Co-clustering of evolving count matrices with the dynamic latent block model: application to pharmacovigilance

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The simultaneous clustering of observations and features of datasets (known as co-clustering) has recently emerged as a central topic in machine learning applications. However, most models focus on continuous data in stationary scenarios, where cluster assignments do not evolve over time. We propose in this paper the dynamic latent block model (dLBM), which extends the classical binary latent block model, making amenable such analysis to dynamic cases where data are counts. Our approach operates on temporal count matrices allowing to detect abrupt changes in the way existing clusters interact with each other. The time breaks detection is performed through clustering of time instants that allows for better model parsimony. The time-dependent counting data are modeled via non-homogeneous Poisson processes (HHPPs), conditionally to the latent variables. In order to handle the model inference, we rely on a SEM-Gibbs algorithm and the ICL criterion is used for model selection. Numerical experiments on simulated data highlight the main features of the proposed approach and show the interest of dLBM with respect to related works. An application to adverse drug reaction in pharmacovigilance is also proposed, where dLBM was able to recognize clusters in a meaningful way that identified safety events that were consistent with retrospective knowledge. Hence, our aim is to propose this dynamic co-clustering method as a tool for automatic safety signal detection, to support medical authorities.