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Liver cancer is the fifth most frequent worldwide and the second most deadly, with about 750,000 cases per year. In addition, liver cancer has a high chance of recurrence, even after surgery. The prevalence of local recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma is 20% or more. But is it possible that an additional innovative technique during surgery could improve these people’s chances? This is what will be tested in this new international project. SHINE 2Europe is a partner in LIVERATION, an innovative project funded by the Horizon Europe program and led by the Institut Hospital del Mar with the involvement of  7 other partners. The main objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of Additional Coagulation of the Margin (ACM) in real-life scenarios after liver surgery. Its ultimate goal is to reduce the probability of liver cancer recurrence by conducting a clinical trial in 6 countries, involving 720 patients. In LIVERATION, SHINE will be delivering the Social Innovation framework and ethical dialogue sessions, leading the social, health and economic assessment, as well as the tasks regarding information and public engagement. It will also be involved in dissemination and communication activities, as well as liaison with other European Union initiatives. On the 29th and 30th of June, Barcelona hosted the kick-off meeting of this project entitled “Unravelling the Impact of Radiofrequency in Liver Surgery: The Key to Decrease Local Recurrence?” and which will develop over the next 5 years. During the meeting the partners engaged in fruitful discussions about the project overview and conducted an in-depth review of the plan for each work package. This collaborative effort was essential to align SHINE’s activities with those of the other partners and ensure that all details are incorporated into the study protocol. SHINE is very excited about the journey on this challenging project, joining efforts with the partners to make a significant impact in the field of liver surgery and improve patient outcomes.

AI4HF is a new project funded by Horizon Europe, that brings together 16 partners from Europe, Peru and Tanzania, aiming to design, develop, evaluate and explore a reliable Artificial Intelligence solution for personalized assessment of the risk of heart failure. Leading the project is the Netherlands Heart Institute and Portugal is represented in the partnership by SHINE 2Europe. AI4HF | Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Personalised Risk Assessment in Chronic Heart Failure was kicked-off in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on June 6th and 7th, where the group of researchers met to outline the first development strategies of the project. SHINE 2Europe was represented by the researcher Miriam Cabrita and the company’s CEO, Carina Dantas, who says, on behalf of her team, that “we are excited to lead the works on Social Innovation within the project, because we have the opportunity to bring the voice of patients, health professionals, caregivers, policy makers, researchers, engineers in the field of Artificial Intelligence, among others. The goal is that, at the end, we can have a reliable tool with actual usability, that reaches people and can improve their quality of life.” In Portugal, Heart Failure is one of the main, if not the main cause of mortality, and it is expected that between 500,000 and 600,000 people may suffer from this disease. There are still no updated data for 2023, since the last study was conducted more than 20 years ago, when the disease affected about 400,000 people. The Portuguese Society of Cardiology is this year preparing the new data that will be released next year, estimating that about 5000 people die each year due to Heart Failure in Portugal. Patients tend to devalue the symptoms of this disease that, being silent, makes them neglect their symptoms. SHINE is happy to be involving all relevant actors in the development of this solution, which may become a real tool for the prevention of this pathology and decrease these numbers in the future. For more info, please visit https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Artificial-intelligence-set-to-personalise-treatment-of-heart-failure-patients