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Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, with a cost to society estimated at €177 billion per annum across Europe, according to the European Collaboration on Dementia (EuroCoDe) project funded by Alzheimer Europe. Data-based modelling of network structures is a modern approach to study and understand many diseases including dementia. Research carried out at the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at the University of Aberdeen has led to the development, implementation, and testing of novel mathematical algorithms to infer network structures by means of observations of their dynamics. The results of our research have been implemented as part of a software package now offered by the Netherlands-based company BrainMarker to researchers and practitioners across Europe in an online `pay-per-click' platform (section 5.c1 and 5.c4). As such our research generated impact on clinical practitioners in addition to commercial impact.
Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), developed by Peter Checkland and colleagues at Lancaster University, has been adopted worldwide for tackling complex problems in both private and public sectors. It is used widely in consulting practice, leading to major business and economic impacts. In examples 1 and 2 we report major impacts, including a reshaped multi-national business and extra profits of RMB 50M in a Chinese company. In addition, SSM has helped effect major cultural change within multinational business as described in example 3 and has been adopted as part of mainstream business analysis (examples 4, 5 and 6). This has been achieved through a deliberate policy of action research and post-experience education, supported by academic and practitioner-oriented books.
This study demonstrates how Bayes linear methodologies developed at Durham University have impacted on industrial practice. Two examples are given. The approach has been applied by London Underground Ltd. to the management of bridges, stations and other civil engineering assets, enabling a whole-life strategic approach to maintenance and renewal to reduce costs and increase safety. The approach has won a major award for innovation in engineering and technology. The methodology has also been applied by Unilever and Fera to improve methods of assessing product safety and in particular the risk of chemical ingredients in products causing allergic skin reactions.
In response to the deficiencies in bank risk management revealed following the 2008 financial crisis, one of the mandated requirements under the Basel III regulatory framework is for banks to backtest the internal models they use to price their assets and to calculate how much capital they require should a counterparty default. Qiwei Yao worked with the Quantitative Analyst — Exposure team at Barclays Bank, which is responsible for constructing the Barclays Counterpart Credit Risk (CCR) backtesting methodology. They made use of several statistical methods from Yao's research to construct the newly developed backtesting methodology which is now in operation at Barclays Bank. This puts the CCR assessment and management at Barclays in line with the Basel III regulatory capital framework.
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. It is characterised by apparently unpredictable seizures that severely affect the quality of patients' life. In this case study we demonstrate how our research has derived commercial impact within the medical technology industry, as well as impact on researchers and practitioners in neuroscience and medical science. Mathematical research carried out at the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at the University of Aberdeen has led to a threefold impact. First, our research shaped the development, implementation and validation of a new software platform, called EPILAB, containing a vast number of sophisticated algorithms targeting seizure prediction together with novel statistical tools to evaluate prediction performance. Second, our research resulted in commercial impact through the development of a new automatic long term monitoring device, called LTM-EU, by one of our industrial collaborators, Micromed (Italy). Third, a direct consequence of our research is the compilation and commercial exploitation of the world's largest epilepsy database of its type, which enables novel studies into seizure prediction in epilepsy.
Impact:
The underpinning research was exploited to design an exceptionally efficient Real-Time Operating System (RTOS), used in automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs), and its associated schedulability analysis tools. Since 2008, the RTOS has been deployed in 50 to 55 million new ECUs each year. The RTOS has been standardised upon (used by default in all ECUs) by [text removed for publication]. ([text removed for publication] in terms of world-wide automotive powertrain systems suppliers. [text removed for publication] all rank in the top [text removed for publication] world-wide for chassis electronics). The RTOS is used in cars produced by [text removed for publication] as well as many others. Revenues from the RTOS exceed [text removed for publication] per year.
Designs for complex structures like cars, aeroplanes and modern buildings suffer from unpredictable vibrations that lead to anything from irritating noises to dangerous structural failures. Predicting the distribution of vibrational energy in large coupled systems is an important and challenging task of major interest to industry. Until recently there was no reliable method to predict vibrations at the important mid-to-high frequency ranges.
There is a need to gain accurate predictions of vibrations at the design stage. However, previous techniques developed in the context of Quantum Chaos are too cumbersome to be used in a fast-moving commercial design setting. Bandtlow has used his expertise to develop a novel method that computes a very close approximation to these predictions but in a reasonable time. Bandtlow's method of constructing an efficient mathematical model for spectral vibrations has informed inuTech's latest product and led to enhanced performance of automobiles and aircraft.