Hacking treatment options for WA burns patients

Masses of WA burns patient data came into the spotlight late last year when Woodside data experts and medical specialists set their minds to finding better ways to help burns patients based on past cases. To mark Big Data Week (May 2-6) ScienceNetwork WA asked Woodside to reflect on the event's success…

In December 2015, Woodside's data scientists collaborated with the Fiona Wood Foundation in a DataHack, to analyse more than a decade's worth of WA burns patient data in an effort to find better ways to treat burns victims.

The 12-hour event provided an opportunity to build our growing capability in data science while making a sustainable, positive contribution to health research and outcomes in Western Australia.

Woodside's relationship with Professor Fiona Wood spans more than 20 years, currently supporting the Scarless Healing Appeal through the Centre of Excellence in Burns Research.

Woodside's Vice President Science Tom Ridsdill-Smith reflects on the value of the event:

"Hackathons involve getting data scientists and experts in a room to work on a problem very quickly—in a day or less, for instance," he says.

The idea for the DataHack came about when Prof Wood came to Woodside Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Shaun Gregory for advice.

She wanted to know how historical records, more than 1.2 million rows of it, and the ideas generated by medical staff could help treat burns survivors more effectively.

The foundation has 10 years of data and a staff of experienced surgeons, researchers, nurses and other professionals who are brimming with ideas about how to do this.

But they didn't have the resources to conduct the kind of data analysis Woodside can to investigate all these ideas so Shaun suggested we organise a hackathon to examine the issues, Mr Ridsdill-Smith says.

For us, it was a chance to initiate a skills-based volunteering program giving something really valuable back to our community, he says.

We also got an intense day of training for Woodside data scientists and new tools we can take back into our regular business to help us work more efficiently, he says.

The Fiona Wood Foundation has now submitted an ethics application to WA Health Ethics to get some of the outcomes from the DataHack approved for use in the clinical environment.

They also envisage some of the tools may help burns specialists aid treatment decision making whilst also providing patients with greater clarity on treatment paths and expected recovery outcomes.

Provided by Science Network WA

This article first appeared on ScienceNetwork Western Australia a science news website based at Scitech.