Data Mining and Applications for Pharmacovigilance

In order to ensure the safety and efficacy of post-market pharmaceutical products, the United States Food and Drug Administration relies on its pharmacovigilance efforts and input from the general public. The FDA receives submissions of adverse event reports from patients, health care practitioners and manufacturers. The FDA has started looking to the field of data mining to automate the search for safety signals. A training manual was created to introduce FDA employees to the concepts and applications of data mining techniques in pharmacovigilance

ACAP: The Autonomous Cargo Aircraft Project

Development of autonomy in fly-by-wire aircraft has long been limited to multi-million dollar systems, or large remotely operated vehicles due to regulatory restrictions and the difficulty of designing a system around existing light aircraft. This report summarises the development of an experimental, optionally piloted aircraft with the capability of fully autonomous decision making and controlled flight. Particular time is spent discussing the safety features of the mechanical and electrical systems, as well as a novel control system design for light aircraft autopilots. This phase of the project included independant ground tests of all electromechanical systems, and simulator tests of all autoflight software. The next phase of the project will include flight testing