Partners

INESC TEC is a private non-profit research association, with Public Interest status, dedicated to scientific research and technological development, technology transfer, advanced consulting and training, and pre-incubation of new technology-based companies. Present in six sites in the cities of Porto (headquarters), Braga and Vila Real, and with more than 800 researchers, INESC TEC acts from knowledge generation to science-based innovation, and performs collaboratively in search for a more sustainable, responsible, and improved world. The primary goal of INESC TEC is to exceed performance in research, while considering its social, environmental, and economic impact, with a commitment to the scientific and technological contribution to foster pervasive intelligence. As so, INESC TEC endeavours to be a relevant international player in Science and Technology in eight scientific domains, Artificial Intelligence, Bioengineering, Communications, Computer Science and Engineering, Photonics, Power and Energy Systems, Robotics and Systems Engineering and Management. Being an institution that operates at the interface between the academic and business worlds, bringing academia, companies, public administration, and society closer together, INESC TEC generates new knowledge as part of its research, and leverages that knowledge in technology transfer projects, seeking impact through both value creation and social relevance. Role in the project INESC TEC is the project leader with the aim to coordinate and supervise the full AI4LUNGS project and ensure that all the objectives are successfully achieved with the contribution of all partners. INESC TEC is also the leader of WP4 (AI Analytic Models for Personalized Diagnosis and Treatment) due to its recognized science-based expertise on image and signal AI methodolodies for personalized medicine. The transversal participation of INESC TEC in other tasks along the project is of high importance to support all project activities and partners.

Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM is one of the largest research institutes specializing in applied mathematics in Europe. ITWM conducts mathematical methods research and prototype software development for many fields of application. ITWM collaborates in publicly funded research projects and industrial contract research with national and international partners from science and industry. In medicine, healthcare and social services, ITWM has been developing innovative customer-specific method and software solutions and services for about 25 years. Central topics are operations research in healthcare, optimization of therapy plans, data analysis and artificial intelligence, decision support systems and medical technology. Role in the project In the AI4LUNGS project, ITWM is mostly working on the clinical decision support system (cDSS) for stratified treatment planning in pulmonology. This work comprises the method and software design, the configuration with medical contents, the method and software development of the cDSS, furthermore its integration into the AI4LUNGS software framework, the connection to the other method and software modules and the deployment of the cDSS for clinical testing purposes.

The AI Mathematics group, at the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), is dedicated to the research and exploration of mathematical methods for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI). Our contributions include both theoretical advancements and their practical implementation. By leveraging innovative methodologies, we create and use methods able to perform in conditions that are traditionally considered challenging, such as elevated noise and sparsity of data. One of the main areas of interest is indeed learning from “small data”, i.e., where a restricted number of data points is associated with an elevated number of features, which are common in various disciplines, including biomedicine (e.g. bioinformatics), finance and climate prediction. The central role of mathematical principles in the formulation of the learning algorithms allows the resulting model to be fully interpretable, while also having favourable properties in terms of the computational cost of its training. Role in the project Within the AI4LUNGS project, the main contributions from RPTU will be provided in Work Packages 4 and 5. The data provided by upstream Work Packages will be “small”, given that it will be highly dimensional, and heterogeneous and may feature outliers, noise and missing values. We aim to employ appropriate ML/AI methods to (i) extract information from the multimodal data and (ii) train models that can accurately and efficiently provide useful insight. The interpretability of the models allows not only introspection on the decision-making process but, through the interface, clear visual feedback to the users.

i3S, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde/ Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, is a private non-profit Biomedical Research Institute/Associate Laboratory based in Porto, Portugal. Established in 2014, i3S resulted from the merge of three Research Institutes dedicated to Oncology, Life Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering (IPATIMUP, IBMC, INEB). From Research, Education, and Knowledge Translation i3S is engaged in supporting Applied and Translational Research in close collaboration with Hospitals and Healthcare partners, in promoting Innovation and Technology development, in fostering advanced training and education, and in encouraging initiatives to bring science closer to society. Research at i3S focuses mainly on three Integrative Programs: Cancer, Infection/ Immunity/ Regeneration and Neurobiology/ Neurological Disorders. At present, i3S holds 72 research groups with more than 850 researchers, Clinical and Diagnostic platforms providing services to the community, and over 180 national and international ongoing projects. Ultimately, i3S’s mission is to integrate complementary competences to bring translational research into the clinic and achieve excellence in Health, Life Sciences and Technology for the benefit of society. Role in the project In the AI4LUNGS project, i3S will be involved in Work Packages 3 and 4. The main contributions will be in establishing the AI4Lungs Data Repository and developing AI Analytic Models for Personalized Diagnosis and Treatment. i3S will mainly focus on investigating liquid biopsies, specifically performing molecular profiling of liquid biopsy samples from lung cancer patients to identify clinically relevant biomarkers that impact diagnosis and therapeutic strategies. Ultimately, i3S will integrate the molecular data into the AI4LUNGS tool to improve its performance.

