Medicine Men provides blood pressure measurement platform for major International study

A team of European researchers is developing a new algorithm that predicts appropriate treatment for high blood pressure. The Viduet platform is used to collect data at all test sites in Europe. Through Viduet, patients themselves can measure their blood pressure at home and this data is used to test the algorithm.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, remains one of the leading causes of death and cardiovascular disease worldwide, with an enormous social and economic burden on patients and health care systems. Although many treatments are available for high blood pressure, it remains difficult to keep blood pressure well under control. The consequences of high blood pressure include heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and dementia.

Best treatment for each patient

HYPERMARKER’s research team is developing a tool, called a clinical decision support tool, that will allow clinicians to make a personalized selection of drugs that lower blood pressure for each patient. “We are developing prediction algorithms that can help clinicians decide what is the appropriate treatment for the right hypertensive patient,” explains research leader Professor Grobbee. By measuring and analyzing small molecules in the blood that interact in the body, the response to medication can be predicted. “Establishing a so-called pharmacometabolic profile has the potential to change how we treat many diseases,” said co-project leader Professor Hankemeier of Leiden University.

Development of a useful tool

HYPERMARKER researchers are using patient cohorts from 11 European countries to research the tool, providing data to develop the clinical decision support tool. Using artificial intelligence, this information is combined with clinical elements, and deep learning methods are used to determine the most important factors in selecting treatment for individual patients. The tools are being validated and refined through an innovative randomized clinical trial in four European countries involving patients. “What makes HYPERMARKER special is the thorough evaluation to develop a usable tool with a roadmap for regulatory approval and implementation of this new tool. Our goal is to make a big difference in daily practice and contribute to improving patient care,” explains co-project leader Professor Kotecha of the University of Birmingham.

Role Medicine Men

Medicine Men is the company behind the successful Viduet Telehealth platform. Viduet is widely used for remote clinical monitoring of patients and for therapeutic applications in hospitals and general practice. The multilingual system is used at all Hypermarker research sites to have subjects measure their blood pressure using the HBPM and ABPM methods. The data from the measurements are sent to Viduet and are used to test the algorithm.