Month: February 2024

DAACI Launches Open Beta Community – Welcoming Users to Join the Next Level of Musical Innovation

DAACI is welcoming users to their new open beta community, to help give input and ideas and join the journey as they shape the future of AI music tools. Open beta users can now access DAACI’s first creator plugin, Natural Drums. DAACI’s creator-led approach to generative tool development puts the users at the centre of the experience. With this in mind, the open beta community is an engaging and active part of the process of development.

Natural Drums is an assistive AI co-pilot plugin that creates drum grooves in real time, as if a session drummer is right there with you in your studio, bringing your ideas to life.
Whether you’re a new beatmaker or a seasoned producer looking for the quickest way to get to the heart of your creativity, Natural Drums integrates seamlessly into your existing DAW workflow and gives you endless options for amazing beats, fast.

Natural Drums assists creativity, it doesn’t replace it, and the genesis of every new beat always comes from you. Start with an idea and let the plugin enhance your initial input, generating new grooves in front of your eyes. Like working with a real drummer, you can jam along and make changes in real time, try things out, and create an end result that is entirely yours.

As part of the DAACI Natural Series, Natural Drums is created by expert drummers and draws on their many years of experience playing music in live settings. In line with DAACI’s approach to generative AI and unlike other drum sequencers, Natural Drums doesn’t pull from a list of static precomposed patterns or utilise pure randomness. It thinks like a musician and rapidly creates beats that are entirely bespoke and unique to you.

Rachel Lyske, DAACI CEO, comments, “This is an incredibly exciting time for DAACI as we start to put our tools into the hands of the people who we value the most — musicians, artists and composers. Music shapes us, it allows us to communicate, it creates community and collaboration. The DAACI team is no different, our solutions are built by musicians for musicians and now we are inviting people to get involved and help shape the future.

“Natural Drums is a perfect start to the pulse of this beta community. Over 30 years ago, at the start of my creative journey, the first thing I wrote was a simple drum beat. The challenge then was to express the complexity I was hearing in my head. How could I vary it? How could I expand it, make it interesting and make it work with other instruments? I had to write it all out by hand and I didn’t have the tools to bring my ideas to life. Now, Natural Drums is in the hands of our users and they can benefit from DAACI’s unique approach and system.”

The Natural Drums open beta gives users the inside track on Natural Drums and DAACI’s Natural Series for a low price, including:

  • Early access to a beta licence key ahead of full product release
  • Discounts on future betas and full product licences
  • Full technical support and knowledge base
  • Insider access to the DAACI team
  • Be at the centre of DAACI’s development process
  • Sneak peeks at upcoming products in the DAACI Natural Series
  • Exclusive beta user events

Product Features of Natural Drums

Shuffle Every Loop: 
Set the global shuffle to “Shuffle Every Loop” and watch as Natural Drums recalculates at the start of every pattern based on your configuration, the same way a real drummer would start to subtly improvise around a rhythmic idea over the course of a piece of music.

Trapifier: 
Find the Trapifier option in the Hi Hat drop down menu and fill your pattern with trap-style hi hats. Use the half-time button alongside the Trapifier. Adjust the parameters to generate bespoke hi hat patterns with huge amounts of flexibility and variation right at your fingertips.

Structural Variation:
Create detailed rhythmic variety throughout your beats with structural variation. Experiment with different patterns to vary rhythms throughout the loop, saving you time on programming while reaching a richer final result that is all based on your original idea.

Lyske concludes, “We have an incredibly dedicated team at DAACI and I’d like to thank them for sharing their expertise, creativity and vision as we strive to build the tools we always wanted for ourselves. We all make music in different ways so we are excited to see how people use this first tool. I can’t wait to hear the amazing music that will come out of it.”

To find out more: www.daaci.com/natural-drums
Price £18/$18/18EUR

Green shipping: New supply system for methanol improves safety and saves energy

The Danish company Eltronic FuelTech is now the first in the industry to offer equipment for supplying fuel from tanks to engines on methanol-powered ships. This can save shipping companies both money as well as energy while enhancing safety.

