The Data Science Ireland meetups keep getting stronger and stronger, as this past week we gained fantastic insights into Open Data strategies and Data Science in Healthcare and Fitness.
Creme Global’s Giulia Vilone took to the stage first to discuss why it is important to study the exposure of Vitamin A in food, dietary supplements and cosmetic products because while Vitamin A may be an essential nutrient for our bodies, there are health concerns if we build up too much. She spoke on their methodology to assess the multi-route exposure in a population, from collecting the necessary data to develop their mathematical model.
It is a challenging task to collect the right data sources for vitamin A with the vast amount of product use, food consumption and anthropometric data, but Creme Global’s algorithm helps them to understand this data better. By collecting data from a maximum two-day diary from clients they can understand the frequency of usage, the amount taken and vitamin A concentration.
Through this method, they can work out the aggregate exposure to Vitamin A with expert model technology such as Python, Django and mySQL to help the team make better decisions based on consumer habits. It has even helped Creme Global’s data science team save 116,000 animals from overexposure to Vitamin A through animal testing with cost savings of over $470m.
Then it was over to Sinead Flahive from Kitman Labs to discuss their world’s first athlete optimisation system. Data alone won’t prevent any player injuries or improve performance which is why they have shifted their work from collecting and storing data to putting the data to work to help teams to redefine their performance. They have created the tools to help improve and speed up data collection to remove data silos by aggregating all data together in one platform and automate data analysis to empower objective decision making and improve communication.
However, it is a complex issue as they need to figure out what winning looks like in their client’s competition. Kitman Labs take a four-step approach in their aim to reduce player injuries including to identify the injury risk to the player, set customised multi-level thresholds to manage risk, having real-time alerts to to notify staff when a player breaches this threshold and to identify what variables contribute to risk and adjust accordingly to the likelihood of injury.
They help coaches make better decisions on how to enhances player performance and reduce injury risk with their clients including 115 elite teams across 33 leagues on five different continents and Sinead shared an example of AFL team Port Adelaide who they helped decline player injuries by 66% and went from a tenth place side to championship contenders.
Deirdre Lee delivered another fantastic presentation as she discussed the great work going on at Derilinx – who are a world leader in providing high-quality Linked and Open Data solutions – telling us why Open Data is a valuable resource for data scientists today, how you can access and use Open Data, and how to engage with data publishers to improve the quality and availability of Open Data sources.
To drive evidence-based decision making and rich business intelligence, we need to understand and access the raw, underlying data but the data we want might not always be available. This where Derilinx comes in with Open Data which is free to use and redistribute by anyone. To any who might be wondering, this does not breach the GDPR laws which came into effect last month. Derlinx’s great work has not gone unnoticed as Ireland was recently named the number one for Open Data in Europe.
Focusing on the health and fitness theme, Deirdre shared an example of how Open GP Prescribing Data in the UK has led to the identification of millions of Euro of cost savings that could be made by using generic drugs vs brand. Open Data is now part of the Government’s public reform activities which will provide a framework for data to be used to ensure that public services are delivered in a more effective and efficient manner and in a transparent and accountable way through Derilinx work with the Government’s National Open Data portal data.gov.ie
Finally, the night ended with Mark Kelly, founder of AI Ireland, sharing details about the upcoming AI Awards, how you can apply and also some details about the AI in Action podcast series that will be shared over the coming ten weeks. Applications are now opened to take part in the AI Awards. For more details click here.
As always, a big thank you to all our guests who came along, the guys at Huckleltree for once again lending us their fantastic venture and of course to Sinead, Deirdre and Giulia for their brilliant presentations. I hope everyone enjoyed the event and look forward to seeing you again at Huckletree D2 on Wednesday 4 July. Sign up for the next meetup here.
AI Awards 2018: Applications Now Open
Connecting Ireland’s AI ecosystem for a higher purpose
Applications are now open for you to take part in the inaugural AI Awards and showcase your skills and expertise to the AI community on the island of Ireland.
The AI Awards is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting, advancing and rewarding corporate and academic excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation, research & development and products.
It is our mission to support the AI community by recognising the hard work and dedication of those working in the field and to help promote and market Ireland globally as the first-choice home for AI investment and job creation in research and product development.
View the full list of categories here.