Geographic Information Systems for Medical Data Analysis

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have transformed how health-related information is understood and managed. By integrating spatial data with medical, epidemiological, and environmental datasets, GIS enables researchers and healthcare professionals to identify patterns, visualize disease spread, assess access to care, and examine the influence of social and environmental determinants on health outcomes. The combination of GIS with advanced analytical techniques, including machine learning and predictive modeling, further strengthens data-driven decision-making in public health, clinical practice, and policy development. Despite this potential, GIS remains underutilized in many healthcare research contexts, making a more systematic exploration of its applications both timely and essential. Geographic Information Systems for Medical Data Analysis provides a comprehensive overview of GIS principles and tools as applied to medical and health data. By integrating theoretical frameworks, methodological guidance, and practical applications, this book advances the field of geospatial health analytics and demonstrates how GIS can inform public health interventions, resource allocation, and policy decision-making. Covering topics such as hotspot forecasting, explainable risk surfaces, and disease risk prediction, this book is a fundamental academic resource for graduate and doctoral students, healthcare professionals, data scientists, GIS practitioners, and more.

Anandhavalli Muniasamy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics and Computer Systems, College of Computer Science at King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from SMIT, Sikkim Manipal University, India. Her research expertise spans data mining, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), soft computing, and data science, with a particular focus on machine learning and deep learning applications in healthcare data analysis. She has an impressive academic and research portfolio, having published over 40 research articles in prestigious international journals, conferences, and book chapters. She has actively participated in more than 35 national and international conferences, presenting her work on cutting-edge computational techniques and contributing to edited book publications. A recognized innovator, she holds four patents, demonstrating her expertise in advanced computational methodologies. As a Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), she has led five university-funded research projects and served as PI for a funded project supported by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Beyond her research, she has been a dedicated manuscript reviewer for leading international journals for over a decade and a Ph.D. thesis examiner for multiple universities. She is frequently invited to deliver guest lectures and serves as an editorial board member for various renowned journals and conferences. She is an active member of professional organizations such as IEEE, the International Association of Engineers (IAENG), the Computer Society of India (CSI), and the International Association of Computer Science and Information Technology (IACSIT). Her current research focuses on leveraging AI-driven techniques in healthcare analytics, particularly machine learning and deep learning, to address complex challenges in medical data analysis and drive innovative solutions in her field. (Email: anandhavalli@kku.edu.sa/ anandhavalli.dr@gmail.com)

Mrinal Kanti Ghose (Former Sr. Scientist, ISRO), presently a retired academician cum researcher, served the GLA University, Mathura, UP as a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Applications for the period 01/06/2020 to 30/06/2023, preceded by one year short-term assignment as Professor in Computer Applications in Sikkim (Central) University, Gangtok, Sikkim for the period July 2017 to July 2018. Before joining the Sikkim University, he served as the Dean (Academics) and Professor of Computer Science & Engineering in Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majhitar, Sikkim, India from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Ghose headed the Computer Science & Engineering Department and R & D Division as Dean (R & D) of the institute for the period 2006 to 2014. During that period, he had also carried out additional charge of Head, SMU-IT. Prior to this, Dr. Ghose worked in the internationally reputed R & D organization Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) during 1981 to 1994 at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO, Trivandrum in the areas of Mission Analysis & Simulation and Quality & Reliability Analysis of ISRO Launch vehicles and Satellite systems and during 1995 to 2006 at Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre, ISRO, IIT Campus, Kharagpur in the areas of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information systems applications for the natural resources management. During his He was also worked as an Adjunct Professor in Reliability Engineering Center, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and was on deputation for 3 years to Assam (Central) University, Silchar, Assam, as Controller of Examinations, and the founder-head of the Department of 5 years integrated M. Sc course in Computer Science. Dr. Ghose started his academic career as Teaching Asst. in Mathematics in National Institute of Technology (erstwhile Regional Engineering College), Silchar during the period 1979 to 1981. His areas of research interest are Geo-Informatics, Soft Computing, Data Mining, Software Engineering, Networking & Information Security, Robotics, System Reliability & Quality Assurance, Simulation & Modelling, Optimization Techniques, Applied Statistics and Analytical Bio –Informatics. Dr. Ghose has produced 25 Ph.Ds in Computer Science & Engineering and allied areas and published more than 300+ research/technical papers mainly in various peer-reviewed international journals and a few in national journals that include 75 SCl/Scopus publications and attended/presented several international/ national conferences. His Scopus Author ID is13310067900, Orcid ID is 0000-0002-9240-0444 and Researcher ID is F-9733-2018. Dr. Ghose has chaired a number of national/international conference sessions and conducted quite a number of Seminars, Workshop and Training program in the above areas. Till date, 10 sponsored projects worth of Rs.1 corer funded by ISRO, AICTE and DST have been successfully completed by him. Dr. Ghose also contributed as research consultants to various reputed organizations like IIT Chennai, ITT Kharagpur, WRI, Trichy, SCIMST, KELTRON, HLL, and ER&DC (S), Trivandrum, Assam University, Silchar, Assam and Vidyasagar University, West Midnapore, West Bengal etc.