The EVOTION Consortium

The EVOTION Consortium is composed of thirteen (13) partners representing universities, hospitals, research organizations and companies from seven (7) EU member countries (i.e. UK, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Italy) and one associate country (Switzerland). The consortium is carefully set up to combine multidisciplinary competencies from health policy making, clinical, academic, industry, and research community including partners willing to cooperate and sharing such diverse and complementary technical skills and clinical and scientific expertise required for the development of the EVOTION platform. The selection of partners was based on criteria of experience, expertise and most of all complementarity. All participants are highly committed to the development of the system, thus guaranteeing the realization of the project’s objectives.

Partners

Oticon A/S

oticonOticon A/S

Oticon coordinates the EVOTION project and provides competences in hearing aid technology, acoustics, diagnostics, and eHealth. Our main contribution is to connect state of art hearing aids to the EVOTION platform, transfer our knowledge about use of hearing aid techology into powerful interactions between end-users, hearing aid technology, and hearing care professionals, and finally combine our ability to analyse use of hearing aid technology with the other partners' competencies to collect evidence for public health policies.
EVOTION is hosted in the research areas eHealth and Advanced Algorithms at Eriksholm Research Centre in Snekkersten, Denmark.

Oticon is part of William Demant Group, a global market leader in hearing healthcare. We develop, manufacture and sell products and equipment that help people with hearing loss connect and communicate with the world around them. We focus on four business activities: Hearing Devices, Hearing Implants, Diagnostic Instruments and Personal Communication.

University College London

uclUniversity College London

UCL will provide overall scientific coordination and will lead the clinical activities related to the validation of the EVOTION platform. It will also contribute to dissemination by using established UCL courses, public engagement events, national/international researcher and industry stakeholders workshops and other events to publicise the project and its results

Major activities
Establishing  the ethical framework for the clinical work and obtaining appropriate approvals, in collaboration with all clinical partners
Engaging with the ENT Clinical Research Network to facilitate recruitment of 500 patients at UCL and allied partners/clinical sites.
Recruting and testing 500 hearing impaired patients incl atients with stroke, mild cognitive impairment and auditory neuropathy
Facilitating access to existing group hearing aid user anonymised  data to support the big data analytics of the project
Supporting development of auditory testing and training tests and apps (theoretical knowledge, choice of test material)
Contributing to results analysis and interpretation across the relevant packages
Supporting dissemination activities (lead authorship of min 2 open access journal publications; 2 posters; 1 press release; 1 international single day workshop (planned for in February 2018).

Institute of Communication and Computer Systems

iccs

Institute of Communication and Computer Systems

ICCS is responsible for the development of the Public Health Policy Decision Models (PHPDM) and the Decision Support System (DSS) of the EVOTION platform. Its main contribution to EVOTIOΝ focuses on:

a)       the heterogenous data fusion and their transformation into PHPDM for Noise Induced Hearing Loss and Auditory Training.

b)      the development of the DSS that will realize the PHPDM and the EVOTION front end visualization component that will encompass the integral parts of the EVOTION platform.

Based on expertise and knowledge acquired from continuous participations in EU projects, ICCS aims to actively transfer these into action and build upon the challenging tasks it is assigned, to ensure the overall quality of the project deliverables.

ICCS (Institute of Communication and Computer Systems) is a non-profit Academic Research Body and is represented in the EVOTION project by the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory (BEL). R&D activities of BEL related to the EVOTION project cover fields such as Medical Data Management Systems, Neural Networks, Chaotic Algorithms and Decision Support Systems, Big Data Analytics, Knowledge Representation and Data Fusion algorithms, Web and Cloud Services and Interoperability Standards.
The City University of London

cul

The City University London

City, University of London was founded in 1894. It is based in the City of London, hosts more than 17,000 students and more than 2,000 staff from more than 150 countries, and is in the top 5% of world universities (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012). More than 80% of the research activity of CITY in the fields of Computer Science and Informatics was assessed as being of internationally excellent or world leading level by the last national research assessment (REF 2014) in the UK. CITY participates in EVOTION, through the Research Centre of Adaptive Computing Systems (CeNACS). CeNACS (www.city.ac.uk/research-centre-adaptive-computing-systems-cenacs) has 30 members (5 faculty members and 25 research fellows, assistants and PhDstudents) and is led by Professor George Spanoudakis. CeNACS conducts research on engineering adaptive computing systems with a special focus on the fundamental control structures and algorithms required for adaptation and the strategies for preserving quality and security properties in this process. Its research has been applied in domains including cloud infrastructures and services, systems involving the use of IoT technologies, and systems supporting healthcare and ambient assisted living.
In EVOTION, City has responsibility for the overall technical coordination of the project and will lead the activities related to the development of the real time and static EVOTION data repository, the specification and enactment of evidence based public health decision making models, the development of the overall architecture of the EVOTION platform, and the development of the mobile application for auditory training. City will also contribute to the development of the big data analytic capabilites of the EVOTION platform, the development of prognosis models for the effective use of hearing aids, and the development of public health policy models.

