CITIC researcher from the UDC, Elena Hernández, participates in the project “AQUAPRED – Control and prevention system for contaminants in mineromedicinal waters using Artificial Intelligence”, which was presented last February at the Laias spa (Ourense). This is a transnational, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary project involving physics, medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, biology, and computer science, focused on monitoring and controlling the thermal/mineromedicinal water of spas and predicting contaminants, based on the real-time digitization of fundamental parameters of mineromedicinal water and continuous analysis of these data by an AI-based system.

With the participation of various entities from Spain, Portugal, and France, and led by the Universidade de Vigo, the UDC group will develop this intelligent system by applying machine learning techniques to obtain a predictive model capable of identifying changes in the quality of mineromedicinal water. The model could alert to significant deviations in water quality, which would be very useful for the management and maintenance of the mineromedicinal water source, thus helping to ensure its optimal state and safety for users.

The aim is to apply cutting-edge technologies to the control and management of mineromedicinal waters in thermal spas in the SUDOE area, with the triple objective of minimizing the possibility of contaminants, maximizing the medicinal properties of the waters, increasing the scientific base on the behavior of mineromedicinal waters, and generating a product exportable to all spas worldwide.

The project is supported by the Axencia de Turismo de Galicia and co-financed with FEDER (European Regional Development Fund) funds, with a total budget of €1.871.530,38.