Biomedical Telematics Laboratory (LTB)
Technology for respiratory health researchers
The mandate of the Biomedical Telematics Laboratory (LTB) is to promote the use of telematics and develop specialized computer applications to support the research projects of the research axes and members of the QRHN. Located at CHUS research center, the LTB offers constant logistical support to train research staff, maintain equipment and facilitate communications and visibility of the Network. In this regard, the LTB designs, hosts and updates the Network's website. In addition, the LTB analyzes and generates computer support budgets for projects proposed by respiratory health researchers who apply to the various external funding agencies of the FRQS. CHUS research center, the LTB offers constant logistical support to train research staff, maintain equipment and facilitate communications and visibility of the Network. In this regard, the LTB designs, hosts and updates the Network's website. In addition, the LTB analyzes and generates computer support budgets for projects proposed by respiratory health researchers who apply to the various external funding agencies of the FRQS.
The team

The LTB Director is Dr. Eric Rousseau. Eric Rousseau is an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Université de Sherbrooke since 1988. He directs his laboratory "The Bilarium", which specializes in cell electrophysiology, biochemistry and pharmacology of new generation eicosanoids. He is interested in the study of the mechanisms of regulation of the ionic channels of the membranes of the smooth muscles of the respiratory tracts. His team is piloting two human tissue projects: BroncHUS and AsthmUS. He has been managing the LTB since its inception in 1995.

Yvan Fortier is IT Coordinator at the LTB.
Mr. Fortier holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Management and Systems from Université de Sherbrooke. Since 2000, M Fortier has participated and supervised the creation of several computer applications. He is also webmaster for the Network's website.

Ms. Mina Dligui is a contract analyst-programmer at LTB.
Mina Dligui holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Université de Sherbrooke. Since 2008, Ms. Dligui has worked on application programming for several research projects, including critical respiratory care, pulmonary infection and COPD.
Achievements

The CBRNE-ObS project is a multicenter study which concerns the management of patients in contaminated areas after exposure to chemical aggression.
The principal investigator is Dr. Philippe Jouvet from the University of Montreal - CHU Ste-Justine. The study leader is captain (retired) Stéphane Bourassa (University of Montreal - CHU Ste-Justine - Medical Intelligence CBRNE Inc)
Patient management in the contaminated zone after exposure to a chemical attack: a multicentric observational study
US Clinical Trial Registered NCT05026645
https://clinicaltrials.gov/
More details: https://cbrne-obs-ltb.cred.ca/


GXT - GeneXpert or chest x-ray or tuberculin skin test for home contact assessment: a cluster randomized trial. The objectives of the GXT study are to compare the results resulting from three different strategies for the management of HIV-uninfected people aged 5 to 50 years who are HH contacts of microbiologically confirmed and newly diagnosed active pulmonary TB.
The study plans to recruit nearly 1,500 participants from Benin and Brazil and will start in 2020.

It has been estimated that approximately one quarter of the entire world’s population carry latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Of these, approximately 10% will develop disease, meaning that about 200 million persons will develop active disease out of the current vast pool with latent infection.
The primary objective of the study is to Compare completion of three different regimens of daily self-administered oral Rifampin.
The IT application developed by the LTB allows users from 6 centers in Canada, Indonesia and Vietnam to collect information through a secure web portal, about adults and children aged 10 and over, who will be randomized to one of the three study arms. The study will start at the end of 2019 and provides for a 2-year follow-up.

The LongVentKids Study is an international point prevalence study conducted in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The purpose of the LongventKids study is to reveal and describe the prevalence of demographic background and care provided to patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) in PICUs. The study involves 269 centers in 42 countries and measures several data on patients included. Patients are 18 years of age or younger and are under mechanical ventilation for more than 6 hours per day, based on invasive ventilation and NIV, on the day of the study. For more details on the LongVentKids study, please visit https://longventkids.ca.