The naming of Laura Mærsk, A.P. Moller-Maersk’s first container ship that can sail on green methanol, marked the start of more sustainable shipping. In the wake of this, the Danish engineering company Eltronic FuelTech has now launched a new supply system – a so-called Low-flashpoint Fuel Supply system (LFSS) – for this particular vessel.

In doing so, players in the shipping industry can now have an integrated fuel supply system from the fuel tank to the engine comprising a single supply system and fuel valve train which improves safety, cuts costs and saves energy.

“Embracing green methanol as a fuel has been increasing markedly in recent years, and with the new LFSS system, we can make a significant contribution to the green transition of the shipping industry. In the past, several suppliers were required to put together a complete fuel supply system all the way from the fuel tank to the engine, but the fact that we can now supply the entire system brings multiple benefits,” says Louise Andreasen, CEO at Eltronic FuelTech.

There are savings associated with the logistics, as one and the same container can be used for spare parts for the entire system, and fewer repair technicians will be required in connection with maintenance.

“It’s a huge advantage for customers that it’s now available as a combined package so they no longer have to maintain the interfaces between two different systems. At the same time, when we deliver a combined solution, we can guarantee the safety of the entire system,” says Louise Andreasen.

Pump alone can save 40,000 kWh a year

While most other supply systems on the market use two pumps to pump the methanol around, Eltronic FuelTech has managed to create an LFSS with only one pump, thereby saving considerable energy. In addition, it is now possible to adjust the pump depending on the engine load, so that only the right amount of methanol is supplied to the engine, something which has not been possible until now.

“This means that if a ship is sailing slowly, the pump automatically adjusts to the load, so that it only runs at 60% of full power for example. With other systems, unnecessarily large quantities of methanol are pumped around the system, which clearly affects electricity consumption, especially on large ships,” says Louise Andreasen, and continues:

“With the biggest engines on container ships, for example, the pumps usually use more than 100,000 kWh a year pumping the methanol from the fuel tanks to the engine. With our new supply system, we expect to be able to cut consumption by up to 40%.”

In addition to developing systems for a ship’s main engines, Eltronic FuelTech has also developed a compact combined system to supply the ship’s auxiliary engines with fuel from the tanks.

Full Lineup Revealed For Belfast XR Festival With Top Extended Reality Experiences On The Bill

An innovative arts festival is set to once again merge technology and art to create a unique virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experience for attendees.

Belfast XR, now in its third year, specialises in curating worldclass immersive technology content that takes the art of storytelling to a new level.

Extended Reality or ‘XR’ is the collective name for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR is a computer-generated artificial environment with scenes that appear to be real, while AR is a digital overlay onto the real world, which is viewed through your phone or an iPad.

This year’s lineup has been confirmed to include three unique paid for experiences along with an additional three free bonus experiences available for visitors to the festival.

Appearing at the festival will be the magical VR journey through the work of Catalan architect and designer Antoni Gaudí in Gaudí, The Atelier of the Divine.

Attendees will take part in a 20 minute experience designed for small groups of six.

The story will take festival goers back to 1926 when, weakened by age and feeling his death approaching, Gaudí invites his new assistants to discover his studio, to understand his vision and complete his work.

The heart-wrenching voyage of survival Stay Alive My Son is also one of the key events, based on the internationally acclaimed memoirs of Pin Yathay, this immersive 60 minute story thrusts audiences into the shoes of a pained father forced to make the gut-wrenching decision to abandon his six-year-old son to survive during the Cambodian genocide.

The final headline experience will be Eternal, the profound exploration of eternal life, where during this 20 minute experience attendees will step into the realm of eternity with a mesmerising audio journey designed exclusively for one person, in the comfort of their own bed.

As intimate audiences of just two people per time slot climb into a bed they will delve into a profound exploration of eternal life and contemplate the sacrifices one might make for immortality.

