“An Agent-Based Framework for Data Fusion, Situation Analysis, and Decision Support Towards Precision Health”
Country of Study
South Africa
Institution
University of Cape Town
Expected Year of Completion
2024
Thematic Area
Information and Technology
Education
Mbithe is pursuing her PhD in Computer Science at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She holds an MSc in Advanced Computer Science from the University of Manchester, and is expected to graduate in 2024.
Research Summary
The main contribution of Mbithe’s research is a reusable agent-based AI-driven framework. Many sensor-based health monitoring systems have been proposed for patients already living with diseases or in clinical settings. However, precision health aims to prevent disease before its onset. This requires systems that can fuse heterogeneous health data from multiple sources, determine an individual’s current and future health states, and provide appropriate decision support. Through a review and systematic mapping, Mbithe found that existing systems are limited in terms of interoperability of health data. Additionally, the prediction of future health states and the handling of uncertainty is poorly explored in existing work. Previous research in sensor networks has highlighted useful techniques and paradigms that can address these outstanding challenges. Machine learning can extract meaningful patterns from data and forecast physiological signals, enabling the prediction of future health states. Beyond the technical contributions, Mbithe also anticipates impact in the health domain, since continuous health monitoring can ultimately result in better health and quality of life.
Publications:
1. Combining Machine Learning and Bayesian Networks for ECG Interpretation and Explanation
2. Semantic Technologies in Sensor-Based Personal Health Monitoring Systems: A Systematic Mapping Study
3. A Personal Health Agent for Decision Support in Arrhythmia Diagnosis
