Project OncologyOne – Advanced Oncology Management System (O1) is implemented within the Public Call for “Research and Development Projects for Mitigating the Consequences of COVID-19,” published by the Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship, Internationalization, Foreign Investments, and Technology. It is carried out in line with the goals of the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the European Cohesion Policy for the period 2014–2020. The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund. More information can be found at www.eu-skladi.si. The amount of co-financing for the operation is EUR 199,974.91.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional need for the digitization of the oncology treatment process and remote oncology management has emerged. Within the OncologyOne project – Advanced Oncology Management System, a new product will be developed to digitize the treatment process for cancer patients, allowing remote diagnostics and therapy management. It will enable the delivery of therapy in a fully electronic form, facilitating remote work (even during epidemics), and speeding up and enabling therapy for a larger number of cancer patients. The product will facilitate cancer treatment regardless of the epidemiological situation, positively impacting both reducing mortality due to cancer and managing and mitigating the consequences of COVID-19. Within the project, the new product will be developed to Technology Readiness Level 9, meaning the product will be confirmed in its final form, suitable for use in a real clinical environment, and ready for sale. As part of the project, we will commence the medical certification process for the product in accordance with medical standards, which will be completed after the conclusion of the co-financed project.
The main purposes of the project are:
- Realization of a project that will impact mitigating the consequences of COVID-19 and
- Allowing the company Cosylab to maintain its development orientation and successfully complete the already started RDI project – OncologyOne, despite crisis conditions.
The key goals of the project are the implementation of the RDI project, thereby maintaining the company’s development orientation during crisis situations, and the development of a new product – the Advanced Oncology Management System. This advanced, generic, comprehensive system for managing oncological treatment will enable faster and more transparent implementation of radiotherapy, directly influencing the management and mitigation of the consequences of COVID-19.
The project aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Maintain or increase the added value per employee,
- Increase the share of high-tech products in exports and/or increase the share of knowledge-intensive service exports in total exports,
- Increase exports to the medical market,
- Develop a sustainable product for a healthy life,
- Develop a new product for the medical market, and
- Provide additional therapy for patients with cancer.
The project will impact mitigating the consequences by:
- Reducing the limitations on therapy implementation due to COVID-19, as the new product will enable therapy even during epidemics and other exceptional circumstances;
- Decreasing the exposure of cancer patients to COVID-19 during therapy implementation, as patients will have contact with fewer healthcare workers during therapy;
- Reducing the exposure of healthcare staff to COVID-19, resulting from personal contacts during the planning and implementation of therapy, by allowing digital therapy implementation and reducing contacts within the medical staff and with the patient;
- Decreasing the number of diagnosed cancer cases in the early stage during COVID-19, as the digital solution and a new method of diagnosis and therapy implementation will enable efficient and faster diagnosis and therapy implementation;
- Coping with the potential increase in the number and complexity of cancer cases resulting from COVID-19 infections (some studies predict an increase in the number and severity of cancer cases due to COVID-19 infections), as speeding up treatment will enable more efficient treatment and thus provide treatment for a larger number of patients with the same infrastructure;
- Addressing the potential increase in the number of cancer cases and treatment gaps, as speeding up treatment will enable more efficient treatment of cancer cases, allowing treatment for a larger number of patients with the same infrastructure.”
