Medical Student Giedrė Žulpaitė Among the Finalists of European Sails 2022

The organisers of the European Sails 2022 competition—initiated each year by the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance to select the best EU funds investment projects—have announced the final three categories. The finalists in the category for Efficiency in Medicine include a project from the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University, which was developed by Giedrė Žulpaitė, a 5th year student of the Integrated Medical Studies Programme.

“I am delighted to have been nominated for European Sails 2022. It is a prestigious and important award. I am very grateful to the whole NephroGo team: Karolis Vytis, Assoc. Prof. Laurynas Rimševičius, and Edita Saukaitytė-Butvilė. We have worked hard and diligently, so we are very happy that we have been highly appreciated not only by the chronic kidney disease patients and their relatives, but also by Lithuanian professionals from various fields. We believe that NephroGo will continue to develop and remain a vital tool in the management of chronic kidney disease,” said Žulpaitė.

European Sails 2022

The fourteenth edition of the European Sails 2022 competition aims to evaluate and present to the public the best projects that bring the greatest value to people, the country and the state. This year, projects are competing in seven categories: Most Innovative Solutions, Creating a Sustainable Environment, Investing in the School of the Future, Efficiency in Medicine, Investing in People and Building Community.

The category for Efficiency in Medicine, is open to projects that have been able to change quickly in times of crisis, and have offered improved technological solutions for medical and comprehensive healthcare services for families and society.

Finalists in the Efficiency in Medicine category:

• NephroGo, a mobile application from the VU Faculty of Medicine, is for dietary correction and vital signs monitoring of chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis, capable of performing a benefit analysis. The app helps patients adhere to appropriate treatment and slows down the progression of the disease. In addition, the app is free for everyone.
• A project developed at the Institute of Biotechnology at the VU Life Sciences Centre has been designed for the treatment of various human genetic diseases using gene therapy. The project introduced a method for detecting double-stranded DNA breaks to select the best (most efficient, accurate and safe) variant of CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases.
• Artificial Intelligence for Long-term Cardiac Monitoring – HEART AI is a project carried out by Zivė UAB and is aimed at early diagnosis of heart disease by moving medical devices from hospital to home. Artificial intelligence analyses the data and presents it to the doctor for evaluation. The system allows real-time monitoring of heart activity and reporting of cardiac problems.

Entries submitted by the participants were evaluated by a jury of experts from different fields and well-known representatives of society, media and academia, who selected the winners in different categories:

• Ms Akvilė Žirgulevičiūtė-Juodienė – Advisor to the Management and Control Systems Supervision Division of the Investment Department at the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance
• Darius Vėbra – Director of Solarbank
• Prof. Algirdas Žebrauskas – Chief Architect of Telšiai, and since 2014 Director of Architekto studija
• Ms Jurgita Šimelevičienė – journalist, and editor of the 15min business section
• Dr. Mindaugas Nefas – historian, and Director of VMU Lyceum “Sokratus”
• Tomas Balžekas – co-founder of the daily newspaper 15 minutes, which later became the news portal 15min; in 2021, Mr Balžekas again became the CEO of UAB 15min and UAB BNS
• Robertas Petrauskas – journalist, TV presenter, and author of historical books
• Daiva Kubaitienė – Deputy Chief Physician for Primary Health Care, Vilnius District Central Outpatient Clinic.

This year’s winners will be announced and awarded at an awards event on 27 October.

About the project by Giedrė Žulpaitė

In Lithuania, in common with rest of the world, one in 10 adults experience kidney problems. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complication of common diseases such as diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension, and is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in these diseases. With the number of kidney disease cases increasing by 8% each year and the socio-economic burden of kidney disease increasing, the treatment and prevention of kidney disease is becoming a top priority in the health systems of developed countries. In order to halt the progression of kidney disease and to improve the patients’ well-being and general condition, it is imperative to control the intake of different electrolytes, proteins and water. Adequate nutrition, tailored to the needs of kidney disease patients, helps to control the disease, significantly slowing down its progression, and reducing or even preventing secondary complications such as cardiovascular and skeletal diseases, arterial hypertension, anaemia, gout, and obesity. Patients’ active involvement in the management of the disease includes not only dietary control, but also continuous monitoring of vital signs and well-being. However, patients’ understanding of disease control is very low, which leads to non-compliance with recommendations and consequently a worsening outcome. The best, cheapest, most easily accessible solution to empower patients in disease management is the development of a dedicated mobile app to help control diet and monitor vital signs.

Project participant Giedrė Žulpaitė developed the mobile app NephroGo specifically for CKD patients. This innovative app definitely helps patients to adhere to appropriate treatment, slowing down the progression of the disease. It consists of a personalised nutritional calculator that helps each patient follow a kidney-friendly diet and keep track of nutrient, electrolyte, fluid and energy intake; a health indicator data calculator that helps keep track of health status and any changes in health status; a peritoneal dialysis (PD) function that helps carry out the PD correctly and keeps track of the effectiveness of the PD and a patient advice section.

To date, NephroGo has been used by more than 700 CKD patients. It is highly rated on Google Play and the App Store (4.7/5). It has been officially recommended by organisations such as the Lithuanian Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Association (LNDTA), the Lithuanian Association Gyvastis, the Association Donorystė, the Association Pozityvios Idėjos, and the Health Education and Disease Prevention Centre. NephroGo is also used in Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. And, the app is free!

Žulpaitė Giedrė, a student participant of the project, has also published a scientific article on this topic Nephrogo: AMobile App for Chronic Kidney Disease Patients, in NefroInfo, 2021, No. 1 ISSN 1648-2751. Giedrė has also been awarded the President’s Nominal Scholarship for outstanding academic and scientific achievements in the academic year 2022–2023.