KPMG is one of the world’s leading professional services firms and one of the Big Four auditors. Dedicated to fostering positive and sustainable change, KPMG operates as a global network of independent member firms in 143 countries, with a workforce exceeding 275,000 professionals globally. KPMG provides comprehensive audit, tax, and advisory services, addressing the needs of businesses, tech companies, startups, governments, and not-for-profit organizations with a commitment to excellence and integrity. KPMG Israel currently has over 1,600 employees and serves thousands of clients throughout the country, with services particularly focused on the tech, finance, and entrepreneurial sectors, supporting businesses from startups to multinational corporations. KPMG Edge is the technological arm of KPMG Israel forming an unique research and development center combining deep functional and industry knowledge with proven hands-on experience in implementing technology solutions, creating business value from various domains such as Data & AI, Digital, Cloud, Cyber security and more. Examples of KPMG delivered solutions in the healthcare sector include collaborative diseases research, data platforms for hospitals, cancer data research for pharmaceutical companies, NLP algorithms and much more. Role in the project: KPMG is leading the work package 6 “AI4Lungs Platform, Digital Twin Service and User Experience” responsible of building and integrating the cloud-based data fusion platform. KPMG will lead also the tasks related to technical requirements and system architecture definition and Machine learning development such as NLP & digital twin, and contribute to additional tasks of the projects.

EXUS AI Labs, the R&D department of EXUS(https://www.exus.co.uk/), is where we design and develop robust and trustworthy AI solutions that allow us to leverage the untapped potential of big data analytics across multiple verticals. For more than 25 years, EXUS has gained substantial experience in managing research activities, from the ideation to the realization phase, taking advantage of a highly professional and diverse team. Currently, EXUS AI Labs coordinates and participates in projects which have received funding under the H2020 Research and Innovation Programme, as well as national funding schemes such as Innovate UK. Role in the project EXUS plays a pivotal role in two key tasks of the project. In Task 5.1, they lead the development of a Data Correlation Analysis tool, facilitating the analysis of diverse patient data to guide model selection, feature extraction for machine learning algorithms, and correlation-based clustering. This tool, enriched with established correlation metrics and a user-friendly interface, will aid in building more accurate ML models and serve as a decision support tool for clinicians. In Task 6.4, EXUS leads the development of the Patient Stratification and AI4LUNGS Digital Twin Service, refining patient stratification and enhancing predictive estimates of treatment efficiency and survival time. This service integrates various clinical data sources to provide personalized precision medicine recommendations and decision support, contributing significantly to the project's objectives.

Yonalink offers a full data collection and management solution for clinical trial sponsors, CROs, and sites. The company’s unique approach enables the retrieval of data from clinical trial patients, medical devices, wearables, and any EHR in the world, replacing the time-consuming manual data collection processes taking place today. Utilizing advanced AI-based technology, Yonalink facilitates the seamless mapping of clinical data to FHIR standards. Yonalink’s EHR-to-EDC streaming capabilities solve the interoperability challenges that have long plagued the clinical trial industry, offering a system-agnostic solution that can collect and transfer data easily from any EHR format to the sponsor’s EDC or to any data lake. Role in the project Yonalink will extract various types of pseudonymized data from approved patients at the project’s participating medical centers. The data collected will include observations, medications, and imaging. The data collected by Yonalink will be harmonized and then transferred to the AI4Lungs data platform where it will be accessible to the project’s researchers who will be able to download it for deeper research analysis.

