The METASTRA project, a cutting-edge EU-funded initiative, has commenced its mission to transform the way clinicians assess fracture risk in cancer patients with vertebral metastases. The ambitious project aims to develop innovative reliable computational models and improved patient stratification techniques to provide personalised treatment recommendations.
METASTRA will address the unmet need for improved risk quantification and patient stratification methods by developing a combination of innovative AI and physiology-based mechanical computational models so as to take into account also biomechanical factors that are currently not considered. These models will accurately stratify patients with spine metastasis who are at high risk of fractures and identify personalised surgical treatments.
The project is expected to significantly reduce uncertain diagnoses from the current 60% to a mere 20% of cases, alleviating patient suffering by reducing under-treatment and over- treatment, and potentially saving up to 2.4 billion euros annually in healthcare expenditures.
"We stand on the cusp of a groundbreaking revolution in fracture risk stratification for cancer patients with vertebral metastases. METASTRA is poised to transcend the limitations of current subjective approaches by harnessing the power of advanced computational models and clinical validation. This project holds the potential to reshape the landscape of patient care, sparing individuals from unnecessary surgeries and fractures that impact their well- being and treatment outcomes." - said Professor Luca Cristofolini, coordinator of the METASTRA project.
“The combination of data-driven and physiology-based computational modelling that we will develop and validate in this project will revolutionise the way we diagnose and treat patients with metastatic lesions in the spine” - said Dr Enrico Dall’Ara, Work-Package leader of computational modelling within the METASTRA project.
METASTRA brings together 15 partners from different European Member States, with a total funding of 6.7 million euros over the next five years.
Full information on the project can be found here