The contributions of City will be based on the long standing expertise of CeNACS in software engineering, data analytics, cloud and mobile computing

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

ethniko

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

NKUA (http://en.uoa.gr/) was founded in 1837 and is the largest public institution of higher education in Greece, and among the largest universities in Europe. It and has 32 Faculties, 111 Postgraduate programs of all disciplines, 158 Laboratories and 69 Clinics within 4 University Hospitals. NKUA is represented in the EVOTION project by the 1st University Department of Otolaryngology (AORL), established in 1939 at the Hippocratio Hospital in Athens. AORL provides clinical tertiary services for all major subspecialties including Otology & Cochlear Implants surgery, Audiology, Head & Neck Oncology, Rhinology and Laryngology. In particular, the Audio-Vestibular Laboratory focuses in the assessment of hearing and balance disorders using the latest technology and is active in audiological and vestibular research. It also provides services for patients with tinnitus as well as musicians with hearing loss in respective special interest clinics.
AORL will lead the task of coordination of data collection from patients with hearing loss, who will be issued the EVOTION hearing aids, sensors, a mobile phone and the EVOTION mobile application. During this task it will recruit 500 out of total 1750 hearing aid users for the purpose of data collection. AORL will also be involved in the technical and clinical evaluation of the EVOTION platform as well as the development of auditory training components. Finally, it will lead the dissemination activities of the project.
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine

nofer

Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine

Instytut Medycyny Pracy imienia Prof. dra med. Jerzego Nofera (Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, NIOM) in Lodz, Poland, was established by the Minister of Health in 1954 with a status of a scientific research institute. Its’ activities focus on identification of risks to human health in working and general environments, development and implementation of prevention programs aimed at reducing the incidence of occupational diseases, including damage to the organ of hearing. Because of its social mission, NIOM collaborates closely with several governmental organizations, such as the Ministry of Health-Department of Public Health, the Social Insurance Institution and the State Sanitary Inspectorate.

NIOM will support the EVOTION project through our clinical expertise in prognosis and prevention of noise-induced hearing loss. We will also contribute to the identification of stakeholders (public health policy institutions, clinicians and audiologists) with the aim to elicit, specify and prioritize user requirements for the EVOTION solution. NIOM will contribute to the dissemination of the EVOTION project results through traditional academic channels (publications in scientific journals, presentations at national and international conferences, workshops), making the project achievements visible to public health policy organizations and liaising with other external research activities. In addition, the NIOM will be responsible for preparation of annual Dissemination Reports of the project.

Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust

guysstthomasprop

Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GST) is a large publically funded healthcare provider based within the National Health Service (NHS) in London, UK. We are also part of King’s Health Partners, one of only five Academic Health Science Centres in the UK, bringing together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise in healthcare. GST is recognised in the UK and beyond as a leading organisation in the delivery of healthcare research opportunities to the patients it serves.

This project is supported through our Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) and Audiology Department; one of the largest such departments in England.

GST will support the EVOTION project through our clinical expertise in the treatment of hearing disorders. We will be supporting the design and implementation of the project streams which directly involve individuals with hearing loss and hearing aid users. In addition we will be supporting the IT and data streams by providing the relevant clinical perspective, and we will also be providing a focal point for contact with stakeholders in specialist healthcare provision.
Athens Technology Center SA

Athens Technology Center SA

ATC is an Information Technology Company (SME) offering solutions and services targeting specific sectors incl. the Media, Banking and Retail Sectors, Utilities and Public Sector Organizations as well as horizontal solutions focusing on Content Management, Enterprise Software, Web Applications, Human Capital Resource Management and eLearning, and Mobile Applications.
ATC in the EVOTION project will aim at the Requirements and Design, especially targeting the identification and engagement of different stakeholders from whom requirements should be elicited for the EVOTION platform. Also, under the Requirements and Design tasks ATC will contribute to the definition of the overall architecture of the EVOTION platform and to the detailed specification of the design of its components. Moreover, ATC will lead the EVOTION solution integration of the different components that will be developed in WP4 and WP5, into a well-documented single platform at TRL-7. Finally, ATC plans to contribute to the development of the EVOTION components with a mobile application and a social media campaigning feedback collection component.

Institute of Public Health for the Osijek-Baranya County

zavod

Institute of Public Health for the Osijek-Baranya County

Institute of Public Health for the Osijek-Baranya County (IPH) is a partner institution in EVOTION project. IPH is the largest public health institution in eastern Croatia. It has a wide spectrum of expertise in epidemiology, environmental health, pest control, clinical microbiology, school medicine, general public health and addiction prevention. Institute was established in 1925. The IPH collaborates with national Ministries, Universities, NGOs and international organizations.

IPH contribute in EVOTION's scientific and technical management, identification of different stakeholders, scenarios and requirements. IPH also works on EVOTION architecture, detailed design and in development of Public Health Policy Decision Models. One of the greatest challenges will be focused on validation of EVOTION platform as a public health policymaking tool. Impact assessment, exploitation and dissemination of the EVOTION project are also goals to which IPH will contribute.