Reichman University (AKA IDC Herzliya) was declared Israel's first private university in August 2021, with a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs, including PhD programs. RUNI has participated during the last five years in more than 40 consortia – numerous national funding agencies, Horizon2020 research groups, ERC projects, and COST Actions; we manage approximately 100 active grants and projects annually. RUNI has institutional cooperation agreements with over one hundred academic institutions abroad, dozens of them with leading European institutes. These agreements include student exchange, faculty exchange, and research cooperation between the different institutions and their faculty members. The Research Center for Internet Psychology (CIP) has strategic partnerships with leading players in the industry including: Mobileye (Intel) and JTEKT (Toyota). The Team: Prof. Yair Amichai-Hamburger (Director), Dr. Yaron Sela, clinical psychologist and a senior research associate in Reichman university; Dr. Jonathan Giron, co-director of the Advanced Reality Lab; Prof. Leonid Barenboim, Computer Scientist at the Open University, Dr. Gail Gilboa Freedman, a senior data scientist. Role in the project: The main objective of the CIP in this project is to design the AI4Lungs personalized dashboard to enhance adherence to decision-making processes and incorporate DSS guidelines. We will study personality traits, cognitive biases, and emotional barriers affecting system usability and adherence. Our findings will inform the design of UI mock-ups. Additionally, we will enhance user control and freedom according to personality variations, design a variable reward system to facilitate learning, and optimize feedback for emotional reassurance.

Amsterdam UMC is a leading academic medical center that combines high-quality complex patient care with innovative scientific research and education for the next generation of healthcare workers. It believes that healthcare, research and education belong together, shape each other and nourish each other. With more than 19,500 people, the two locations of Amsterdam UMC work together to provide good and accessible care. Amsterdam UMC focuses on a future in which diseases can be prevented and in which patients receive the best treatment. The emphasis is on the complex treatment of rare disorders. At Amsterdam UMC thousands of young people are trained to become doctors, specialists or nurses. Amsterdam UMC has eight research institutes. The affiliated researchers are part of the international top of medical-scientific research. Amsterdam UMC was created from the (administrative) merger of the two academic hospitals of Amsterdam, the Academic Medical Center (AMC) and the VU Medical Center (VUmc) in 2018. Amsterdam UMC represents the medical faculties of the two associated universities: the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Role in the project: Clinical partner

The Gaia & Espinho Local Health Unit is one of the main health care complexes in the North of Portugal, offering all basic, intermediate and differentiated services, in a total of 38 specialties (medical and surgical). It provides healthcare to 700 thousand inhabitants, including the population of direct influence and that attributed by hospital referral networks. It is made up of four hospital care units, three in Vila Nova de Gaia (Eduardo Santos Silva Hospital, Gaia District Hospital and the Dr. Ferreira Alves Northern Rehabilitation Centre and one in Espinho (Nossa Senhora da Ajuda Hospital) and more that 40 primary care units. In 2023, 588,104 consultations, 29,640 hospitalizations, 32,185 surgeries and 57,702 treatment sessions in the day hospital were carried out at this Local Health Unit. Eduardo Santos Silva Hospital operates the Emergency Department, which received 196,655 emergency episodes in 2023 (140,716 General, 47,313 Pediatric and 8,626 Gynecology/Obstetrics). In 2022 the hospital center was accredited by CHKS (Caspe Healthcare Knowledge System) in accordance with international best practice standards. Role in the project: ULSGE will provide rectrospective medical data (clinical, labs, CT scan,…) to AI4LUNGS repository. Pneumologists and Radiologists from ULSGE will also support the development of a end-user-friendly tool. The AI4LUNGS final tool will be tested and assessed at this Medical Center.

Mor is the Technology Transfer Office of Clalit Health Services acting as the contract manager for the AI4LUNGS project. The project participants are from the Clalit Health services in Israel, specifically from the Rabin medical center which is the largest hospital of Clalit health services. It is a tertiary hospital with more than 1000 hospital beds and can deliver all state of the art treatments. The Davidoff Center for the Treatment and Research of Cancer at Rabin Medical Center is a world-renowned facility aimed at preventing, treating and researching malignant diseases. Applying a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment, The Davidoff Center provides innovative medical care for over 16% of the Israeli population. Its dedicated staff includes over 90 physicians, 150 nurses, radiotherapy technicians, medical physicists, dieticians, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, research assistants and administrative staff. Utilizing cutting edge technology, Davidoff's specialists comprehensively diagnose and treat both Oncology and Hemato-Oncology patients. Founded in 2005, The Davidoff Center is headed by Prof. Gal Markel, a world-renowned expert in Melanoma and Skin Cancer. Oncology and Clinical Research, as its Medical Director. Prof Salomon M Stemmer serves as Deputy Head and Head of Research, Development and Innovation of the Davidoff Center and renowned on translational and clinical research. . Role in the project: Stemmer and Elyakim (Head of Internal Medicine E) will be in charge of all the clinical protocols to be ready for submission at each one of the clinical partners, based upon several meetings with the partners to list the most important and relevant parameters for prediction. MOR will share patient clinical data for the retrospective study and also will lead and supervise both the cancer related and infectious related prospective trials. MOR will also be responsible for WP7, which will lead all the tasks related to the system evaluation during the pilot studies that will take place at Rabin Medical Center and GAIA project partner.

