Fujitsu is backing a new initiative intended to use artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing diabetes detection and treatment during pregnancy. In fact, the project seeks to boost the monitoring and treatment of pregnant mothers through a mobile application that measures blood glucose data and main lifestyle aspects. As a result, Fujitsu is providing modeling and data integration services as well as building a user interface in a bid to visualize patients’ data. By doing so, the company will allow healthcare experts to suggest personalized treatment.
Gestational diabetes is caused by inadequate production of insulin, a hormone that assists in regulating blood sugar levels in a bid to meet the additional needs during pregnancy. Although this condition does not cause any symptoms, it usually leads to difficulties during childbirth or premature birth.
The new project will be undertaken through the Finnish CleverHealth Network under the coordination of HUS Helsinki University Hospital. Even so, it utilizes machine learning not only in evaluating healthcare data but also in providing healthcare experts with improved insights into the health of pregnant mothers, especially those who may be at high risk of diabetes during expectancy. The project also offers treatment and guidance customized to meet individual risk profiles and needs.
According to a report by HUS, out of the 52,000 women in Finland who give birth each year, nearly 18% or almost 10,000 of them are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. What’s more, roughly half of those women diagnosed with diabetes develop type 2 diabetes later on, whereby either the pancreas fails to deliver adequate insulin or the body cells fail to react to insulin. As such, this situation results in 5,000 new diabetic patients every year, whose aggregate treatment expenses add up to 28 million euros.
The project by the CleverHealth Network aims at boosting both monitoring and treatment of gestational diabetes. As such, the network is creating a mobile application that will be used in measuring and storing an expectant mother’s data including daily weight, pulse, nutrition, blood glucose levels, and physical activity. The app then sends the data to a healthcare expert in real time.
The work of Fujitsu is to ensure that the data collected is compatible with both the Finnish National Personal Health Records and HUS’s data lake. The Finnish National Personal Health Records serves as a national data store whereby people can manage and access their health records.
Fujitsu’s head of public sector and healthcare sales, Mikko Lampinen, commented on the new technology. He said that it entails bringing together of numerous different technologies developed by Fujitsu in Finland and Japan in an attempt to create a new service platform that uses analytics and sensor data. He also emphasized the importance of displaying data in a clear manner as well as offering actionable analytics that healthcare experts can work with to treat their patients.
The use of AI will allow the prediction of the baby’s and mother’s future health. For instance, AI-driven insights can forecast a newborn baby’s body mass index, and birth weight as well as a mother’s future glucose levels.
Sources IrishTechNews
