Health, life sciences, biotechnology

Software

OpenVibe, logiciel pour les interfaces cerveau-ordinateur OpenVibe software - © Inria/ Photo Kaksonen

The fact that technology transfer in life and health sciences has to factor into far longer cycles is what sets it apart from other sectors. Inventions need to be validated, require marketing authorisations and rely on business models that are often tied to the reimbursements provided by social security and private health insurance schemes.

However, there are multiple potential applications of the technologies developed at Inria. The volume and diversity of information stored and transmitted in medicine is constantly expanding, and the demand for tools to process this information is growing in step with the increase in life expectancy and the legitimate desire to live longer with a better quality of life.

Below are a few examples of Inria technologies and start-ups that are most certainly ones to watch.

SAMSON: a software platform for modelling and simulation of natural or artificial nanosystems

The SAMSON software program can be used in any field relating to nanostructures, particularly the modelling of proteins and their interactions with medicines. It allows users to deconstruct a molecule in real time, while at the same time obtaining immediate information about the consequences of these modelling choices. "Calculating force fields at an atomic level takes much longer without the simulation method that this software uses. Samson is currently being tested by various drug makers, but there is still another development phase to go before it can actually be utilised, something that's expected to take place in the coming years." This software is covered by patent 90.

SOFA: an open-source library dedicated to real-time simulation

SOFA (Simulation Open Framework Architecture) is well suited to medical applications, particularly the simulation and planning of surgery. Downloaded more than 70,000 times, SOFA is used as much in industry projects as by academic partners and is one of the leading tools for physical simulation. "The technology is sufficiently mature, given that it's used by Digital Trainers, a company that develops commercial applications based on this library. SOFA, which is distributed as open-source software, is available for anyone to use, and we're working to increase its uptake by a wider community of users and businesses so that it takes on a life of its own."

Open-Vibe: using software to control actions with thought

Open-Vibe is a brain-computer interface. This open-source software, which is available without charge and is easy to use, is capable of analysing brainwaves to control an external device by thought. Efforts are currently underway to achieve the technology transfer of this academic tool. There has been no shortage of success, particularly with other research teams (including Inria teams) and video game makers. "There could be a whole host of medical applications, such as allowing very disabled individuals to control wheelchairs or, in extreme cases, for use by patients suffering from locked-in syndrome, a rare neurological condition that is the subject of 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'".

GAZELLE: a platform for testing interoperability and compliance in health information systems

Gazelle is a software platform designed to test whether different software programs are interoperable – in other words, whether they can reliably exchange medical data and results. The platform is used during test sessions organised by the international initiative called IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise), which brings together more than 300 companies and institutions of all sizes from around the world. "Gazelle was specifically developed for and is used in the health sector, but it could soon be deployed in any field where interoperability needs to be tested."

The DMSP: a portable and secure medical and welfare record

Developed by the SMIS project-team (secure and mobile information systems), this personal data server lets users carry a secure medical and welfare record with them, allowing improved coordination of care for dependent persons. It is used by the social services and can be partly controlled by patients. "It is currently being trialled with the departmental council in Yvelines in the homes of 300 people who use various services (home help, nursing care, delivery of meals to the home, etc.) and also acts as an interface for doctors. This project is the subject of a partnership with a French smart card manufacturer and a major health data host."

Pantagruel: visual programming of personal assistance applications

Created from work carried out by the Phoenix project-team, the Pantagruel environment helps non-specialists (healthcare professionals or social workers) to program all home help systems. "When applied to home automation, it also acts as an integration software program that communicates with all types of sensors installed in the home and can answer questions asked remotely, such as "is the fridge door open?" or "has such-and-such person fallen over?". It is not yet the subject of a technology transfer. We're currently at the presentation stage."

CORON: a data mining platform

Using the data systematically collected by health information systems — which is often very extensive and under-utilised — is the goal of this system based on mining methods developed by the ORPAILLEUR project-team. It has been used to carry out several studies for France's Regional Health Agencies, which set out to define links between establishments for the purposes of planning care services. "These tools allow users to identify different routes and to turn them into an intelligible depiction for statistical purposes. The ability to automatically create optimal healthcare paths for patients is drawing interest from organisations such as the French National Health Insurance Office, mutual health insurers and hospitals."

Vismater project: data representation tools

How does one go about processing a vast amount of different and complex data so that they can be interpreted and analysed by experts, thus helping them to make decisions quickly? This user interface prototype aims to answer this question by using the various interactive analysis and visualisation methods developed by the Aviz project-team as part of a European programme. "This absolutely incredible system can, for example, combine cartographic and epidemiological data to identify the origins of a food contamination outbreak."

Visages: an enhanced image processing system

This recently patented solution provides an algorithm that eliminates the "speckle" noise characteristic of ultrasound images. This pre-treatment process makes it easier to segment structures that clinicians want to isolate for subsequent analysis. This solution is covered by patent 94.

Keywords: Biotechnologies Sciences du vivant Drug industries Assistance médicale Diagnostic Philippe Gesnouin IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) Centre National de Référence Santé à Domicile et Autonomie SME BioIntelligence Consortium Monolix Personal assistance Health

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