Two young researchers are improving care through research at the Catharina Hospital with smart simulations and predictive algorithms, for more comfortable ventilation and faster detection of deterioration.
Source: Catharina Ziekenhuis / Geert Piek
The two researchers, Anouk van Diepen (32) and Tom Bakkes (30), have worked for five years on innovations that should make intensive care safer and smarter. Not an abstract technique, but research that can have a direct effect on how patients feel, recover, and are treated.
What started as a scientific challenge grew into something that can really make a difference in the future. Their PhDs at TU/e were planned in one day and combined with an international mini-symposium on monitoring and ICU care - a great moment to reflect on their contribution to the future of healthcare.
Simulations were ideal training data
Imagine: you are on a ventilator. You can't talk. You are sick, scared, and you feel that breathing is not going well. That is what some patients in the ICU experience. Van Diepen saw it during her visits to intensive care. And she heard it from her own family. "My uncle was on a ventilator five years ago, after a major operation. Afterwards, he kept saying how uncomfortable that was. Ultimately, he was doing well, but the experience stayed with him."
With the research that she obtained her PhD, she did something about it. She worked with Bakkes for five years on research to improve ICU care. On April 3rd, 2025, they each defended their dissertations - not together in one session, but on the same day, as a duo PhD. A nice conclusion to an intensive collaboration.
Simulating breathing behavior
Their research started out separately, but soon grew together. Van Diepen built computer models that simulated the breathing behaviour of patients. Bakkes developed algorithms that can automatically recognize signals of restlessness in the breath. "Anouk's simulations were the ideal training data for my software," says Bakkes.
During the corona pandemic, there WERE SUDDENLY hundreds of patients on ventilators. This made the importance of our research even clearer.
Tom Bakkes
During the pandemic, their research gained momentum. "We had just started, and suddenly there were hundreds of patients on ventilators. The ICU was full. This made the importance of artificial respiration as a life-saving treatment and our research even clearer." During the first wave, they were not allowed to enter the hospital - understandably - but after that, they could scale up quickly.
The lung as a balloon
What does Van Diepen want to achieve? To make sure that patients will soon experience much less discomfort from the ventilation. "A ventilator only works well if it accurately matches the patient's breathing rhythm and breathing needs - how much air, at what pressure, and at what time. If that's not right, it feels oppressive, like you can't get any air. And it can also cause damage to the lungs."
With her models, she shows what happens physically in the body when patients and machines do not work well together. "I see the lung as a balloon. If it is inflated incorrectly, something can go wrong. By modeling that well, you get more grip. And we can improve care."
Model from the United States
In addition to artificial respiration, Bakkes focused on another point in the care process: not in the ICU, but in the nursing ward. "There, we want to recognize early which patient is deteriorating, so that you can intervene more quickly." He worked on an algorithm that predicts whether someone has an increased risk of going to the ICU, or even dying, based on measurements, lab values, and patient characteristics. "The model originated in the United States, and I adapted it to the Dutch situation."
The aim is to support nurses and doctors better. "They already keep scores, but they are relatively simple. With our model, you can look deeper and sound the alarm earlier. Without being unnecessarily often at the bedside of someone with nothing wrong."
After obtaining his PhD, Bakkes will remain affiliated with the Catharina Hospital as a postdoc. He is thus the bridge between his work at TU/e and clinical practice. "We hope to run a first pilot this year in which the algorithm runs in the background. Then we look at what is needed to use it. In the long term, we want this to be able to run hospital-wide, and possibly also beyond."
Serious deterioration sometimes prevented
What does the patient notice about this? Maybe not immediately on the outside, but the difference is big. Better ventilation adjustments make the stay in the ICU less stressful and possibly shorter. Better assessment of risks in the nursing ward allows doctors to intervene earlier, sometimes preventing severe deterioration op patients.
We hope our research helps patients recover faster, with less damage.
Anouk van Diepen
"We hope that this will help patients recover faster, with less damage, and that they will not have to spend an unnecessarily long time in the ICU," say Van Diepen and Bakkes. "And if necessary, then at least improve in a way that fits as closely as possible with the patient's needs."
Anouk van Diepen and Tom Bakkes conducted their PhD research under e/MTIC: the Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center. Within this partnership, the Catharina Hospital, TU/e, Máxima MC, Kempenhaeghe, and Philips are joining forces to bring medical innovations from lab to clinic faster. This way, technical breakthroughs align with the clinical practice and patients.
