Ivo Fridolin

At EstWell, leading researchers of the human mind, human body, social context, and spatial context join forces to produce an interdisciplinary understanding of the complex systems underlying well-being: the subjective and objective quality of an individual's life across different domains. We will address 4 research areas. RA1 CORRELATES: Which bio-psychological and socio-spatial factors predict stable WB components? RA2 MECHANISMS: How are dynamic WB components instantiated within individuals? RA3 SELF-CARE: How do individuals understand and manage their WB in self-care ecosystems? RA4 INTERVENTIONS: How to improve WB using targeted and tailored interventions? EstWell will fund interdisciplinary researcher positions; a registry-linked longitudinal study LongEstWell; a doctoral school; marquee events; and grants for mobility and collaboration. EstWell will raise the productivity and profile of participating groups, institutions, and Estonian well-being sciences.

Life-sustaining artificial kidney treatment or haemodialysis (HD) is needed for end-stage renal disease and critical care patients. High quality HD must ensure effective and personalized blood purification from harmful uremic toxins (UT), among inflammation-cardiovascular disease related middle size (MM)-UT. This, urged by a need for HD surveillance in crisis (coronavirus, war, energy), has created a demand for on-line, bloodless, and non-infectious tools for UT removal monitoring. Optical monitoring can provide a feasible tool for this. However, to date no reliable monitoring technology of MM-UTs is available. This project aims to fill this knowledge gap. Optical spectral signature identification combined with chromatographic and biochemical analyses to reveal the main optical MM markers in biofluids, selection of best signal processing algorithms, and a proof-of-concept in-vivo clinical study is planned to develop a novel optical technology for on-line MM-UT removal monitoring in HD.