Amsterdam Center for Computational Cardiology

The forefront of cutting-edge research in cardiovascular health

The Amsterdam Center for Computational Cardiology (AAC) is at the forefront of cutting-edge research in cardiovascular health. Our dedicated team of data scientists, epidemiologists and clinicians collaborate to bring about innovative advancements in computational cardiology, utilizing state-of-the-art techniques and technologies.

The Amsterdam Center for Computational Cardiology (ACCC) leverages multi-modal clinical data spanning information from imaging, genomics, electronic healthcare records, and clinical trials.

We combine expertise in clinical cardiology with strong foundations in machine learning, computer science, biostatistics, and epidemiology to inform and improve cardiovascular health care from both a clinical and patient perspective.

Team

Prof. Dr. Folkert Asselbergs

Projectleader

Mrs. Joyce Beemsterboer

Office manager

Dr. Sean Benson

Associate professor

Dr. Machteld Boonstra

Post-doc

Dr. Didier Collard

Post-doc

Mr. Philip Croon

PhD student

Dr. Noman Dormosh

Post-doc

Dr. Kasia Dziopa

Post-doc

Mrs. Jorna van Eijk

PhD student

Mrs. Clara Ferreira Gomes

PhD student

Dr. Larisa van der Graaff

Post-doc

Dr. Marijke Linschoten

Cardiologist in training

Dr. Floriaan Schmid

Associate professor

Dr. Stefan Smorenburg

Post-doc

Mr. Vittorio Torri

PhD student, Alumnus

Dr. Alicia Uijl

Associate professor

Dr. Stephanie van der Voorn

Post-doc

Dr. Marion van Vugt

Post-doc

Dr. Stephan van der Zwaard

Data scientist

Projects

AI4HF

The AI4HF project focusses on co-design, development, evaluation and exploitation of integrative and thrustworthy artificial intelligence solutions for personalized heart failure risk-assessment.

These tools will be trained using large-scale complementary multi-source cardiovascular data including cardiac imaging, -biomarkers, electrocardiography and free text data. Within the project, great emphasis is placed on the concept of trustworthy and inter-dicilplinary tool design, to ensure that developed tools are trusted, approved and deployed in a real world setting and providing clear benefit for patients, cardiologists, physicians and health-care providers. The consortium is led by Amsterdam UMC and Amsterdam UMC focusses on defining requirements for the development of trustworthy AI, model development and explainability. More information about the consortium partners and work packages can be found at www.ai4hf.com.

  • Folkert Asselbergs (consortium lead)
  • Floriaan Schmidt, Stefan Smorenburg
  • Alicia Uijl
  • Machteld Boonstra

Check@Home

In the Netherlands, there is no national approach for early detection of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and type 2-diabetes in the general population, despite the social and economic impact of these disorders.

The Check@Home consortium was founded to fill this gap and aims to lower the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes by 25% in the next ten years, and thereby decrease the burden of these chronic diseases.

  • To develop a roadmap for a national screening program focused on the early detection of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes and their common risk factors
  • To build a program that is accessible to and empowers individuals across all socio-economic status groups within their own living environment
  • To shape a cost-effective program, which can ultimately be implemented as a nationwide program
  • To build an infrastructure that contributes to the sustainability and affordability of healthcare

Due to common risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and the aging population, the number of people suffering from cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or type 2-diabetes is expected to increase excessively in 2030. A large proportion of people are not aware of having these diseases, as it is often present without overt symptoms. Fortunately, these chronic conditions can be detected at an early stage, allowing for adequate and early treatment to prevent (the progression of) these conditions and their complications. Check@Home aims to do so by developing a (cost-)effective national program that is accessible to all socio-economic groups and takes place in the citizen’s own living environment, making it comfortable for citizens to do. It will also reduce the burden on primary care and contribute to the affordability and sustainability of healthcare. The program is designed and implemented in close collaboration with citizens, patients, and local citizen initiatives, to make sure that this program is a durable solution for all groups of society.

In total 160,000 people aged 50-75 years and living in Breda, Utrecht, Arnhem and Eindhoven, will be invited to participate in the study with a home-based test using the Check@Home digital platform. In case of early signs of cardiovascular disease, kidney damage or diabetes type 2, a targeted work-up will follow in a regional diagnostic center. If necessary, lifestyle advice and initiation of medication will be provided to relieve regular care as much as possible.

