Four health related calls will open in February under the Digital Europe Programme

On February 29th, four new calls will open under the Digital Europe Programme, that are related to health. You can read below their objectives and check further on the Participant Portal for more information about the topic description (Outcomes and deliverables and scope), as well as the conditions for participation by clicking on the hyperlinks.

• DIGITAL-2024-AI-06-IMAGING: AI in support of Quantum-Enhanced Metabolic Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems (5 Million euros)

Objective: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool for detecting, diagnosing and monitoring a wide range of medical conditions. An emerging approach based on quantum-enhanced metabolic MRI enables detection of the tissue metabolism, down to the cell level, leading to a much higher precision of detection and analysis of the human body. In combination with artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning techniques to analyse the vast amount of data generated and for image analysis, it will lead to faster, more accurate and personalized diagnosis, treatment and follow-up notably of cancer and/or neurological disorders. The overall aim of this action is to prepare for the industrialisation and deployment of such emerging systems, with a focus on cancer imaging and/or neurological imaging.

• DIGITAL-2024-CLOUD-DATA-06-HEALTHCARE-AI: Support for Health Data Access Bodies to foster efficient pathways for AI in healthcare (4 Million euros for 1 grant)

Objective: Healthcare demands continue to increase due to factors like population growth, aging populations, and the prevalence of chronic diseases. Healthcare technologies can help meet these demands by, among others, increasing the effectiveness of treatment and diagnostic solutions and the efficiency of health systems. The deployment of new medical digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) powered solutions for healthcare purposes requires access to real-world health data. The amount of data available to drive the development of AI should be as large as possible to limit the introduction of biases that could undermine the effectiveness and safety of healthcare AI solutions or increase inequalities in access to care.

The European Health Data Space (EHDS) establishes a common framework for the reuse of health data. It aims to facilitate and streamline access to EU-wide real-world health data for specific purposes such as the development, testing, deployment and uptake of products or services contributing to public health or the training, testing and evaluation of algorithms, including in medical devices, AI systems and digital health applications. The proposal for a Regulation on the EHDS provides for Health Data Access Bodies (HDABs) in each country as trusted anchors to support and supervise the reuse of health data.

As part of the wider AI ecosystem in health, such as Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) for AI and European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), this action aims to strengthen the role and capabilities of HDABs in streamlining the testing and deployment pathways for healthcare AI solutions.

The aim of this action is also to reduce time-to-market and foster the development of new AI-based healthcare products and services that significantly improve patient safety and wellbeing, while preserving privacy and security. This action is not only relevant to the implementation of the EHDS, but also to the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), which establishes an overarching framework for trustworthy AI, including in healthcare (e.g. medical devices).

• DIGITAL-2024-CLOUD-AI-06-HEALTHACCESS: Supporting patients’ access to their health data in the context of healthcare services for citizens across the EU (10 Million euros)

Objective: The action will enable patients to access their health data in the context of healthcare provision for individual citizens (i.e., ‘primary use’ of health data) thus contributing to reaching the digital target of 100% of EU citizens having access to electronic health records by 2030 as set by the Digital Decade Policy Programme. It will scale up and leverage the results from existing projects, frameworks and technologies, such as the services implemented in the ‘MyHealth@EU’ infrastructure supported under EU4Health, the European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format (EEHRxF), the EU Digital Covid Certificate (EU DCC), or the EU Digital Identity Wallet. Therefore, it will contribute to the technical implementation and large-scale deployment actions foreseen in the proposal for a Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

• DIGITAL-2024-CLOUD-AI-06-HEALTHRECORD: Demonstrating the in-service use of the European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format (EEHRxF) in healthcare settings

Objective: The objective of this action is to showcase in-service, sustainable implementation of the European Electronic Health Record Exchange Format (EEHRxF) in healthcare settings. In particular, it will aim at demonstrating that the EEHRxF brings value, without introducing undue burden on health professionals and health systems. The result of this action will be real-world demonstrators of the EEHRxF that will guide other stakeholders to adopt the EEHRxF, reduce the costs for its adoption and produce lessons learned.

Your NCP Brussels contacts are:

For Digital Europe Programme is Marion Perrin, and

for Health is Mariza Colin.