We are driving groundbreaking initiatives that redefine cardiovascular care through innovation, technology, and data-driven solutions. Our projects harness the power of precision medicine, early disease detection, and artificial intelligence to revolutionize patient outcomes.
By integrating interdisciplinary expertise with cutting-edge methodologies, we strive to set new benchmarks in cardiovascular research, diagnosis, and treatment. With a commitment to pushing the boundaries of medical science, ACCC is shaping a future where heart health is more personalized, predictive, and proactive than ever before.
AI4HF
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
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
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 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:
- 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.
- 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
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
- Alicia Uijl
- Didier Collard
- Folkert Asselbergs