Development of Web-Based Interactive Servers Using R Shiny Package

The Shiny package in R provides a range of ready-to-use tools for deploying web-based applications, allowing researchers to create user interfaces (UIs) without the need to master front-end languages like HTML, JavaScript, or PHP. This capability significantly enhances the translational potential of research by facilitating the validation of developed models and providing a framework for repetitive calculations. The developed Shiny web application can run on a local or remote server, offering flexibility in its usage. This chapter will detail the fundamental structure of Shiny, exploring the framework it offers, including both the UI.R and Server.R components. In addition, we guide readers through the framework with an example of developing a creatinine clearance (CRCL) tool using the Cockcroft-Gault formula, an equation commonly applied in ICUs and clinical settings. We also outline the method by which the developed application can be published to a web server, which R Studio offers for free with limited usage. The developed application in this chapter can be found at the following URL - https://praveenkumar.shinyapps.io/Creatinine_Clearance/ .