Deepa Mann-Kler, director and curator for Belfast XR Festival which is an annual gathering for the XR arts – storytelling, visual arts, music, drama, dance, literature and theatre, said bringing virtual and augmented reality content to new audiences locally is something the team at Belfast XR are passionate about.

She said: “Our ambition is to create an unmissable annual gathering for XR that inspires storytelling and our passion is to bring the best global virtual and augmented reality content to new local audiences. You don’t need to have used a virtual reality headset before, as our team will guide you through the whole process.”

For attendees who purchase tickets for any of the headline events this year they will have exclusive access to three additional free experiences.

Emperor is a 40 minute long captivating virtual reality experience that delves into the mind of a father grappling with aphasia. Attendees will witness the poignant journey of a daughter striving to connect with her speechless father, uncovering the depths of his memories along the way.

Flow is a 15 minute experience where users will be swept away by the winds through what appears to be an ordinary day filled with turbulence. Encounter the sensations of smells, heat and breath, as the air currents unveil hidden presences and reveal captivating events in the life of a woman.

SEN is also a 15 minute experience where attendees will enter the mystical realm of the traditional Japanese tea room, where they’ll meet SEN, the tea spirit. As disaster strikes and SEN dissolves into the universe, it discovers unity with all beings, bringing calm to the tea room.

Running on Wednesday February 28 and Thursday 29 this year’s festival theme is Legacy which will offer attendees the chance to experience world history in captivating ways allowing audiences to step into the past, interact with historical figures, and explore significant events firsthand.

Belfast XR Festival is both for XR enthusiasts and those who haven’t experienced any form of XR in the past.

Deepa explained: “The Festival is aimed at 16+ years of age and is open to everyone. You don’t need to have experienced AR, VR or any of these types of experiences before. We  have an amazing team who will guide you through the whole process from the  minute you step into The Black Box.

“I want people to have memorable experiences. I want them to be altered, in a good way. I want them to talk about how it made them feel. I want to increase their appetite to experience more.

The Belfast XR Festival is supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. It is also supported by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen, Digital Catapult NI, Future Screens NI and Ulster Screen Academy.

For more information follow Belfast XR Festival on social media or go to belfastxrfestival.com

Sony releases FE 24-50MM F2.8 G: a compact, large aperture F2.8 G Lens with high performance optics

Sony has announced the release of its new compact 35mm full-frame compatible α™ (Alpha™) E-mount lens, FE 24-50MM F2.8 G standard zoom with F2.8 maximum aperture over the entire zoom range. Despite its small and lightweight body, it achieves the high-resolution performance and beautiful bokeh that can be expected from a large aperture G Lens with F2.8. It covers a focal length of 24 mm to 50 mm, allowing you to capture everything from still images such as everyday snapshots, and portraits to video shooting, all in high quality but with a design that will easily fit in the smallest of kit bags.

Key features of VX8033

With the latest optical and mechanical design, the dimensions have been kept compact with a filter diameter φ67 mm, maximum diameter 74.8 mm, length 92.3 mm, weight approximately 440 g.

Sharp and detailed images at all focal lengths are achieved thanks to the arrangement of four aspherical lenses and two pieces of ED (Extra low Dispersion) glass, so that aberrations such as chromatic aberration, are reduced, achieving high resolution performance from the center to corner.

FE 24-50MM F2.8 G uses an 11-blade circular aperture which together with the optimisation of spherical aberration provides the beautiful, soft and smooth bokeh that is characteristic of the G Lens series.

It has minimum shooting distance of 0.19 m (AF) at wide-end and a maximum magnification of 0.30 x (AF) offering high quality close-up shooting.

The quality is evident through the AF (auto focus) whereby, equipped with two linear motors, it achieves high-speed, high-precision, high-tracking, and quiet focusing. It also supports high-speed continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking of up to 120 frames per second for the full-frame mirrorless camera Alpha 9 III. For those wanting a solid video performance, AF tracking is available for high frame rate 4K 120p or FHD 240p movie recording where critical focus control is required, plus it supports in-body Active Mode image stabilisation for steady shooting while walking. It is also compatible with the focus breathing compensation on camera bodies, allowing for high quality video expression. Intuitive manual focus is achieved thanks to the adoption of linear response MF which allows smooth and superior image expression.