The Cancer Registry of Norway (CRN) is a population-based cancer registry with national cancer data back to 1953. From the mid-2000s, several clinical registries have been established in the CRN, amongst them The Norwegian lung cancer registry (2013). CRN, including the clinical registries, is a mandatory health registry established under the Health Register Act and the cancer registry regulations. CRN has about 200 employees, working in different topics like cancer registration and quality control, cancer research, screening and registry informatics. CRN is, from January 1st 2024, a part of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). NIPH is a government agency under the Ministry of Health and Care Services, and hosts, among other things, most of the central health registries. Role in the project In AI4LUNGS, CRN/NIPH is responsible for WP3 – the AI4LUNGS data repository. The main tasks in this WP are to develop a specification for retrospective and prospective data collection, contribute to harmonizing and standardizing data across the clinical partners and write the Data Management Plan (DMP). The DMP needs to take into account what is necessary and relevant information to achieve the expected outcomes of the AI models, and adhere to the data minimization principles of the GDPR.

VHIO is a reference center for personalized medicine in oncology created in 2006. Our research focuses on understanding the fundamental biology of human cancer, from cellular and molecular biology and genetics through to therapeutics. VHIO’s Thoracic Tumors & Head and Neck Cancer Group is dedicated to advancing cancer treatment and care for patients suffering from thoracic malignancies, including lung cancer, mesothelioma and thymic malignancies, and head and neck cancers. The group focuses on disease prevention, early detection and the more precise diagnosis and staging of disease toward improving clinical outcomes. The team strives to match currently available targeted therapies with specific molecular alterations identified in patients, unmask molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance, and optimize novel immunotherapy strategies. The Group is leaded by Dr Enriqueta Felip and it consists of six thoracic oncologists and four translational researchers. Professor Felip oversees thoracic malignancy management and is responsible for thoracic cancer trials undertaken by the Oncology Department. Current research lines include the optimization of chemotherapy in early-stage disease, evaluation of new agents and therapies, research into novel pharmacogenomic approaches, the integration of immunotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of lung cancer patients, and the elucidation of potential mechanisms of resistance to tyrosine-kinase inhibitors. Role in the project: VHIO contribution in AI4Lungs is mainly focused on gathering clinically relevant data from retrospective samples of non small-cell lung cancer patients from our hospital. Providing these data to the consortium will facilitate testing and validating of the algorithm which will ultimately allow the standardized artificial intelligence guided diagnosis of lung cancer patients.

Greek’s Ministry of Health mission consists of preserving and promoting the well-being of those residing in Greece through designing and implementing diverse health policies and reforms. Through a multitude of public health intervention GMoH targets critical fields and population groups at risks in an attempt to enhance the overall state of health in the country. The Directorate of Operational Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies that actively participates in AI4LUNGS has valuable experience on crisis management and public health emergencies, including piloting interventions, and trialing procedures that lay outside the day-to-day functions of a health system. The Directorate of Operational Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies has actively participated in several Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects, most recently in STAMINA, ONCOSCREEN, ONCODIR and PREVET, addressing various public health challenges from different perspectives. Role in the project: Within AI4LUNGS GMoH will contribute to different tasks and project activities as a partner expert in health policy and public health promotion. It will be responsible for T7.6 “Policy implications of newly developed and validated AI tools” in a way of providing a roadmap for bridging public health policy gaps across EU countries through the newly validated, novel AI4LuNGS solutions. It also leads T9.2 “Clustering with relevant projects and initiatives and HealthCare professionals and EU policy makers Summit” to encourage collaboration between AI4LUNGS consortium and other projects, working groups, support raising awareness to stakeholders and enhance the project’s impact.

