Global Data-sharing Initiative Launched to Support People with MS Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

QMENTA partners with The Multiple Sclerosis Data Alliance (MSDA) and The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF).

 

1 April 2020, Barcelona. For immediate release. Today, QMENTA, a leading innovator in cloud-based, AI solutions for medical imaging and clinical data aggregation, announced a collaboration with the Multiple Sclerosis Data Alliance (MSDA) and the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on people with multiple sclerosis (MS).  The collaboration’s central goal is to collect and analyze data from around the world on the effects of the virus on and, in turn, the effects of MS treatments, with the aim of providing vital, real-time, evidence-based information to doctors and other medical professionals treating MS patients during the pandemic.

QMENTA is donating its AI-powered, cloud-based data integration platform to serve as the collaboration’s central hub for data collection and analysis.  Furthermore, Amazon Web Services has also pledged technology support to the initiative.

“We are in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. The devastating effect of COVID-19 continues to be felt across the world with medical professionals scrambling to find a vaccine. For those people living with MS,  there is also an urgent need to gather and share information to enable evidence-based decision making on the clinical management of MS during the pandemic, and to inform future research. The QMENTA platform will allow us to quickly gather, organize and share data between all collaborators while also ensuring the data is secure and protected,” said Liesbet Peeters, Ph.D. and MSDA coordinator for the COVID-19 Global Data Sharing Initiative.

“MS clinicians on the front line desperately need robust evidence on the coronavirus to inform the treatment decisions they make with their patients. People with MS are looking for clear answers on how best to protect themselves during the pandemic, especially regarding their MS treatments. MSIF is partnering in this vital initiative on behalf of all our members to provide these crucial answers faster,” added Dr. Clare Walton, Head of Research and Access at MSIF.

The collaboration will work with MS patient registries, physicians, and patients to collect and share specific clinical data elements including COVID-19 diagnosis and severity, demographics, and MS history and treatment.  Insights generated from analyses of the global dataset will be shared back with the MS community as evidence-based guidance regarding risk-factors for infection among MS patients as well as the care of those patients who do test positive for COVID-19. 

“QMENTA is honored to partner with both the MSDA and MSIF on this important global initiative. Since we’ve always been dedicated to furthering MS research, the collaboration was a natural fit. Now, more than ever, it’s critical for all of us to work together to help minimize the effects of the virus and to identify future treatments,” commented Rob Bancroft, QMENTA CEO.

Find out more about the Global Data Sharing Initiative and how you can help by visiting: 

 

About QMENTA

QMENTA transforms the speed, accuracy, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of diagnostic neuroimaging to accelerate the conquest of brain diseases.  Founded in 2013, the company provides a best-in-class, cloud-based data management platform that houses its proprietary AI-powered biomarker algorithms as well as a marketplace of partnered algorithms.  The platform streamlines the highly fragmented and tedious process of managing, harmonizing, and sharing complex neuroimaging data.  The broad array of algorithms provide objective, highly precise, and reproducible quantification of a variety of pathologies that today’s subjective image reading approaches cannot match.  QMENTAⓇ Trials was developed for Biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development of new therapies for neurological diseases by streamlining the use of neuroimages in clinical trials.   QMENTAⓇ Labs enables universities and global research consortia to easily standardize, curate, and analyze massive levels of neuroimaging data in one place.  Together, QMENTA’s integrated solutions empower researchers and clinicians to harness complex neuroimaging data with certainty and speed, leading to faster and more efficient drug development and better-informed patient diagnosis and treatment decisions. 

Headquartered in Boston USA with an office in Barcelona, QMENTA consists of an international team of neuroimaging, software, and deep learning experts.

About The MS Data Alliance

The Multiple Sclerosis Data Alliance (MSDA) is a global multi-stakeholder collaboration working to accelerate research insights for innovative care and treatments for people with MS, by raising awareness about the importance of research using real-world MS data, enabling better discovery and access to real-world MS data and promoting trustworthy and transparent practices in the way real-world MS data is used. Our vision is to enable a patient-centered data ecosystem in which all stakeholders contribute and use big data to co-create the innovations needed to advance the timely treatment and care of people with MS.

About The MS International Federation

The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), is a unique movement made up of 48 MS organisations with links to many others around the world. MSIF and its members campaign for increased awareness of MS, support scientific developments and improve access to treatments and healthcare.