Cross-cutting theme lead: Simon Lovestone

Realising the potential of massive datasets for patient benefit is an opportunity and a challenge. Datasets include molecular, imaging, and clinical – including electronic medical records and connected devices with their potential for real-time, data collection. The Informatics and Digital Health Theme is building on existing platforms developed here at Oxford. We are developing an integrated approach for developing better, more effective and targeted treatments in mental health and dementia.

Managing and analysing these datasets will be facilitated by our partner – the Big Data Institute – providing the largest concentration of health analytical resource in Europe. We want to harness the insights provided by multiple datasets to implement change for better health care and better public health at a local and national level.

What are our aims?

• Identify markers for phenotypes in trials for secondary prevention of dementia and bipolar disorder.
• Establish a pipeline of drug development driven by informatics including real-world and molecular data.
• Extend the True Colours platform to provide a safe and standardised framework for the deployment of digital cognitive tests, at scale, to participants in a clinical context. Neuroimaging and Cognitive Neuroscience theme.
• Use development and data science resources to translate successful sensor-based objective measures of mood (Adult Mental Health theme.)Develop methods for the safe collection, analysis, and clinical reporting of data from highly innovative methods of passive data collection for the assessment of dementia. Older adults and Dementia theme.
• Provide expertise in patient-centred design methodologies for creating successful digital health interventions in order to build a platform for delivering psychological therapies. Precision Psychological Therapies theme.
• Facilitate patient engagement and improve clinician understanding of disease course and impact. PPI theme.
• Implement an eHealth platform in the Oxfordshire AHSN including a patient health record portal enabling linkage of records and use of connected devices.
• Establish an eHealth environment connecting primary care to secondary mental health care, social care and with integration of remote monitoring from connected devices, patient and care reported outcomes together with biomolecular data.

How will we achieve this?

• Enable inter-connection across record types to encourage joined-up care across sectors, through connected devices and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs).
• Allow access to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and a Personal Health Record (PHR) to allow linkage between medical records and with other records.
• Establish an infrastructure which has the potential for population level trials including remote consent, intervention and outcome monitoring.
• Place the patient at the centre of an integrated health informatics programme; empowering the patient and paving the way for a data environment acceptable to the public.
• Design prototypes of remote devices for identifying and quantifying pre-clinical phenotypes in dementia and bipolar disorder.