Weather data can predict hospital admissions at Mater Dei, scientists say
A Maltese space fund is funding the study of Mater Dei Hospital admissions and patient length of stay, through the use of satellite imagery, to help policy makers plan better services in hospitals.
In a €150,000 grant from the Maltese Council for Science and Technology’s Space Fund program, tellite4Health will analyze the images to predict hospital admissions, and how long patients will stay Mater Dei Hospital, to help managers predict critical situations caused by disease outbreaks.
Satellite4Health is analyzing environmental and climate data from satellite images and weather stations, to uncover any relationship with unexpected changes in patient admission rates, length of stay, and responsible factors, including outbreaks or abnormalities that require urgent attention, such as bioterrorism.
The project can help hospital managers better manage Malta’s healthcare services to identify and even predict disease increases, outbreaks, and underlying causes.
Satellite4Health, which runs until 2023, has been collecting data on hospital discharges from Mater Dei Hospital since 2021, along with data from weather stations, as well as developing computer code for the extraction of satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel 5P Precursor mission.
The project partners are Dr. Lalit GargSenior Lecturer, Department of Computer Information Systems, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology; Prof. Sandra ButtigiegProfessor and Head of Department of Health Systems Management and Leadership, Faculty of Health Sciences; Prof. Neville CallejaAssociate Professor and Head of Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and Associate Professor Charles Galdiesfrom Earth Systems Institute.
Prof Sandra Buttigieg is also the Chairperson of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Team at Mater Dei Malta Hospital. Prof. Neville Calleja is also the Director of the Department of Health Information and Research, Ministry of Health. Both have an excellent understanding of end user needs.
Both Mater Dei Hospital and DHIR are potential end users of the proposed tools, which explains why they are supporting this project. Prof. Galdies has ample experience in using space data for various types of atmospheric, water, land and urban scale monitoring.