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School of Engineering

Applied Biomedical Signal Processing and Intelligent eHealth Lab

This Biomedical Engineering (BME) lab focuses on translating advanced biomedical signal processing, machine learning and eHealth to clinical settings, aiming to face emerging problems of health and wellbeing, with special focus on later life, and neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Health problems, particularly in the elderly, depend on complex and dynamic interactions between several intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Advanced technologies of eHealth integrated with techniques of machine learning and advanced biomedical signal processing can respond to, among others, the increasing burden of chronic disease, ensuing disabilities and the complexity of co-morbidities. In so doing they contribute to the sustainability of health and care systems.

The vision of the lab is to develop, validate, promote and translate sustainable solutions to face emerging challenges of:

  • Later life, including, but not limited to, accidental falls, cardiovascular events, cognitive impairment, frailty and social exclusion
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders in kids
  • Global health disparities
  • Non-communicable and neglected tropical diseases

International Collaborations

The lab is a crucial node of the international ecosystem of BME scientific societies and NGOs focusing on biomedical and clinical engineering. Via this networkLink opens in a new window, lab members are proactively supporting European Policy Makers (i.e., European Parliament, European Commission, European Economic and Social Committee) and the United Nation World Health Organization (WHO), serving the reference community in many roles, including:

  • Prof. Pecchia is currently:
    • Past President, European Alliance of Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (EAMBES), link
    • Secretary General, of the International Federation of Medical and Biomedical Engineering (IFMBE), linkLink opens in a new window
    • former Secretary General, International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM), link
    • former Treasurer, Clinical Engineering Division of the International Federation of Medical and Biomedical Engineering (IFMBE), link
  • Lab members and associates are currently supporting:
    • the EAMBES Public Affair Working Group, Ethical Committee, MDR Nomenclature Committee (Alessia Maccaro, Ernesto Iadanza)
    • the IFMBE Health Technology Assessment Division (HTAD) and Clinical Engineering Division (CED) (Davide Piaggio, Kallirroi Stavrianou, Martina Andellini, Busola Oronti, Ernesto Iadanza)
    • the IFMBE Africa Biomedical Engineering Working Group (Davide Piaggio, Ernesto Iadanza)
    • the IFMBE Publicity Committee (Davide Piaggio, Kallirroi Stavrianou)
    • the IFMBE Women in Biomedical Engineering (Alessia Maccaro, Busola Oronti)
    • the IUPESM Education Committee

Current areas of interest

Further details can be seen hereLink opens in a new window.

  • Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data for:
    • Screening, Diagnosis, and Management of non-communicable or neglected tropical diseases
    • Sleep quality and sleep pattern monitoring
    • Short term prediction of falls in the elderly
    • Early detection and prediction of patients exacerbation with particular focus on congestive heart failure (CHF) and hypertension
    • Mental stress detection and assessment
    • Behavioural, cognitive and affective monitoring and appraisal
    • Screening and monitoring of Neurodegeneration in the elderly
    • Early screening of neurodevelopmental disorders in kids
  • Global Health and Global Sustainable Goals
    • Design of Medical Technologies resilient to the challenges of low-resource settings
    • Medical Device regulatory science
    • Medical Location regulatory science
    • Clinical Engineering
    • Assistive Technology: design, assessment and provisioning
    • Pandemic Preparedness and Management
    • Bioethics
  • Medical Device design, regulation, management and assessment:
    • User need elicitation
    • Interdisciplinary co-creation of medical devices
    • Medical Device Regulations (EU2017/745)
    • Relevant international standards for medical device design (e.g., ISO14971, IEC62366)
    • Usability studies
    • Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Link opens in a new window
    • HTA based/informed design (pre-market or early HTA)
    • Health Technology Management (HTM)
    • Design for 3D printing
    • Digital Health
    • Ethics for AI

The Equipment

The lab is equipped to acquire, process and assess the majority of biomedical signals, also using wearable and wireless devices for continuous long-time acquisitions (i.e., 24h for 2 weeks) also in real-life.

Internet of medical things, ehealt, mobile health, medical sensors, medical devices
  • Biopotential (ECG, EEG, EOC, EMG...)
  • Body temperature and skin resistance/conductance
  • Actigraphy
  • Breathing rate
  • Blood pressure, SpO2, plethysmography
  • Complex combinations of the above (e.g., polysomnography)
  • Eye-tracking glasses

Moreover, the lab is equipped the state of the art equipment for testing the majority of medical devices against the main international standards.

Clinical engineering, medical device testing equipment, patient safety
  • Electric Safety analyzer
  • Defibrillators analyzer
  • Electrosurgical unit analyzer
  • Neonatal incubator analyzer
  • Infusion pumps analyzer
  • Gas flow analyzers
  • Patient Simulators

As well as extra equipment such as a 3D printer and a protocycler.

 

Warwick Global Research Priorities GRPs and Warwick Research Centres

Dr Piaggio, together with other members, are actively involved in:

Projects/Grants

For more information about our portfolio of projects, visit our "Current projectsLink opens in a new window" page.

Resources

  • Book F207 (only for ABSPIE Lab members) at this link.
  • Report the equipment you have or will borrow from the Lab (only for ABSPIE Lab members) at this link.
  • Master list of equipment (only for ABSPIE Lab Members): link.

Staff