in Toulouse, aeronautics, space and medicine join forces for cancer research
The IRT Saint Exupéry and the IUCT-Oncopole are coming together to advance cancer research. It is a rapprochement between two worlds – that of aeronautics / space and that of medicine – with a common objective: to use artificial intelligence in the field of health.
To fully understand the issue, it is useful to specify who is who and who does what! Two Toulouse research structures will therefore collaborate to advance cancer care and research.
On the one hand : the Institute for Technological Research (IRT) Saint-Exupéry. It is a science and technology accelerator in the aeronautical and space fields. In short: a center that innovates with solutions, materials, processes that will then be transferred to the aircraft and space industry.
The other : IUCT-Oncopole. A public and private center in Toulouse which brings together research, care and training in oncology. It brings together 1,800 professionals and treats 10,000 patients each year.
The aeronautics and health sectors will therefore work together in fundamental and applied research. Objective: to evaluate the information and care of patients in oncology.
Jean-Pierre Delord, Director General of the Claudius Regaud Institute and administrator of the IUCT-Oncopole details what the two research centers can bring to each other.
On the research side, the new tools of biology require us to collect, store and model increasingly complex data. From the hospital’s point of view, it is about improving patient care, managing technological solutions and integrating information of a very different nature.
Jean-Pierre Delord – administrator of the IUCT-Oncopole
Concretely, one of the objectives of this collaboration is to know in advance how patients will react to treatment by radiotherapy and immunotherapy, by analyzing several data from blood samples and MRIs.
Another example: the joint work of the IRT Saint-Exupéry and the IUCT Oncopole will focus on the use of AI (artificial intelligence) to better prevent arterial hypotension. This is a drop in blood pressure, a symptom of anesthesia. The research work will consist in better preventing this risk, a factor of post-operative mortality.
This collaboration, based on excellence and the sharing of knowledge, will benefit both the scientific community and patients.
Magali Vaissière – president of the IRT Saint-Exupéry
To advance research and patient care, the two Toulouse structures, IRT and Oncopole, will set up a joint research and development team. A pooling of teams and knowledge at the crossroads of the aerospace and health worlds, for the benefit of cancer treatments.