Exploring AI Innovations in Predicting and Preventing Obesity-Related Vascular Disease | 7 October 2025, 09:00 – 10:30 CEST / CME accredited

As part of the EIBIR Webinar Series, and in Collaboration with the European Society of Radiology, the AI-POD Project is pleased to announce a dedicated end-user webinar taking place on 7 October 2025, focusing on the transformative role of artificial intelligence in predicting and preventing obesity-related vascular diseases.

Titled “Exploring AI Innovations in Predicting and Preventing Obesity-Related Vascular Disease,” the webinar will spotlight the latest developments within the AI-POD project – an initiative aimed at advancing trustworthy, AI-powered tools to support cardiovascular risk management and preventative care.

Programme Highlights

The session will offer attendees a comprehensive overview of AI-POD’s groundbreaking work through the following presentations:

Trustworthy AI for a Healthier Future – Introducing the goals and scope of the AI-POD project – U. Attenberger, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Behind the Score – Exploring the development of the AI-POD Risk Prediction Algorithm – G. Langs, University of Vienna, Austria

Building Smarter Tools – Demonstrating the AI-POD Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for healthcare professionals – J. Kirchhoff, medicalvalues GmbH, Germany

The AI-POD Citizen App – Showcasing key features and how it empowers individuals to monitor and manage their vascular health – F. Catarinella, Brightfish B.V, Netherlands.

From Prediction to Prevention – Insights into how AI-POD’s innovations facilitate proactive risk reduction – S. Al-Basri, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil Bochum, Germany

Human-Centred AI – A stakeholder perspective on designing AI for real-world healthcare use – E. Van Steijvoort, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Panel Discussion – A lively dialogue on integrating AI-POD into clinical workflows, examining both opportunities and practical challenges – R. Beets Tan, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Netherlands

This event is ideal for clinicians, researchers, digital health developers, and policy stakeholders interested in how AI is reshaping healthcare delivery and disease prevention.

Further details, including registration information, will be available soon.

On 2 July 2025, the European Commission published its EU Life Sciences Strategy, setting a bold vision to position the European Union as the world’s most attractive environment for life sciences innovation by 2030. The strategy reinforces the EU’s commitment to strengthening biomedical research, unlocking the potential of health data and AI, and building a competitive, sustainable, and resilient health ecosystem.

EIBIR fully welcomes this strategic direction and strongly supports the emphasis on research and innovation, data sharing, and cross-border collaboration. As a long-standing advocate and facilitator of biomedical imaging research in Europe, EIBIR is proud to be actively contributing to the EU’s goals—most notably through its coordination of EUCAIM (European Federation for Cancer Images).

Connecting the Strategy to Action: EIBIR’s Role in EUCAIM

EUCAIM, coordinated by EIBIR, is a flagship initiative under the European Cancer Imaging Initiative and a key component of the European Health Data Space. It brings together over 80 partners across Europe to develop a federated cancer imaging infrastructure that enables secure, interoperable, and ethically sound sharing of medical imaging data. The project advances the use of AI in cancer diagnosis and treatment, while directly supporting the strategic goals outlined in the Life Sciences Strategy.

Key Areas of Alignment:

• Unlocking the power of data and AI in health research

• Reinforcing EU research and innovation leadership in biomedical imaging

• Building trust, infrastructure, and digital skills across healthcare systems

• Accelerating innovation uptake and industrial competitiveness

Download the full strategy: EU Life Sciences Strategy (PDF)

For more on EIBIR’s work in data-driven cancer research and EUCAIM, visit our project page.

The European Commission is establishing a Scientific Panel of Independent Experts to support the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act — a key framework shaping Europe’s digital future.

This panel will bring together technical experts from diverse fields, with a particular interest in ensuring strong representation from the medical imaging community.

If you have expertise in artificial intelligence and medical imaging and wish to contribute to the responsible development and regulation of AI in healthcare, we encourage you to apply.

Applications are open until 14 September 2025.

Learn more and submit your application here:
Commission Seeks Experts for AI Scientific Panel

Together, we can help shape a trustworthy and effective AI landscape for healthcare in Europe.

A high-profile webinar titled “Harnessing AI for Clinical Decision-Making: Insights from Leading European Research Initiatives” brought together 230 participants from across the radiology and imaging fields yesterday. Organised by the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR), the event showcased leading applications of artificial intelligence in medical imaging, with a focus on breast cancer diagnostics, interventional radiology, and data privacy.

The session was opened by EIBIR Scientific Coorinator, Prof. Regina Beets-Tan, Scientific Director of EIBIR, who introduced the webinar structure. The spotlight was on three major EU-funded initiatives – RadioVal, Odelia, and SHERPA – each demonstrating innovative approaches to AI-driven healthcare.