This Check@Home project is possible due to a grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO, grant nr. KICH2.V4C.20.005) and financial contributions from the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Dutch Kidney Foundation, the Dutch Diabetes Research Foundation, and various private partners, including Roche Diagnostics, AstraZeneca, Siemens Healthineers, Topicus, and Happitech. Within this project, The Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA), the Dutch Heart Foundation, the Dutch Kidney Foundation, and the Dutch Diabetes Research Foundation collaborate with private partners, medical experts (general practitioners, cardiologists, nephrologists, internists) and specialists in social sciences, health economics, and communication from several Dutch university medical centers, universities, and regional hospitals. The research leaders are cardiologist Prof. Dr. Folkert Asselbergs from Amsterdam UMC and internist-nephrologist Prof. Dr. Ron Gansevoort from UMC Groningen.

The research leaders are:

  • Cardiologist Prof. Dr. Folkert Asselbergs from Amsterdam UMC
  • Internist-nephrologist Prof. Dr. Ron Gansevoort from UMC Groningen.

Datatools4heart

Within the datatools4heart project, the co-creation, development and demonstration of a comprehensive, federated, privacy-preserved cardiology data toolbox including standardized data ingestion and harmonization tools, multilingual natural language processing and federated machine learning and data synthesis methods.

Additionally, with the development of a public data catalog combined with virtual assistants, scientist and clinicians can navigate easily through large-scale multi-source cardiology electronic health record data, while complying to the European regulations and data standards. Amsterdam UMC participates as one of the clinical sites, focusing on data harmonization, adoption of a federated learning platform and free-text analysis using natural language tools. More information about the consortium partners and work packages can be found at www.datatools4heart.eu.

  • Folkert Asselbergs
  • Alicia Uijl
  • Noman Dormosh
  • Sean Benson
  • Machteld Boonstra.

Heart4Data

The main aim of the Heart4Data consortium is to develop a sustainable infrastructure for cardiovascular registry-based research in the Netherlands. Heart4Data is funded by Hartstichting and ZonMW.

The infrastructure includes a framework/structure for the governance, and the ethical, legal, financial, technological and methodological factors. There will be a special focus on heart failure in this project by creating a sustainable heart failure (and atrial fibrillation (AF)) registry in the Netherlands Heart Registration (NHR) and links with other relevant national and regional registries and data sources. 

To use and prove value of the infrastructure two proof-of-concept projects will be conducted:

  1. Observational, longitudinal research on the entire spectrum of patients with heart failure (including patients with HFpEF) in the Netherlands with focus on guideline recommended diagnostic trajectories and treatment.
  2. Prospective randomized clinical research on pharmaco-therapeutic treatment in patients with chronic heart failure as the first registry-based trial (SELEQT-HF).

 

Using the results of this project, healthcare processes could be optimized, innovative research could be conducted, including improving clinical guidelines, resulting in better care and better outcomes for the patient.

  • Folkert Asselbergs
  • Alicia Uijl

HOVON 170 DLBCL​

This is a national, multicenter, randomized controlled phase III trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dexrazoxane for the primary prevention of anthracycline-induced cardiac dysfunction in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Anthracyclines are a potent class of chemotherapeutic agents widely used in the treatment of various cancers, including breast cancer, acute leukemia, and high-grade lymphomas. However, they are also notorious for their cardiotoxicity, which can lead to heart failure. Dexrazoxane has been investigated in several studies for its potential to mitigate anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity, yet its use in routine clinical practice remains limited.

In this trial, patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, are randomized to receive either no cardioprotective treatment (the current standard of care) or dexrazoxane administered prior to each cycle of R-CHOP immuno-chemotherapy.

The follow-up of these patients is in line with recommendations in the cardio-oncology guidelines released by the European Society of Cardiology in 2022. The primary outcome of the trial is the incidence of anthracycline-induced cardiac dysfunction within 12 months of randomization. The co-primary endpoint is the percentage of patients with complete metabolic-remission at the end of treatment PET-CT, to ensure that dexrazoxane does not influence the antineoplastic efficacy of the cancer treatment.

Recruitment for HOVON 170 DLBCL – ANTICIPATE has started in September 2024 and is expected to last for three years. The trial is registered at the EU Clinical Trials Register (EU-CT number 2023-505377-32) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06220032).

  • Marijke Linschoten (co-PI, cardiology lead)
  • Folkert Asselbergs

PROMPT-HF-AUMC

This is a nudging trial performed in the Amsterdam UMC. Nudging trials are designed to explore the effectiveness of subtle behavioral interventions, known as "nudges," in influencing people's or doctor’s decisions and actions without restricting their freedom of choice.

PROMPT-HF-AUMC aims to investigate the effectiveness of a best practice alert in the EHR for optimizing the treatment of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) using guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) in the cardiology outpatient clinic.

  • Alicia Uijl
  • Didier Collard
  • Folkert Asselbergs

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