STRAP

2020

The STRAP consortium aims to reduce the burden of heart disease by early detecting heart disease deterioration, benefiting patients, healthcare workers, and society. This initiative responds to acute needs observed in cardiology clinics, combined with the increasing availability of health tracking technologies. The project focuses on developing a new, AI-powered solution using cost-effective technology to maximize impact on healthcare costs.

The Research
STRAP is dedicated to developing a comprehensive data collection platform integrating off-the-shelf and cutting-edge self-tracking technologies. This platform empowers patients to measure vital signs at home, eliminating the need for frequent clinic visits and enabling longitudinal data collection on daily activities and emotions. The platform enhances self-tracking adherence through gamification strategies. The project involves developing and evaluating novel diagnostic and prognostic methods through two trials with target groups where notable improvements are achievable and highly impactful:

Trial for Elderly Heart Patients: reducing re-hospitalization among elderly heart patients to minimize health deterioration and healthcare costs.
Trial at Cardiac Outpatient Clinics: lower costs and enhance the quality of heart disease diagnosis for individuals attending cardiac outpatient clinics.

The foundation of the trials is twofold. Establishing a Robust Dataset: creating an interconnected dataset to evaluate digitalized techniques' performance in relation to health records. This dataset incorporates electrocardiography data, stethoscope audio recordings, wrist-worn device activity levels, electronic nose sensor data, and self-reported information via IoT technologies, including parameters like water consumption, sleep patterns, real-time feelings, physiological responses, and overall patient well-being. Employing this diverse dataset, STRAP develops innovative analysis and early diagnosis methods to advance heart disease detection and monitoring.

Through these efforts, STRAP aims to implement advanced technologies and data-driven approaches to significantly impact heart disease management.

Origin
This project was funded within the Big Data & Health Program. The focus of this public-private research program is the use of big data for the early detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The program has been developed by NWO, ZonMw, the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Top Sectors Life Sciences & Health (LSH), ICT and Creative Industry, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and the Netherlands eScience Center. Within this research program, the ambitions of the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and the Netherlands eScience Center were aligned with the ambitions of Commit2Data for the Top Sectors ICT, LSH, and Creative Industry, as described in the 2018-2019 Kennis- en Innovatiecontracts between NWO and the Top Sectors.

Collaborators

Contact person:

P. Markopoulos

p.markopoulos@tue.nl

Principal investigators

Prof. Dr. P. Markopoulos (Panos)

Project Coordinator

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The GENIUS II (Generating Evidence-Based Pharmaceutical Targets and Drugs for Atherosclerosis) consortium is dedicated to studying atherosclerosis, the primary pathological condition underlying cardiovascular diseases. The consortium aims to translate identified druggable targets for atherosclerosis intervention into clinical applications. Gender specificity is a key consideration in all our studies. Our consortium's talent program is structured to provide young researchers with insights into the opportunities and challenges of cardiovascular drug development.
The Research
GENIUS II research integrates knowledge of dyslipidemia and associated immune responses. Our work is organized into distinct work packages that correspond to the logical steps in drug development. Each selected target from GENIUS I is strategically incorporated into this framework. Our investigations encompass in vitro and in vivo analyses to understand mechanisms, druggability, and effects on atherosclerosis.
In addition to building upon GENIUS I drug targets and leads, we leverage recent innovative advancements to identify new druggable targets within male and female atherosclerotic lesions, as well as in circulating cells. State-of-the-art molecular biology techniques, including single cell sequencing and immunophenotyping, are actively employed to dissect immunometabolic processes within atherosclerotic plaques and patients. These studies will enable us to monitor the presence of drug targets at disease sites, expediting drug design and potentially identifying gender-specific biomarkers to aid disease progression monitoring and diagnosis.
Subsequent studies involve testing the efficacy of small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, and siRNA against pre-selected targets from GENIUS I. We have identified small molecules and monoclonal antibodies for five targets, which will undergo toxicity and proof-of-pharmacology studies to progress towards drug development for cardiovascular patients. We have also identified three drugs affecting primary targets from GENIUS I and are assessing their potential to reduce atherosclerotic parameters in First-In-Human clinical trials.
Origin
This consortium was funded through the Impulse Grant program by the Dutch Heart Foundation. The GENIUS II consortium builds on the most promising targets identified in the GENIUS I consortium, with the goal of advancing these targets towards clinical application.

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OUTREACH

2021

The successful treatment of congenital heart disease (ConHD) has greatly increased the survival of children with this condition. Many of these defects require surgical or catheter interventions immediately after birth. However, complete restoration of the defect is often unachievable, a high risk of developing heart failure, arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death or blood vessel dilatation or stenosis relatively early in life.
Currently, there is a lack of personalized risk predictors and optimal clinical decision tools, highlighting an unmet need to develop new effective strategies for treating and preventing ventricular failure, arrhythmias, and large vessel diseases.
The Focus
The OUTREACH consortium focuses on specific types of congenital heart diseases (ConHD) related to outflow tract defects, such as transposition of the great arteries, congenital aortic stenosis, and tetralogy of Fallot, which collectively account for over half of all ConHD cases. The goal of OUTREACH is to reduce the risk of mortality and morbidity and improve the quality of life for these patients (both children and adults) by improving follow-up practices based on outcomes, implementing personalized risk assessment tools, and advancing therapeutic strategies.
The Research
The OUTREACH consortium integrates expertise in preclinical research, developmental biology, disease modeling, and clinical research from academic centers specializing in pediatric and adult congenital cardiology and surgery. Its objectives are:

identifying better parameters for risk assessment and early detection of heart failure or ventricular arrhythmias in ConHD patients with outflow tract defects.
Exploring efficient treatments to enhance adaptation and prevent heart failure and vascular damage in at-risk ConHD patients.

This consortium conducts extensive research involving a large cohort of ConHD patients to unravel the underlying causes and mechanisms of cardiac adaptations following surgical interventions. It investigates the molecular mechanisms responsible for outflow tract defects and evaluates whether stimulating heart regeneration in ConHD models can mitigate adverse remodeling and heart failure. Additionally, the consortium explores new non-invasive imaging techniques and blood-derived biomarkers to develop innovative risk analysis tools for clinical decision-making. In OUTREACH a nationwide registry is created for all patients (children and adults) with ConHD in the Netherlands by harmonizing existing registries KinCor and ConCor. This is an important step towards optimizing the quality of care for the ConHD population and fostering scientific research on ConHD.
Origin
The Dutch Heart Foundation and Stichting Hartekind, who collaborate within the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance, initiated an invitational grant to start and fund large-scale research aimed at earlier detection and better treatment of the consequences of congenital heart defects.

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