Advancements in the REBECCA system: Empowering personalised breast cancer care through real-world data

During the plenary meeting in Athens in February 2024, Netcompany Intrasoft presented the newest updates to the consortium on the REBECCA system. Today, we would like to present the REBECCA application in more depth and discuss recent achievements.

Real-World Data and the REBECCA app

First, we need to define what is Real-World Data. It is the data relating to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care routinely collected from a variety of sources. These data have the potential to unlock actionable healthcare insights not typically garnered from traditional randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

The REBECCA system analyses the collected Real-World Data (RWD) to support ongoing local research efforts into chronic comorbid conditions induced by breast cancer therapies. Through detailed visualisation and patient summary reports, the REBECCA system helps clinicians develop personalised and improved care plans. They can do this by adjusting medications and dosages, providing context-specific and actionable recommendations for physical activity and diet, taking into account the individual’s lifestyle characteristics, measuring how well patients are adhering to prescribed lifestyle guidelines and identifying potential barriers to compliance.

REBECCA app, available on Android and iOS, is designed to collect objective and patient-reported data, supporting the development of tailored treatment schedules and care plans by healthcare professionals. The app is patient-friendly, allowing patients to record symptoms such as fatigue, pain, memory and concentration problems, as well as emotional symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, the app is paired with a newly designed companion system that allows the patient’s loved ones, such as family and friends, to participate in the monitoring process by providing data about the patient’s physical and emotional well-being. In this way, the Companion system reduces the reporting burden on the patient and allows the patient’s partner to be a co-reporter. The patient can choose not to involve their partners in the monitoring process if they don’t want to.

What has been achieved so far?

Over the past few months, the development team has been working hard to develop the REBECCA system, updating the app to Version 3. As per the original requirements, the companion functionalities were integrated into the existing patient app, thus resulting in a single mobile app, the REBECCA app, which now provides functionality for both user types. Below, you will find main screens of the companion functionalities of the REBECCA app:

Main screens of the companion functionalities of the REBECCA app

In addition, the app has been completely rewritten to improve the quality of the Garmin and GPS data and sleep monitoring has been added to the Garmin data. For the record, Garmin is a manufacturer of connected watches. Originally designed for top-level sportsmen and women, Garmin has developed its products and is now a very useful partner in the collection of health data. These data are particularly important for optimum monitoring of patients’ health.

The most recent updates to the REBECCA system also include changes to the dashboard, such as the patient data overview (Figure 1), the re-development of certain app components from scratch using modern design principles, page grouping, search boxes and drop-down lists.

Additionally, the dashboard incorporates a Compliance Metrics Table for tracking patient adherence (Figure 2) and an Early Warning System (Figure 3) to promptly detect patient issues.

Through the dashboard, clinicians can view the details of the patient’s collected data, allowing them to monitor their health status. Clinicians now have access to much more information to help the patients. Below is a screenshot of the dashboard that clinicians now have access to:

Figure 1 Daily Indicators Data Overview

Figure 2 General Compliance Service

Figure 3 Early Warning System

Functionalities

The development team also focused on enhancing the patient data overview and Compliance Metrics Table by incorporating additional data, such as daily indicators like daily steps, total calorie intake, and mean heart rate.  Patients can also provide data on their daily mobility, including the number of visits at home and work, as well as on their online activity, such as emotions and interests.

Through collaboration with patient representative groups, the photo functionality of the app was updated to include an additional category of “life events” that enables the app users to report photographs of events like social contacts, foods and drinks, pets, and more. The following figure shows the new photo category, which replaces the previously rarely used “Environment Stressors” category.

The new “Life events” photo category

The companion functionalities are a subset of the patient functionalities. Specifically, they include the questionnaire feature, where the companion app user is asked to complete a weekly questionnaire about the patient’s health. It also includes the notification feature, which acts as a reminder to the companion to complete the in-app questionnaire once a week.

The REBECCA team is committed to continuous improvement and development of the REBECCA system. Our goal is to alleviate the lives of people living with breast cancer in Europe and ensure they receive the best support possible from our side. Through the REBECCA system, we enable clinicians to offer personalised treatment methods and support both the patients and their loved ones in embarking on their journey with minimal stress.