FE 24-50MM F2.8 G is equipped with user-friendly functions such as a customisable focus hold button, aperture ring, aperture click ON/OFF switch, and focus mode switch, offering high operability and comprehensive control. Plus, for further ease of use, they are designed to be dust and moisture proof[v] with a fluorine coating which prevents dirt from sticking to the front surface of the lens.

Pricing and Availability

The new FE 24-50MM F2.8 G will be available in May for approximately £1150 and €1300 (IR). It will be sold at a variety of Sony’s authorised dealers throughout Europe.

A variety of exclusive stories, videos and exciting new content shot with the newest cameras and other Sony products can be found here. Sony’s European photography hub is available in 22 languages and details product news, competitions and an up-to-date list of Sony events in each country.

Playing video games may improve attention and memory, new research finds

A new study, published in the British Psychological Society’s British Journal of Psychology, found that regular gamers performed better on tasks measuring cognitive functions such as attention and memory.

The study, which took place at the Lero Esports Science Research Lab at University of Limerick, involved 88 young adults, half of whom regularly played more than seven hours of action-based video games each week.

Participants were tested with three tasks measuring different aspects of their cognitive performance – a simple reaction time test, a task which involved switching between responding to combinations of numbers and letters to evaluate executive function and working memory, and a maze-based activity to assess visuospatial memory.

The researchers found that regular gamers were able to complete the number-letter task and the maze task 12.7 and 17.4 % quicker respectively than the group of non-gamers.

“The regular playing of video games is often criticised and seen as unhealthy, but our research shows that gamers may enjoy some cognitive benefits over the wider population, particularly relating to attentiveness and memory,” according to Dr Adam Toth of University of Limerick and Lero, the SFI Research Centre for Software, and one of the authors of the research.

Dr Mark Campbell, added: “In line with previous work out of our lab, this research may have implications in sectors where cognitive performance is paramount, such as surgery, and air traffic control, where video game play could be encouraged to help develop the elite cognitive performance required.”

The research also investigated a further angle – whether gamers are less prone to suffering from cognitive fatigue than the wider population.

Some participants were assigned an additional task, designed to require concentration for a long period of time and bring about cognitive fatigue (decline in performance), before being reevaluated on the initial cognitive tests.

The researchers found that gamers and non-gamers saw their performance decline at the same rate, with no significant difference found in the level of cognitive fatigue experienced.

The research was published in the British Journal of Psychology, a flagship journal of the British Psychological Society. The British Psychological Society is a registered charity which acts as the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK, and is responsible for the promotion of excellence and ethical practice in the science, education and application of the discipline. The paper is available at: https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjop.12692

Tech Review – TOZO T12 – Tonal Dots Earbuds

The TOZO T12 -Wireless Earbuds/ Tonal Dots are the latest on offer from the brand with whom we have been impressed with since testing their products and their latest addition to their portfolio is a rounded shaped pair or earbuds which will certainly have fans interested in them, not my preferred shape of earbud which I do not mind as I like to have something different they will have people asking about them.

They come in a cool case with an LED battery display on board to let you know what juice is left in the tank so to speak and is hand and I have said it before all earbud cases should have this feature present.

TOZO T12 Tonal Dots – techbuzzireland

The case itself is small and will fit in any pocket and comes with wireless charging which is a win for the wireless charging fans out there. The battery life is also decent and we have quick charge on board too which is another bonus and not only that these come with an IPX8 rating so can be brought anywhere and used anywhere more or less which is not something you see to often given they are waterproof for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 m thanks to a nano-coating inside.

The controls are simple to use and not only that the accompanying app allows you to manage the controls to set them up to your own taste which is excellent. All the features there such as call control in which calls sounded fine in my testing and you have skip and reverse tracks play and pause and of course your voice assistant access. These can be also used individually too which is another nice bonus.

