Defence and Security Risk Assessment using Agent Based Distillations. Today's society continues to be occupied with the idea of risk. The recent events of September 11th, the Bali bombing, SARS, the bush fires in Canberra, and the Tsunami are examples of human-made and natural disasters. These events had dramatic consequences on the social, economic, and political environment and numerous industries. This project offers an innovative methodological paradigm for assessing risk through the transfe ....Defence and Security Risk Assessment using Agent Based Distillations. Today's society continues to be occupied with the idea of risk. The recent events of September 11th, the Bali bombing, SARS, the bush fires in Canberra, and the Tsunami are examples of human-made and natural disasters. These events had dramatic consequences on the social, economic, and political environment and numerous industries. This project offers an innovative methodological paradigm for assessing risk through the transfer of technologies drawn from defence simulations to the safety and security areas. The success of this project will mark a paradigm shift in the area of risk assessment and management.Read moreRead less
Development of computer-based decision support tools using population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models. Diabetes is an epidemic that presents an enormous burden to health systems of both developed and developing nations. Australia spends an estimated $35 billion on the condition annually, with costs set to rise with increasing diagnosis rates. Additionally, the burden of diabetes is more prominent in indigenous Australians. We intend to improve management of this disease in non-indigenous ....Development of computer-based decision support tools using population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models. Diabetes is an epidemic that presents an enormous burden to health systems of both developed and developing nations. Australia spends an estimated $35 billion on the condition annually, with costs set to rise with increasing diagnosis rates. Additionally, the burden of diabetes is more prominent in indigenous Australians. We intend to improve management of this disease in non-indigenous and indigenous Australians by development of a user-friendly computer-based decision support tool for doctors. Once established, this tool will have applications in other fields of health care where support is needed to make informed dosing decisions for critical medications and have the potential to reduce financial and social impacts of chronic disease.Read moreRead less
Engineering safe decision support systems for healthcare. System safety is critical to the success of large-scale computerisation being undertaken to improve the quality of health services delivery worldwide. The research program will develop innovative tools and methods to improve the safety of clinical information systems. The focus on electronic prescribing systems will ensure that the outcomes of this research will have immediate impact on reducing medication errors which are a significant p ....Engineering safe decision support systems for healthcare. System safety is critical to the success of large-scale computerisation being undertaken to improve the quality of health services delivery worldwide. The research program will develop innovative tools and methods to improve the safety of clinical information systems. The focus on electronic prescribing systems will ensure that the outcomes of this research will have immediate impact on reducing medication errors which are a significant public health issue both nationally and internationally. Read moreRead less
Scenario driven management in a network environment. Scenario planning is the process of identifying plausible futures and their inherent risks. The organisation, the network within which it is embedded, and the environment in which the network operates, form a complex system of non-linear, dynamic, interrelationships. This project will develop a continuous process of scenario planning, capturing learning about the future as it emerges. The project fuses the use of agents for intelligent data co ....Scenario driven management in a network environment. Scenario planning is the process of identifying plausible futures and their inherent risks. The organisation, the network within which it is embedded, and the environment in which the network operates, form a complex system of non-linear, dynamic, interrelationships. This project will develop a continuous process of scenario planning, capturing learning about the future as it emerges. The project fuses the use of agents for intelligent data collection and negotiation with agent-based modelling to build powerful network-based scenario modelling systems for commercial applications. This outcome will place Australia on the frontier of smart information use.Read moreRead less
Informatics approaches to improving risk assessment and response to outbreaks of communicable diseases. The project will address the detection of infections caused by category A biological agents which pose a risk to national security. The project will contribute to Research priority 4 'Safeguarding Australia from invasive diseases and securing our critical infrastructure' by developing detection and alerting techniques for potential catastrophic threats. The Australian community will benefit fr ....Informatics approaches to improving risk assessment and response to outbreaks of communicable diseases. The project will address the detection of infections caused by category A biological agents which pose a risk to national security. The project will contribute to Research priority 4 'Safeguarding Australia from invasive diseases and securing our critical infrastructure' by developing detection and alerting techniques for potential catastrophic threats. The Australian community will benefit from more efficient detection and management of potential biothreats to health and infrastructure. The application of the model to other industry sectors will enable better strategic planning and implementation of biosecurity initiatives. The potential national cost-benefit is impressive given limitations of currently used surveillance tools.Read moreRead less
Agent-based methods for communication system design in complex organisations. There is a direct opportunity to directly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of health work as a result of improved communication tools arising from this project. The current evidence that poor communication systems and practices significantly impair clinical work, and are related to avoidable clinical error and patient death, suggest compelling national benefits. Health represents 10% of GDP, and comm ....Agent-based methods for communication system design in complex organisations. There is a direct opportunity to directly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of health work as a result of improved communication tools arising from this project. The current evidence that poor communication systems and practices significantly impair clinical work, and are related to avoidable clinical error and patient death, suggest compelling national benefits. Health represents 10% of GDP, and communication technologies have yet to be significantly exploited here. There are substantial commercial opportunities nationally, for successful new communication services that service health care. Internationally the markets may be even larger, as healthcare is a larger proportion of GDP in nations such as the US. Read moreRead less
Developing a Hemodynamic Model for Improving Clinical Treatment of Vascular Diseases. Stroke caused by vascular diseases is the second greatest single killer, which is taking away thousands of lives and costing billions every year in Australia. Improving the existing clinical treatments of these diseases is thus of utmost urgency. This project is targeted to developing a reliable Hemodynamic model through comprehensive experimental validation approach. It will not only foster a more in-depth res ....Developing a Hemodynamic Model for Improving Clinical Treatment of Vascular Diseases. Stroke caused by vascular diseases is the second greatest single killer, which is taking away thousands of lives and costing billions every year in Australia. Improving the existing clinical treatments of these diseases is thus of utmost urgency. This project is targeted to developing a reliable Hemodynamic model through comprehensive experimental validation approach. It will not only foster a more in-depth research of vascular diseases but also provide a virtual forecasting tool for physicians or surgeons to develop guidance on diagnosis and therapeutic planning of clinical treatment, which brings great socio-economic benefit to the health of the Australian community.Read moreRead less