HEALTHCARE DELIVERY INSTITUTE

W O R C E S T E R P O LY T E C H N I C I N S T I T U T E

Healthcare Delivery InstituteWorcester Polytechnic Institute

85 Prescott StreetWorcester, MA  01609-2280

Phone:  +1-508-831-6199wpihdi@wpi.edu

PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN HEALTHCARE

RESEARCH AREA LEADER: Krishna Venkatasubramanian Assistant Professor, Computer Science

With the proliferation of electronic health record systems and medical devices, and the sharing of data between them via private networks and the Internet, the data and the networks, themselves, become targets for privacy and security breaches. These threats call for data-driven privacy and security solutions. Since multiple solutions are often deployed in these networks, important questions about these overlapping deployments need to be understood to develop broad impactful privacy and security solutions. WPI faculty members with privacy, security, and cybersecurity research expertise are investigating these issues. This research expertise includes Internet and Internet of Things (IoT) security, visualization of security-related network flow, medical cyber-physical systems security and trust, security for next-generation wearable systems, environment-coupled security for body-area networks, and the design of secure interoperable medical device systems. Some of this research has helped to secure hospital and large healthcare provider networks from malicious network traffic and to better understand the characteristics of attacks so future breaches can be planned for and prevented.

HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL ROBOTICS

RESEARCH AREA LEADER: Gregory Fischer Associate Professor, Mechanical and Robotics Engineering

Healthcare involves many complex yet repetitive tasks that require constant attention to every detail. Robotic systems can augment a healthcare provider or caregiver’s potential with superhuman precision and repeatability. Robots are being used successfully in a number of areas to improve patient care while also reducing costs and waste. From surgery, to rehabilitation, to prosthetics and assistive systems for disabled or elderly individuals, healthcare and medical robots are transforming healthcare delivery and the field of medicine. WPI’s robotics engineering researchers have extensive expertise in all the key areas of healthcare robotics, including computer-assisted and image-guided surgery, rehabilitative devices, and assistive and human interaction robots. The university has developed considerable expertise in MRI-guided surgery. A system that augments prostate cancer biopsies is undergoing a clinical trial in Boston. Other current projects include an actuated glove for stroke rehabilitation and robots that enhance therapy for children with pervasive developmental disorders such as autism.

ENGINEERING THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

PARTNER WITH US

Our strength lies in our ability to partner with organizations around the globe that are working to solve strategic healthcare challenges.

• Sponsor and collaborate with us on applied research projects

• Donate funds, equipment, or tools to help build out and maintain the HDI Living Lab Launchpad

• Donate funds to our Spark Innovation Fund to provide seed grants to researchers on promising ideas

• Fund faculty internships in areas of healthcare improvement or innovation

• Engage faculty members as consultants or speakers

• Sponsor graduate students and post-doctoral researchers

• Contribute to or sponsor thought leadership activities, such as symposia and seminars

• Co-develop, or enroll in, education programs Contact us to learn more at 508-831-6199 or wpihdi@wpi.edu

HEALTH SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

RESEARCH AREA LEADER: Sharon Johnson Professor, Foisie School of Business

Systems engineers define a system, specify important performance measures, then apply modeling approaches to improve it. In healthcare, systems are often complex, encompassing significant variations and uncertainty, multiple objectives, and interrelated components. At WPI, faculty members with expertise in industrial engineering and optimization techniques, system dynamics, and systems engineering methods (including lean, optimization, simulation, risk and decision analysis, and model-based systems engineering) work to understand customer needs and specify functional requirements. With funding from local healthcare organizations, the Veterans Health Administration, and the National Science Foundation, they’ve addressed issues at the policy and operational levels. Their healthcare project experience has provided them with perspectives and approaches for addressing key challenges and opportunities, such as incorporating new technologies, new sources of data, and new care models.

HEALTH AND MEDICAL INFORMATICS

RESEARCH AREA LEADER: Carolina Ruiz Associate Professor, Computer Science

Healthcare and medicine face large data challenges, including the complexity and sheer size of the data sets, the variety of data types and sources, and the need for privacy and security. Addressing these challenges calls for research that seamlessly integrates computer science, mathematics, business intelligence, and behavioral and clinical medicine. The goal is well-founded methodologies and practical solutions to problems in data collection and integration, data analysis, predictive modeling, deployment of computational solutions in clinical and healthcare settings, and translational and commercialization approaches. WPI researchers have extensive expertise in all the key areas of health and medical informatics, including data collection using sensors and mobile technologies, high-performance big data infrastructures, machine learning and data analytics, data visualization, and business intelligence, as well as a long track record of collaboration with experts at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and many other organizations.