How they sound is what we all want to hear as they say and they sound great and having the access to their app is excellent giving you multiple EQ settings plus adding your own, highs lows and mids are fine with decent volume nice base and in my usual test tracks performed well with no issues to report, no lag latency no tinny sound when maxed out and overall punchy crisp and clear and calls can be included there, the app makes a huge difference and there is a notable difference between preset EQs unlike some other earbuds that have access to such an app.

 

The App

The TOZO App – techbuzzireland

Features

  • Bluetooth 5.3 Technology & Easy Pairing. Featuring the most advanced Bluetooth 5.3 technology. TOZO T12 supports HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP. Pick up the two headsets from the charging case and they will pair automatically, then in one easy step you can access your phone’s Bluetooth settings to pair the earbuds, thus providing stereo sound during calls. Also boasts fast and stable transmission without tangling.
  • Touch control and smart LED digital display TOZO T12 headphones feature touch control sensors that reduce the pressure on your ears to a great extent when you touch the buttons for various functions. With wireless charging, the smart LED digital screen allows you to check the battery consumption display at any time.
  • Comfortable to wear, fidelity stereo sound quality TOZO T12 wireless earbuds feature a curved in-ear design with silicone ear hooks to hold wireless Bluetooth headphones in place even during activity..
  • IPX8 Waterproof The charging case and earbuds are waterproof for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 m thanks to a nano-coating inside.
  • Charging on the go These earbuds have a battery life of more than 11 hours per charge and up to 48 hours when using the charging case. Enjoy quick charging; the rechargeable case may be fully charged in under two hours using a wireless charger or in just 1.5 hours with a fast USB-C connection. provides easy charging without restrictions.

BUY

Video Review

Evolve IP Accelerate Partner Growth Strategy

Fast-growing Unified Communications service provider, Evolve IP, has added a new name to its flourishing reseller recruitment drive – building on a record 12 months of success.

Mercury Maynard is the latest company to take advantage of Evolve IP’s extensive white label as-a-service and hardware portfolio, which attracted unprecedented numbers of new partners last year.

The IT and network support provider has over 25 years’ industry experience – and joins Evolve IP’s enterprise-grade cloud collaboration suite to add the ‘missing link’ to its integrated solutions ethos.

Evolve IP offers partners two natively integrated voice solutions; Cisco by Webex and Microsoft Teams. These leading technologies are complemented by a range of value add propositions within the Evolve IP Anywhere Product Suite that enable any business to streamline and optimise their communication strategies. 

Aligns

Jamie Hughes, UK Sales Director at Evolve IP, highlighted how Mercury Maynard aligns with Evolve IP’s values by offering their customers innovative, reliable, and cost-effective end-to-end solutions that empower customers to drive efficiencies and ‘work from anywhere’.

“Gaining a partner like Mercury Maynard is extremely valuable to us and increases our presence in Essex and East Anglia. They thrive from providing excellent service and care to their customers,” he pointed out.

“Evolve IP is joining them at a time when they are looking to grow within the hosted telephony space, and we are all looking forward to seeing them prosper in the cloud collaboration sector with our support.”

He added: “Evolve IP continues its growth, onboarding innovative partners who have big targets in 2024. Leading the way by providing partners with best-of-breed technologies and keeping things simple for them to deliver great service, is at the centre of everything we do.”

Jamie Hughes, UK Sales Director, Evolve IP

Enthused

Ian Taylor, Founder/Owner of Mercury Maynard, enthused: “As a Managed Service Provider, the only offering missing from our portfolio was telephony. We are excited about the journey ahead, growing with Evolve IP and enhancing our technology services to better support the businesses already in our care. 

“Our shared commitment to a personal approach is at the core of Mercury Maynard’s values and we eagerly anticipate the future where Evolve IP will help take us to the next level and ensure our customers stay ahead of the curve.”

‍About Evolve IP

Evolve IP boasts an international carrier grade Unified Communications platform. It delivers integrated white-label remote workforce technologies, that enable employees to work anywhere – remotely and securely from any location.

