY, clinicaltrials.gov, Semantic Scholar, and the first six pages of Google Scholar from the 10 July–15 August 2022 period. Results: Here, 49 articles met the required criteria and were included in this review. Accordingly, 32 MLTs and platforms were identified in this study that applied the automatic extraction of knowledge from clinical trial outputs. Specifically, the initial use of automated tools resulted in modest to satisfactory time savings compared with the manual management. In addition, the evaluation of performance, functionality, usability, user in...
Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 2017
Healthcare provision is a set of activities that demands the collaboration of several stakeholder... more Healthcare provision is a set of activities that demands the collaboration of several stakeholders (e.g. physicians, nurses, managers, patients etc.) who hold distinct expertise and responsibilities. In addition, medical knowledge is diversely located and often shared under no central coordination and supervision authority, while medical data flows remain mostly passive regarding the way data is delivered to both clinicians and patients. In this paper, we propose the implementation of a virtual health Mentor (vhMentor) which stands as a dedicated ontology schema and FIPA compliant agent system. Agent technology proves to be ideal for developing healthcare applications due to its distributed operation over systems and data sources of high heterogeneity. Agents are able to perform their tasks by acting pro-actively in order to assist individuals to overcome limitations posed during accessing medical data and executing non-automatic error-prone processes. vhMentor further comprises the...
Social Network Analysis and Mining, 2017
Our work examines the risks and benefits stemming from the evolution of Social Network Services (... more Our work examines the risks and benefits stemming from the evolution of Social Network Services (SNSs) in the healthcare domain. More specifically, we study the impact of specific health-oriented social networks such as PatientsLikeMe. Social networks evolved to a ubiquitous part of daily life and WEB 2.0 paved the way for the internet to be used as a method of interactive communication and information immersion. Health SNSs have the strength to influence healthcare services delivery and information availability supported by emerging technologies which track, gather and quantify real-time medical data from patients. SNSs support publicly provided information to patients, offering them the power not only to educate themselves but take part in the decision-making process of their health. On the other hand, healthcare stakeholders have gained access to new information which can help to cut costs, progress research, and improve the healthcare system. However, apart from the unambiguous benefits of SNSs, several risks are identified such as patient confidentiality violation. By incorporating the volumes of data collected by websites like PatientsLikeMe and other WEB 2.0 applications, the patient-industry partnership could ensure better products at lesser costs. Web 3.0 is the next step toward a heath care ecosystem which will evolve out of micro-contributions creating the most accurate representations of medicine for the stakeholders.
Health and Technology, 2017
Towards the provision of medical research and eHealth services, several Health Information Techno... more Towards the provision of medical research and eHealth services, several Health Information Technology (HIT) platforms are blended with communication and software technologies (i.e. mobile and Web applications, wireless sensor networks, Internet of Things and cloud computing). However, an important research issue is whether and to what degree these technologies are efficiently and effectively integrated into medical practice. Accordingly, this study reviews recent literature on HITs that employ RCTs, which are acknowledged as a reliable solution by the community of health stakeholders. Furthermore, it examines the research efforts in the field and evaluates the relevant functionalities. The literature search strategy was based on PRISMA 2009 Checklist and the CONSORT-EHEALTH Checklist that are two standard methodologies for systematic reviews in Evidence Based Medicine and Health Information Technologies. The analysis of the studies included was performed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. The sources considered in this research include the most common clinical trial registries and academic electronic databases. The studies considered were conducted from 2008 until 2016. The authors considered RCTs having published their results in at least one article. As a result, 55 articles from 42 different journals are considered in this review. The benefits of the HIT delivered interventions are clearly presented in the outcomes of the relevant studies. Significant improvements were observed in the findings of 31 trials from a total of 51 (60.78%) including the acceptance, satisfaction, reliability, usefulness, safety, effectiveness and financial benefit of HITs. The results of this review reveal that HIT and eHealth interventions achieve at least equally reliable and safe outcomes compared with the usual support methods of healthcare. Significantly encouraging results are noticed in interventions employing HIT over several healthcare fields.
Health and Technology, 2013
ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the development of a citizen-oriented lifelong healthcare assistan... more ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the development of a citizen-oriented lifelong healthcare assistant system, which will support not only health Care Delivery Organizations (CDOs) but also health care providers. In other words this work proposes an u_Health system that will enhance not only the health care services but it will also provide individuals with the opportunity to manage their health needs via a “Five Cs” comprehensive and consistent scheme. Its goal is to take advantage of the ongoing emerging technologies by including them in the process of healthcare with the synergy among health experts’ and the continuous interactive-exchange of knowledge and information in connection with the providers’ and the users’ experiences. Acting in this direction, the smart citizen healthcare assistant (sCHcA) framework proposes the infrastructure and the tools necessary in order to achieve the continuous monitoring and provision of care no matter where the individual may be. Specifically, this article presents a platform for a mobile mashup system that can be established on a CDO server and it will extend to a group of interrelated widgets that will work as a mobile service. The system will be able to create, install and operate as an integrated construction that will monitor and gather data from various health sensors and then send them to the CDO server and further may implement individuals’ health matters. Healthcare professionals and organizations can further exploit this novel integrated tele-monitoring mechanism. Moreover, they may also utilize it as a ubiquitous individual home health care service and facilitate vulnerable groups, those living in remote areas, patients suffering from incurable diseases and long-term patients.
