Nyhavn, the most famous canal in Copenhagen (Denmark)
Many people in my professional and personal environment ask me with a real interest: but... what are you doing exactly now? and then I think: How could I explain? In this post I am proposing to make an update about what I am doing right now and what is CATCH programme.
I will try to explain it easily, clearly and understandable to anyone. Or at least I'll try.
What does CATCH mean?
Currently, I am doing the industrial PhD in the CATCH Programme, acronym for Cancer: Activating Technology for Connected Health. It is looking for the research evidence to develop a successful information technology service to help patients with cancer.
This programme is included in the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions throughout European Industrial Doctorate in Horizon 2020 (H2020) from the European Union. It is an Innovative Training Networks (ITN) to promote knowledge transfer through the Academic and Business world.
The main idea of CATCH is to help cancer survivors reach an emotional/physical balance and total social integration
And how?
By providing a technological tool to join these patients and improving healthy habits through technology for cancer patients
Gradually, the cancer treatment has more effectiveness and the free-of-disease survivors are more common in cancer patient.
The quality of life and the maximization of functional capacity are the following needs after the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
In the CATCH programme, there are eight researchers working in three different work packages.
First, work package is Understand the Problem. Consists in understanding the problem from patient point of view. We need to know what is the physical and emotional gap when a patient finishes the treatment and comes back to the “normal” life. In this package are two researchers, my colleagues Ornela and Gabriel.
Second, work package is Technology Interventions. Four researchers are immersed to design and test IT solutions including: mental health, gamification (motivation use for doing something), psychotherapist stimulation and electric or artificial stimulation as a helper to do physical activity. Gillian, Francisco, Dominic and Louise are the investigators in this package.
Third, work package is Sell and Scale. That is the package where I'm included with my research. Two researchers are working to prepare the market in eHealth to commercializing a service innovation. My colleague Juan is focusing on the commercialization process and me on the co-creation or design thinking process of service innovation in eHealth.
Co-creation value in business in eHealth
The title of my PhD Project is "Supporting Commercialization Technology-enabled Cancer Solution through Design Thinking" and it will focus on commercialization of IT service through use of Design Thinking approach.
First, to explain why this project, I want to explain eHealth environment to understand the context.
eHealth has many benefits, such as improved efficiency, higher quality of care and positive return on investments
eHealth is promising to support and enable a change in health behavior and the prevention and management of chronic diseases
However, building successful eHealth solutions based on service innovation critically depends on the companies' abilities to market these solutions.
By focusing my research on user-centered innovation and co-creation will allow companies to explore and discover multiple needs of relevant users that are also commercially viable
I want to incorporate co-creation or design thinking as one of the tools that provides the solution of innovation problems and business development and commercialization through practical experimentation.
I have distributed my research in three phases. The first consists in/of carrying out a Systematic Literature Review on the topics to be studied. The second in the evaluation of empirical design thinking cases studies. And the third to make a framework for the use of design thinking in commercializing service innovation in eHealth.
In the next picture, my poster presentation in CATCH Orientation Conference in UCD Dublin in June 2017.
Why this project just now?
This is my new challenge after more than twenty years of professional experience in health care. To this challenge we must add many others. On the one hand, I have to be half of the PhD in Denmark and the other half in Spain and thus balance the transfer of academic and empirical knowledge. Another challenge is to coordinate with the family since I have two children of school age (Martí and Pol) and we can all benefit from the awesome experience of living in Denmark.
Those of you who know me, know that…
I am a passionate digital health advocate, for innovation health outreach, highly motivated in add value and I love the challenges
CATCH is the perfect project to achieve my new professional and personal goals fully targeted in my focus, eHealth Innovation Business
To do this industrial PhD in the environment of Connected Health, to contribute relevant research in the development and commercialization of the use of Digital Solutions for patients with Cancer and also, doing it in a European environment and establish international cross-sectoral collaborations.
Who is involved in this project?
CATCH is a multidisciplinary consortium formed by academia (University College Dublin, Deusto University and University of Southern Denmark), clinical providers (Beacon Hospital, Oncoavanze Diagnostics) and a business company (Salumedia Tecnologías).
The team that manages the CATCH project is really a plus at all levels, relevant in Research, experts in Business, competent in the Clinic and better people if possible (the key to a good team)
About thirty professionals are part of CATCH. Here you have them:
ACADEMY: On behalf of UCD in Dublin, Brian is coordinator of the CATCH programme and supervisor of ESRs, Threase as project manager (replaced by Jazmin at the beginning), and Nicola involved in the management of the program. On behalf of the SDU in Denmark are Majbritt, Ann and Kristin as research supervisors. On the part of the University of Deusto in Bilbao there is Begoña and Roberto also as academic supervisors and Elena.
BUSINESS: On the part of Salumedia Tecnologías, a company located in Seville, Luis is a non-academic supervisor, to whom I am grateful for his knowledge of the world of research and the eHealth market; and Päivi as a non-academic project manager.
CLINICAL PROVIDERS: On behalf of Beacon Hospital in Dublin, Ailish is a clinical co-supervisor and Ruth is a clinical project manager. Oncoavanze, oncology assistance in Seville, is Pedro, Matilde and María as supervisors and clinical co-supervisors of ESRs and Lourdes as a clinical project manager.
Thank you very much for the interest in our project and it will be a pleasure if you comment or share this post.