Evolve IP’s work anywhere philosophy differentiates its partner channel by breaking down barriers in a challenging communications market by providing industry leading solutions from global technology vendors. This enables partners to deliver uniform, customer focused solutions across the globe backed by a sustainability programme.

Find out more about Evolve IP here 

 

Deciphering the Technology Powering Spy Apps

The world of spy apps is shrouded in both mystery and intrigue. These applications, designed for surveillance and monitoring, have become increasingly sophisticated. There are plenty of brands available online such as Bark, Aura, Qustodio and mSpy. So how useful are these online surveillance tools anyway? Let’s look into the technology behind spy apps and shed some light on how they function, their capabilities, and the implications of their use.

The Core Functionality of Spy Apps

Spy apps are sophisticated software programs designed to operate covertly on smartphones, gathering a wide array of data without the user’s awareness. Once installed, these apps can monitor various types of information, including call logs, text messages, emails, and the device’s physical location. They work by running silently in the background, often undetectable by the average user. These apps can also access files stored on the device, such as photos and videos, and in some cases, they can even record audio or capture keystrokes, providing a comprehensive overview of the user’s activities on their device.

GPS Tracking: The Backbone of Location Monitoring

GPS tracking is a fundamental feature in many spy apps, offering precise location monitoring capabilities. By tapping into the smartphone’s GPS chip, these apps communicate with a network of satellites to accurately determine and track the device’s location in real time. This feature is particularly useful for parents wanting to monitor their children’s whereabouts for safety reasons or employers needing to track the location of company-issued devices. Some advanced spy apps even offer geofencing capabilities, where the app alerts the monitor if the device enters or leaves a predefined geographical area, adding an extra layer of surveillance.

Accessing Texts and Calls: How Spy Apps Infiltrate Communication

Spy apps are adept at infiltrating a phone’s communication channels, enabling them to access and record text messages and call logs. By operating in the background, these apps can discreetly monitor all forms of communication on the device. They not only track the content of text messages and details of phone calls but can also access multimedia messages, voicemails, and even identify the caller ID information. This comprehensive access allows the person monitoring to gain deep insights into the user’s interactions and communications, often without any visible signs of the app’s presence on the device. This capability is particularly concerning from a privacy standpoint, as it can capture sensitive and personal conversations without the user’s consent.

Social Media and Email Surveillance

Advanced spy apps extend their reach to social media and email. By gaining access to these applications, the software can monitor messages, posts, and even media shared via platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Similarly, they can access email apps to read sent and received emails, providing a comprehensive view of the user’s digital communications.

Remote Control and Stealth Operations

A defining characteristic of spy apps is their ability to operate stealthily. They are designed to run undetected by the device’s user, often without any visible icon or notification. Additionally, some apps offer remote control features, allowing the person monitoring to activate certain functions of the phone, such as the camera or microphone, from a distance.

Data Storage and Retrieval

The data harvested by spy apps is typically transmitted to a secure server, where it’s stored and made accessible to the individual who installed the app. This process involves sophisticated data transmission techniques and robust encryption methods to safeguard the information, ensuring it remains confidential and is only accessible to authorized users. These servers often have high-level security protocols to prevent unauthorized access, including data breaches. The stored data can include detailed logs of calls, messages, location history, and even files accessed on the device. For the user monitoring this data, the interface provided by the spy app usually offers a comprehensive and user-friendly dashboard, allowing them to review the information easily and often in real-time. This level of data retrieval and storage sophistication underscores the powerful capabilities of these apps, highlighting the importance of responsible use.

The Double-Edged Sword of Spy App Technology

The technology behind spy apps indeed serves as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides valuable tools for parents and guardians to ensure the safety of their children, particularly in an age where online threats are prevalent. It also offers employers a method to safeguard their business interests, such as protecting sensitive data and ensuring employee compliance with company policies. However, on the flip side, this technology can be used for nefarious purposes, leading to unwarranted invasions of privacy and potential misuse. The ease with which these apps can be used to secretly monitor individuals raises significant ethical and privacy concerns. It highlights the need for a balanced approach, where the benefits of technology are leveraged responsibly and within the bounds of legal and ethical frameworks.