Col-debout is a project of Dr. Jean-Charles Pasquier, obstetrician-gynecologist at the CHUS, which aims to detect the risk of prematurity by measuring the angle of the cervix upright. Col-debout brings together centers in Canada and Europe such as the Sherbrooke CHUS, the Laval University Hospital, the Montreal Jewish General Hospital and the University Hospitals of Geneva (Switzerland) and Toulouse (France). www.coldebout.ca

RESP is a database containing information on adult patients with asthma or COPD, treated in the pneumology clinics of the HSCM and CHUS. To be included and invited to be part of the database, patients must be 18 years of age or older and have a diagnosis of asthma or COPD confirmed by an HSCM or CHUS respirologist. RESP is a project under the supervision of Dr. Lucie Blais of the HSCM.

The main objective of the ARIA research project is to build a clinical database of adults suffering from severe asthma treated at the CIUSSS external respiratory clinic of Estrie-CHUS. The project is led by Dr. Pierre Larivée, pulmologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Université de Sherbrooke.

The RSR Biobank uses a computer application called BTRSR. This allows the pooling of samples while maintaining the uniqueness of each participating center. This method of operation proposes a virtual bank composed of the information related to the samples which are pooled on a central server while the samples are kept in each of the centers. This allows researchers to benefit from the full reach of a network of banks operating in common according to established criteria and to increase the possibility of obtaining fewer samples in certain fields of research thanks to the participation of several centers. http://biobanque.ca

The main objective of PARDIE is to better understand the implications of the new definition of pediatric ARDS from the new Pediatric Acute Pulmonary Trauma Conference (PALICC) on the incidence and epidemiology of pediatric ARDS. PARDIE has 169 centers in the United States, Canada and the rest of the world.

The ERTB project aims to set up a biobank of equine respiratory tissues. The project is under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Pierre Lavoie, a veterinarian and professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Université de Montréal. ERTB brings together 6 centers in Canada and the United States. http://www.btre.ca

Assess iNo is a multicenter, prospective and observational study of diversity in iNO practice models in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units in Canada. Assess iNo is under the supervision of Dr. Philippe Jouvet, Intensivist at CHU Ste-Justine in Montreal.

INOX. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem in Canada. Among Canadians aged 55 and over, the prevalence rate is about 6%. Approximately 750,000 Canadians suffer from the disease. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death for men aged 65 years and over and seventh for women aged 65 and over. Continuous oxygen therapy is one of the few components of COPD management that improves survival. The clinical benefits of nocturnal oxygen therapy have not yet been confirmed. The study "International Nocturnal Oxygen" (INOX) will try to answer this question.

CanCOLD is a prospective, multi-center, cohort study conducted across Canada dedicated to understanding and managing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to reduce its impact. This cohort, which will track a population of COPD patients over time, is the first of its kind in Canada and is expected to end in 2023. The LTB participates in the CanCOLD study by creating the computer application that will support the collection of information. www.cancold.ca

PICFlu is a multicenter study on the genetic epidemiology of patients with Influenza in pediatric intensive care units of the PALISI network. Influenza A and B viruses are responsible each year for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people around the world and cause billions of dollars in costs. Elderly people, children, and some people with special health conditions such as asthma or immune deficiency, are at high risk of a complication due to the Influenza virus.

Pangea is an international prospective study of point prevalence with follow-up of findings to investigate the epidemiology of critical acute neurological disease in children. It involves more than 84 centers in 14 countries.

The PALIVE 1 project is an epidemiological study in pediatric intensive care, including the practice of mechanical ventilation on intubated children suffering from acute respiratory problems (Acute Lung Injury, ALI) and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The study was conducted on subjects under 18 years of age from Canada, the United States and Europe. PALIVE 1 is a web application that allows you to enter a dozen online forms, the management of information by center and a randomization module of topics.

TB-ERA3 is a randomized study on the efficacy of a 4-month treatment with Rifampin versus 9 months Inh for the treatment of latent tuberculosis: phase3. The project involves 18 centers spread over 5 continents. In Canada and most industrialized countries, the incidence of tuberculosis dropped dramatically from the early 1900s to the late 1970s, but since then there has been a decline in the decline and tuberculosis is still a major cause of tuberculosis. morbidity and mortality in at-risk populations.