USER EXPERIENCE AND DECISION MAKING

RESEARCH AREA LEADER: Soussan Djamasbi Associate Professor, Foisie School of Business

As the IT industry has matured, many of its products have become commodities, placing an increasing emphasis on improvements in the user experience. The never-ending cycle of user demand for innovative products and services has a major impact on healthcare which has long been noted as a laggard in IT investment. The healthcare research expertise of the WPI faculty, along with the state-of-the-art user experience tools and equipment available on campus, position the university uniquely in the e-health technology design space to effectively address key healthcare and medical technology research and development challenges. The effectiveness of this research in creating social value is evidenced by an ongoing collaboration with the INDEX program at the Kennedy Shriver Center. By making websites accessible for people with cognitive disabilities, the project has a significant impact on independent living and wellness for this at-risk population. In another ongoing project, researchers are working on an innovative mobile application solution for improving the sleep behavior of college students at WPI.

DIGITAL HEALTH AND IoT

RESEARCH AREA LEADER: Diane Strong Professor, Foisie School of Business

The digital revolution has brought disruptive changes to the health sector. It began with the requirement that healthcare providers convert to electronic health record (EHR) systems. EHR systems, in turn, collect volumes of data and can share it with other such systems and a variety of medical devices, all contributing to the healthcare “Internet of Things” (IoT). The revolution touches consumers as mobile devices and personal sensors collect their data and deliver health information, connect them to online support communities, and help them manage chronic conditions. At WPI, research focuses on innovations needed to tailor and package key technology that delivers health benefits in smart and behaviorally and medically sound ways. With expertise in technology, health and medical data analytics, behavioral health, and their intersection, faculty members often work in partnership with medical experts and healthcare delivery organizations, including the University of Massachusetts Medical School, UMass Memorial Health Care, Reliant Medical Group, and the Family Health Center of Worcester.

HDI CORE TEAM

Vera T. Tice, Founding Managing Director

Greg Fischer, Faculty Director

Sue Milkman, Assistant to Managing Director

STRATEGIC ADVISORY BOARD

Shaun T. Alfreds, Chief Operating Officer, HealthInfonet

Michael Aspinwall, Managing Partner, CCP Equity Partners

Everett “Ed” Devaney, President and CEO, VNANE

David Dimond (Chair), CTO and Distinguished Engineer, Dell EMC Global Healthcare Business

Lawrence Fagan, Co-Director, Biomedical Informatics Training Program, Stanford University School of Medicine (retired)

Denise L. Fletcher, former VP Healthcare, Payer & Pharma & Life Sciences, Xerox

Robert R. Friedlander, Principal, Friedlander and Kramer, IP

Jay Himmelstein, Chief Health Policy Strategist, Center For Health Policy and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Dennis L. Irish, Principal, Dennis L. Irish and Associates

Kristina Isakovich, former Chief Marketing Officer, GE Life Sciences

Alice W. Lee, Executive Director, Strategy and Administration, Lean Enterprise Institute

Robert Oriol, Chief Executive Officer, Oriol Health Care

Vera T. Tice, Founding Managing Director, Healthcare Delivery Institute at WPI

Kathryn Dawson-Townsend, Healthcare Industry Executive

Dale C. Wiggins, General Manager, Philips HealthSuite Digital Platform, Philips

FACULTY STEERING COMMITTEE

Emmanuel Agu, Associate Professor, Computer Science

Isa Bar-On, Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Soussan Djamasbi, Associate Professor, Foisie School of Business

Gregory Fischer, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Robotics Engineering

Sharon Johnson, Professor, Foisie School of Business

Christopher Lambert, Associate Teaching Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Carolina Ruiz, Associate Professor, Computer Science

Diane Strong, Professor, Foisie School of Business

Krishna Venkatasubramanian, Assistant Professor, Computer Science

ENGINEERING THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

The Healthcare Delivery Institute (HDI) at WPI is a university-wide interdisciplinary (engineering, science, and business) research and innovation institute, initiated and founded in October 2011 to have an impact on the future of healthcare, both nationally and globally.

HDI is the focal point for WPI’s patient-centric health and healthcare-related research and education programs as well as partnerships with industry, healthcare providers, and academic and government organizations. HDI’s vision is to be a national hub in central Massachusetts to generate innovative solutions for strategic challenges of healthcare delivery. Affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and the Visiting Nurse Associations of New England (VNANE), HDI is advancing WPI’s applied research, technology and process innovations, and commercialization with external organizations. The goal is to improve patient outcomes and consumer health.

Today, WPI and its partners develop, create, and demonstrate many of these user-driven innovations in a real-life test environment, the “living lab” of Worcester and surrounding communities. This innovation process is enabled at WPI by the use of an open, adaptable, controllable healthcare systems integration and innovation space, called the “HDI Living Lab Launchpad,” a central place where systems, technology, and process solutions come together in an environment that facilitates collaborative development with other organizations and end users. The outcomes lead to new products, processes, and tools. Over 30 WPI affiliated faculty along with their research teams, students, and industry experts are part of the HDI community.

SIX CORE AREAS OF RESEARCH EXPERTISE

• Health Systems Engineering• Digital Health and IoT • Health and Medical Informatics • User Experience and Decision Making• Privacy and Security in Healthcare • Healthcare and Medical Robotics

SIX KEY STRATEGIC CHALLENGE AREAS

• Healthcare beyond the hospital • Health systems design • Acute / post-acute care and other care transitions• Wellness and prevention• Healthy aging with technology • Disease diagnosis, management, and therapy