Staying Informed and Vigilant

For both users and targets of spy apps, staying informed about the legalities and ethical considerations surrounding their use is of utmost importance. Users must understand the legal boundaries of surveillance, ensuring that their use of spy apps complies with local laws and regulations. This includes respecting the privacy rights of individuals and recognizing the legal implications of unauthorized surveillance. On the other hand, for those concerned about being monitored, vigilance is key. Being aware of the signs of spy app installation, such as decreased battery life, unusual data usage, or unexplained device behavior, is crucial. Regularly updating device security settings and using anti-spyware tools can also help protect against unauthorized monitoring. Ultimately, awareness and proactive measures are essential in navigating the complex landscape of spy app technology.

Final Word

While spy apps offer powerful tools for monitoring and security, they also bring forth challenges related to privacy and ethics. Understanding how these apps work, their potential uses, and the legal and ethical boundaries is essential for both users and those concerned about their privacy. As technology continues to evolve, so too will the capabilities and implications of spy apps in our increasingly connected world.

Researchers led by University College Dublin could save tens of thousands of lives with new pre-eclampsia diagnosis

A team led by University College Dublin (UCD) has been working on an innovative research initiative that could transform pre-eclampsia diagnosis. It is designed to support clinicians to make effective and efficient clinical diagnosis of suspected pre-eclampsia through intelligent and timely risk stratification of patients’ clinical and blood biomarker data, using technology from SAS, the leader in AI and analytics.
With 140 million births each year, more than 11 million women and their babies could be affected by pre-eclampsia globally. Difficult to diagnose and with complex origins, pre-eclampsia has a long-term impact on the health of mothers and their children. The condition claims the lives of 70,000 expectant mothers and 500,000 babies every year worldwide.
Every pregnant women with suspected pre-eclampsia will undergo multiple blood tests, but there is no effective rapid test to aid clinicians in diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. Research by the UCD team funded by Science Foundation Ireland, led to the discovery of important biomarkers with diagnostic and predictive power which, when combined with other clinical data, could be used to create a powerful AI (or machine learning) model to support clinical decision-making.
The solution developed is called AI_PREMie and uses SAS® Viya® hosted on a Microsoft Azure cloud environment.
When clinicians are faced with complex individual cases, AI_PREMie will offer a pre-eclampsia risk score, with red, amber, or green flags to support their clinical decision; including a unified view of the patient data used to create the classification, incorporating unique platelet biomarkers as well as relevant clinical data and demographic information.
“SAS and Microsoft brought experience from banking and government, for example bringing data security skills as well as scalability and resilience,” explained Patricia Maguire, Professor of Biochemistry at University College Dublin. “Clinicians must have absolute trust in the system, and SAS and Microsoft were able to help us deliver on this right at the start.”
With immediate plans to trial AI_PREMie in Dublin maternity hospitals later this year and roll out globally in the coming years, UCD hopes to help care providers around the world prevent thousands of deaths and medical complications caused by pre-eclampsia.
Professor Maguire adds: “Every seven minutes an expectant mum loses her life because of the complications of pre-eclampsia. And about every 40 seconds, a little baby is lost again due to complications of pre-eclampsia. We’re looking forward to deepening our partnership with SAS as we develop AI_PREMie and, ultimately, help clinicians save more lives.”
Alan McGlinn, Director, SAS Ireland, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside Microsoft supporting the tremendous work that’s already been achieved by the team led by University College Dublin and to continue the partnership as they look to broaden the uptake of the AI_PREMie solution.
“This is a great of example of a Data for Good project where data, analytics and AI can support the healthcare sector in saving the lives of patients. Powerful analytics combined with the human expertise of medical professionals is a potent combination and something we can expect to see more of over the coming years.”
Find out more about this project here and listen to this webinar featuring Professor Maguire on how to use cloud-based analytics and AI to accelerate health care research.