 

Pazardzhik Regional Administration

pazardzhik-district-administration

Pazardzhik Regional Administration

Pazardzhik Regional Administration (PRA) will contribute to the specification of use and system requirements for the EVOTION platform and to the identification of basic goals, criteria for making health policy decisions and evidence (in terms of personal, behavioural and occupational data), as well as factors that may affect them for the various models for policymaking decisions. We will do this by engaging different public health policy stakeholders. Being a regional-level public authority PRA is experienced in working with public policy stakeholders in drafting strategies, plans and in solving social issues. In addition, we have elaborated several methodologies for working with public stakeholders in the course of our participation in EU-funded projects. We will deliver our EVOTION contribution by using questionnaires and organising focus groups and interviews. We will also participate in the demonstration/testing/validation of the decision-making model versions and contribute for the evaluation of the public policy decision-making functionality of the EVOTION platform. This is planned to be done by using feedback questionnaires and qualitative assessments of feedback provided by public health policymaking stakeholders. We will also contribute for the drafting of relevant reports. Finally, PRA will contribute to the dissemination of the project information and results to the wider public health policy community and this will be performed through both the EVOTION website and PRA’s official website and through organisation of targeted workshops for health policymaking stakeholders and participation in relevant conferences.
Università degli Studi di Milano

umil

Università degli Studi di Milano (UNIMI)

Università degli Studi di Milano (UNIMI) is a major higher education and research institution in Italy, offering degrees in all areas of science and humanities.

UNIMI will contribute to Evotion as a technical partner mainly leading the work dedicated to the development of the Evotion components. More specifically, UMINI is in charge of the development of a Big Data Analytics (BDA) engine and of a Public Health Policy Decision Model specification tool. A UNIMI team member is also part of the Ethics Board of the project.
The SErvice– oriented Software Architectures Research (SESAR) Lab,  established in 2003, is part of the Computer Science Department of the Università degli Studi di Milano and is led by Prof. Ernesto Damiani.
The SESAR Lab has a staff composed by 13 full-time researchers, faculties and post–docs, plus a number of Ph.D. candidates. SESAR Lab members have experience in different research areas, including cloud testing and performance monitoring, security certification of software/services, mobile geolocation, online privacy, cybercrime, formal verification of distributed systems, empirical software engineering, complex networks and simulation. SESAR Lab members are involved in many projects at national and international level. Long-term grants from major companies, such as Telecom Italia, Nokia Siemens Networks, and British Telecom, fund several SESAR Lab's current researches.
Athens Medical Center SA

amc

Athens Medical Center SA

Athens Medical Group (AMC) was founded in 1984 by Dr. G. Apostolopoulos with a vision to stop the outflow of Greek patients to established medical destinations in Western Europe and the USA. Today, AMC is a top-level European Medical Group, whose hospitals operate under the strictest international quality criteria, with specialised and experienced medical and nursing personnel and state-of-the-art medical equipment.

AMC’s mission is “to offer top medical services, abiding by the most austere international medical guidelines and certifications, with respect and dedication to the human being and by having a single aim for all of us, health improvement”. It has been listed on the Athens Stock Exchange since 1991, while Asklepios Kliniken GmbH, one of the largest Healthcare groups in Europe, which operates 140 medical units, is a major shareholder.

AMC runs 8 ultramodern hospitals with a capacity of 1200 beds and collaborates with more than 2,800 affiliated doctors of all specialties, with international careers in Europe and in the USA. It employs more than 3,000 personnel of medical, nursing, administrative and other functions and it cooperates with the most eminent Universities and Organisations of the World. In the greater Athens metropolitan area 7 hospital units are located: Athens Medical Center, Paediatric Center and GAIA Maternity Clinic in Maroussi, Psychiko Clinic, PaleoFaliro Clinic, Dafne Clinic, and Peristeri Clinic. The European Interbalkan Medical Center (EIMC) is located in the Northern part of Greece, in Thessaloniki. Additionally, AMC cooperates with an extensive nationwide network of more than 2,500 physicians, 390 diagnostic centers and 8 haemodialysis units whose aim is to offer vertically integrated healthcare services throughout Greece. In AMC annually there are 62,000 admissions, 48,000 surgical operations are performed, 6,800 births, 42,000 haemodialysis sessions and 14,000 check ups take place and 400,000 outpatients are treated. Its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) offer 24/7 urgent medical assistance and patient transportation with a fleet of fully equipped mobile intensive care units.

EMPELOR GMBH

empelorgmbhEMPELOR GMBH

Empelor’s contribution to the EVOTION project shall be reflected in various fields. Beginning with the platform overall requirements & design specifications, we shall shift to the development phase of the components required by the platform and then of course, integrate, test and deliver all above development into a single solution with state-of-the-art security and privacy features. Like all contributing partners, Empelor shall participate into the technical evaluation phase, as well as in the dissemination activities of the project.

Empelor is operating successfully in highly sensitive IT Security markets since many years. The company develops products and solutions that make mobile communication and transaction processes safer in a way which provides the best user experience. Empelor enters into collaborations and partnerships with service providers who make use of mobile communication infrastructures. Empelor’s mission is to deliver solutions to its partners which come with the best technologies to resist all known and potential attack vectors.