Healthcare, 2018
Background: The application of Health Information Technologies (HITs) can be an effective way to ... more Background: The application of Health Information Technologies (HITs) can be an effective way to advance medical research and health services provision. The two-fold objective of this work is to: (i) identify and review state-of-the-art HITs that facilitate the aims of evidence-based medicine and (ii) propose a methodology for HIT assessment. Methods: The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Furthermore, we consolidated existing knowledge in the field and proposed a Synthesis Framework for the Assessment of Health Information Technology (SF/HIT) in order to evaluate the joint use of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) along with HITs in the field of evidence-based medicine. Results: 55 articles met the inclusion criteria and refer to 51 (RCTs) published between 2008 and 2016. Significant improvements in healthcare through the use of HITs were observed in the findings of 31 out of 51 t...
Healthcare, Apr 5, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The healthcare domain is mission critical and vast research efforts keep being funded in order to... more The healthcare domain is mission critical and vast research efforts keep being funded in order to improve life quality of people. Health management consists of specific cooperation intensive activities, while medical knowledge and systems are spatially and functionally distributed. Also, medical data flows are inefficient for dynamic data delivery to stakeholders while the manifold of medical care derives from their diversity and autonomy. In such an environment we propose the implementation of vhMentor based on a solid ontological schema. The aim of the proposed system is to suggest an agent-based solution to overcome the automation deficiencies of medical data monitoring. Towards this objective we study the applicability and usefulness of the mobile agent technology in the healthcare domain. Furthermore, we implemented the encapsulation of remote sensing and medical devices signals in an ontology-supported healthcare information system. The resulting system encourages the future i...
2013 E-Health and Bioengineering Conference (EHB), 2013
ABSTRACT Information and Computer Technologies have produced new generation interaction methods a... more ABSTRACT Information and Computer Technologies have produced new generation interaction methods and services to support human activities, offering evolutionary learning procedures. 3D Virtual Worlds are sophisticated platforms supporting a set of human activities, enriching the way we learn, work and socialize. They are platforms that can support a constructivist learning approach of medical students, based on methods at the edge of technology inducing a team spirit and enhanced collaboration experience. In our work, we introduce the concept of e-learning through virtual worlds in medical and healthcare education, providing a literature review on the field. Furthermore, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of virtual worlds in healthcare, we provide a comparison of the most popular platforms, while some open research issues are being considered in the conclusion.
2013 E-Health and Bioengineering Conference (EHB), 2013
ABSTRACT The challenge to provide qualitative and cost effective health care services becomes mor... more ABSTRACT The challenge to provide qualitative and cost effective health care services becomes more necessary than ever. Telemedicine and telehealth can effectively contribute towards this direction. They do not only enrich medical practice with innovative technologies and systems but ensure interoperability, coordination, collaboration and synergy between physicians, citizens and organizations since they are comprise an integrated ecosystem. In this work, we propose an Open and Linked Health Ecosystem (OLHE) which is a smart web tool for collaborative, integrated and participatory health care provision. It embodies on-line care template development capabilities, automatic installation, assessment, collaborative monitoring and healthcare provision by applying an individual care plan through predefined care plan templates. These templates are modeled as hierarchical structured workflows according to an ontological approach and can be stored anywhere. Also, a modeling scheme based on metagraphs describes the components of our ecosystem, depicting the personalized care plan installation procedure through a simplified scenario.
Health and Technology, Jan 1, 2012
The main inspiration for the implementation of the Content Citizen Health Management System (CCHM... more The main inspiration for the implementation of the Content Citizen Health Management System (CCHMS) is to provide a daily, convenient and easily accessible collaborative supportive environment, which will concern social and personal health and welfare matters, to computer literate citizens and those who desire to use information technology. It is a fact that Health services involving prevention and wellness are changing significantly towards a more citizen-centered, home care notion why not also mobile services via WEB and WAP technologies. In other words, the CCHMS as a portal is fundamentally an integration of health content and services in a functional and intelligent WEB environment via the development of communication channels among citizens and the public and private organizations. The design and the development of the CCHMS are based on open source software and follow the appropriate HITSP [1] and ISO/TR 22221 [2] standards along with HONcode principles . In particular, the CCHM system relies on the creation of a customized portal based on the philosophy of the Knowledge Management and Content Management System (CMS). The CMS supports the creation, management, distribution and the publication of corporate information, used to organize and facilitate the collaborative document creation, and other types of content and powerful tools required to create the infrastructure upon which a dynamic website will be set up. The project's objective is to create a modern, inexpensive, widespread tool to support access to a healthy lifestyle, by means of monitoring and consulting citizens on issues of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, shared information and collaborative education. Also, the development of a voluntary professional health network enables citizens to improve personalized health-related management according to national and European policies.
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Papers by Stella Christopoulou