Objectives
MELISSA's main objective is to provide a clinically validated, efficient and cost-effective AI-powered digital diabetes management solution to support insulin-treated people with diabetes and their healthcare providers by providing personalised treatment and care recommendations, with the primary goal of maintaining normal blood glucose levels, thus avoiding both hyper- and hypoglycaemia.
The digital solution is independent of any currently available diabetes management devices and is based on the combined use of already prototyped AI-approaches and innovative tools for the quantification of lifestyle and behavioural factors.
The main objective will be achieved through five interrelated subobjectives:
Objective 1 - Clinical development of the MELISSA digital platform
Objective 2 - Sustainable and ethical development of MELISSA based on the needs of people living with insulin-treated diabetes
Objective 3 - Clinical validation of MELISSA
Objective 4 - Democratisation of diabetes healthcare
Objective 5 - Health and digital literacy and patients’ empowerment
Work Packages
The project activities are managed in so-called work packages. MELISSA is set up around seven such work packages. Different partners take the lead on achieving different tasks within a particular work package while ensuring close collaboration with other institutions and across the different work packages.
For more information, please click on the graphic below.
Work Package 1 - Project management and scientific coordination
Lead: University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Work package 1 provides a clear organisational framework, guidance, and all support mechanisms to enable a smooth project workflow in MELISSA and to ensure that objectives and milestones will be met on time.
Work Package 2 - Clinical development of MELISSA
Lead: Debiotech S.A., Switzerland
Work package 2 develops the fully integrated, functioning, and technically validated platform MELISSA that will be used by people with diabetes treated with insulin during the clinical investigation as well as healthcare providers to support them.
Work Package 3 - Care aspects – user requirements
Lead: Ethniko Kai Kapodistriako Panepistimio Athinon, Greece
Work package 3 provides insights into the user requirements and the psychological aspects of user adoption and retention in MELISSA, as well as the ethical aspects input of AI-powered software adoption.
Work Package 4 - Clinical validation
Lead: Nordsjællands University Hospital Hillerød, Region Hovedstaden, Denmark
Work package 4 is the clinical backbone of MELISSA. It includes planning and conducting a randomised controlled clinical trial with the objective to validate the AI-powered mobile application. It will support the self-management of insulin administration in people with diabetes of type 1 and 2 treated with multiple daily injections in a safe and protected clinical setting.
Work Package 5 - Value proposition, economic analysis, IP, exploitation
Lead: IESE Business School, Spain
A clear understanding of the needs of different users and actors is the basis for MELISSA’s value proposition. This work package aims at gaining the understanding on the crucial issues that will allow a sound go-to-market strategy to realise the full potential of MELISSA. This includes a needs assessment - regulatory issues, economic analysis, care pathways and market analysis.
Work Package 6 - Project communication and dissemination
Lead: Eurice GmbH, Germany
The communication and dissemination activities will follow a multidimensional, integrated and impact-oriented approach. They will assure optimal visibility and a wide outreach to relevant stakeholders.
Work Package 7 - Ethical requirements
Lead: Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands
This work package sets out the 'ethics requirements' that MELISSA complies to in the development of the mobile application.