Future Needs Management Consulting Ltd is an interdisciplinary socio-technical research and technology development SME. The staff of Future Needs has a long record of successful project management and coordination as well as design and development of digital services, policy evaluation, business development and science communication. Future Needs specialises in shaping the development of technology to best suit the needs of practitioners/end-users. As a team, we bring the latest technology trends and aspects of creativity, (youth) entrepreneurship and start-up mentality to projects we are involved in. We help our clients elicit user requirements for the development of new products and services, we develop R&D roadmaps aiming at product and service commercialisation, and we ensure security standards compliance for services and products we work on before they hit the market. We help our clients from the public and not-for-profit sectors to carry out Impact Assessments and policy evaluation studies, while ensuring secure, ethical and privacy-considerate processes and following the “better regulation guidelines” of the European Commission. Finally, we leverage our relationship with a variety of stakeholders ranging from technical specialists and key industry players to policy-makers and citizen groups when offering dissemination and community-building services. Information technology & telecommunications, education, migration, healthcare, transport, regional development, culture and finance. Role in the project In the AI4LUNGS project, Future Needs (FN) leads the Dissemination, Communication, and Sustainable Exploitation WP, focusing on project branding, and the development of a TRL9 Roadmap for innovation and exploitation planning. Its role extends to contributing to the ethics assessment, promoting awareness of ELSI principles, and participating in the creation of the validation plan, KPIs, and training initiatives. FN plays an important role in assessing the AI4LUNGS solution's usability in regular routines and conducts a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for economic, sustainability, and affordability evaluation. Leveraging its UI/UX expertise, FN is instrumental in the design of the Decision Support System, HCI/UX, and implementing the dashboard, ensuring the project meets user requirements and adapts continuously.

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500® and thousands of private companies. Our people deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society, and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 457,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com. Role in the project In the AI4LUNGS project, Deloitte is leading the work package on legal and ethical issues using its expertise to address the ethical, legal and social impact (ELSI) of the project. As a project partner, we aim to ensure that innovations in healthcare technology are in line with ethical standards and legal compliance. We live our purpose by bringing in-depth knowledge, innovative thinking and a collaborative approach.

Timelex is a leading niche law firm specialised in the legal aspects of information technology (IT), privacy & data protection (GDPR), intellectual property, and media & electronic communications. Timelex as an independent firm was founded in 2007, and many of its diverse group of lawyers started their career in international law firms, multinational companies, and leading academic institutions. Our private-sector clients are multinationals, large companies, SMEs and start-ups, and our public-sector clients include European, federal, regional, local and foreign governments and governmental bodies. We assist them with contracts, advice, court litigation, and legislative and policy-making support. The Timelex team is specifically known for its European policy studies in a variety of subjects, including data protection, electronic signatures, electronic identity management, e-business and e-government, in which they can rely on an extensive network of law experts covering all European countries. Timelex is internationally recognized, being both a Legal 500 Top Tier firm in Information Technology, and a Chambers Europe Recommended Firm for TMT - Information Technology, Intellectual Property, Data Protection and Entertainment. Role in the project Timelex is the legal partner in AI4LUNGS project, leading tasks related to legally compliant health data processing, providing legal assistance in the AI4Lungs business model and guidance for the validation pilots. In particular, Timelex will work with project partners to ensure that all data processing complies with the provisions of the GDPR and applicable national data protection laws. Timelex experience on regulatory issues is already being largely applied in the health sector, yet AI4Lungs innovative technologies and methodologies are a unique opportunity to design and adapt new legal strategies for the next era of medical technology.

SDA Bocconi School of Management is Bocconi University’s business school. Within SDA Bocconi, CERGAS (Research Center on Health & Social Care Management) is the leading multidisciplinary research center that investigates a vast array of issues and topics concerning healthcare management, health policy, health economics, global health, social and not-for-profit organizations. CERGAS was founded in 1978 and counts more than 60 affiliates. Its research fellows use the modern tools of management, economics, accounting, organizational research and policy analysis to better understand how health systems work and how to improve them through innovative and evidence-based solutions. CERGAS currently hosts 11 European projects and has recently launched the Digital Transformation Hub, a thematic area focused on studying the impact of digital solutions on healthcare services and organizations. Role in the project CERGAS of SDA Bocconi School of Management will be involved in Work Packages (WP) 1, 7, and 9 of the AI4LUNGS project. CERGAS’s main contributions will be within WP7 “Algorithms validation, Pilot Testing & Assessment”. Specifically, CERGAS will lead Task 7.5 on Health Technology Assessment (HTA), with a focus on the economic, sustainability and affordability evaluation of the application developed through the project. This activity aims to inform healthcare providers, payers and policymakers on the costs and impact of this solution to understand how the technology can be best integrated in the management of lung diseases.