Oliver Diaz presented the RadioVal, which aims to develop and validate trustworthy AI models for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment planning using breast MRI and clinical data. He emphasised the Future-AI guidelines developed at the University of Barcelona and highlighted the importance of fairness, transparency, and explainability. The project includes eight international hospital partners and focuses on adaptability across diverse clinical settings.

Oliver Saldanha introduced ODELIA, a project leveraging swarm learning—a decentralised AI method that enables collaborative model training while maintaining patient data privacy. His talk highlighted promising early results in breast cancer diagnostics and demonstrated the value of privacy-preserving learning systems in healthcare.

Robert Hofsink presented the SHERPA, which aims to support decision-making and patient stratification in interventional radiology using AI and robotic assistance. The project addresses challenges such as clinician shortages and procedural complexity, with clinical trials planned across seven countries. SHERPA is funded by the Innovative Health Initiative and involves 16 partners from across Europe.

A dynamic panel discussion followed with audience questions submitted. Discussions centred on AI model performance, data requirements, and regulatory frameworks. All panellists emphasised the necessity of trustworthy, explainable, and clinically adaptable AI tools.

Prof. Beets-Tan concluded the event by reaffirming EIBIR’s commitment to supporting multi-centre AI research. She also announced plans for follow-up webinars to share further results and insights from the projects.

The ODELIA Summer School is taking place this year with an exciting and intensive program exploring the powerful synergy between artificial intelligence and medicine. Taking place from September 16 to 18, 2025, and hosted by the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona, Spain, the event promises to be a key opportunity for early career researchers eager to deepen their expertise in this rapidly evolving field.

This three-day programme will focus on cutting-edge topics such as privacy-preserving distributed learning, the integration of imaging in oncological workflows, and innovations in clinical trial design – highlighting how AI is transforming modern healthcare.

Highlights include keynote lectures by experts Daniel Truhn and Silvia Casacuberta, hands-on workshops, collaborative group work, and unique networking opportunities including a guided campus tour and tapas evening. Attendees will also enjoy a special visit to the historic Sant Pau Hospital.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required by July 31, 2025. CME accreditation is currently in progress.

Join the future of AI in medicine – register now and be part of this transformative experience in Barcelona.

📍 Location: VHIO, C/ Saturnino Calleja 11-13, 08035, Barcelona, Spain
📅 Dates: September 16–18, 2025
🔗 [Download the detailed programme]
📝 [Register here before July 31, 2025]

Stay tuned for more updates!

Date & Time:
25 June 2025 | 10:00–11:30 CEST | Online

The European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR) invite you to join the next session in the EIBIR Webinar Series:
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Clinical Decision-Making: Insights from Leading European Research Initiatives

This expert-led webinar will explore the latest innovations in AI from leading EU projects—ODELIA, RadioVal, and SHERPA—showcasing how AI is revolutionizing diagnostics, treatment, and workflow in clinical settings.

Whether you’re a healthcare provider, researcher, policymaker, or industry professional, this is a unique opportunity to engage with groundbreaking research that is shaping the future of medicine.

Programme

Moderator: Regina G. H. Beets-Tan, Amsterdam

Welcome & Introduction of EIBIR (5 min)

ODELIA: Secure and Collaborative AI for Breast Cancer Diagnostics (15 min)
Speaker: Dr. Oliver Lester Saldanha (TU Dresden – EKFZ, Heidelberg University Clinic – NCT)

• Learn about collaborative training of AI algorithms using swarm learning.

• Get up to date on progress in AI applications for MR breast imaging.

• Discover how to contribute to collaborative AI development in medical imaging.

RadioVal: Advancing Trustworthy AI for Breast Cancer Imaging (15 min)
Speaker: Dr. Oliver Díaz Montesdeoca (University of Barcelona)

• Learn about the FUTURE-AI guideline for trustworthy AI in healthcare.

• Understand how to build and validate transparent, reliable AI tools in breast cancer imaging.

• Explore the importance of traceability and explainability in AI applications.

SHERPA: Human-centred AI for Enhanced Decision-Making and Workflow Efficiency in Interventional Radiology (15 min)
Speaker: Robert Hofsink (Philips)

• Learn about the potential of assistive technologies for decision-making and patient stratification for image-guided therapy.

• Understand the crucial need to integrate reliable, human-centred AI- and robotics-based assistive technologies enhancing the clinical workflow in interventional radiology (IR).

• Explore the benefits of automated IR workflows in neurovascular interventions and liver tumor ablations.

Interactive Panel Discussion (30 min):
Clinical integration of AI tools – Bridging research and practice

Closing Remarks: Regina G. H. Beets-Tan

Mark your calendar—you won’t want to miss this exciting discussion!