We are thrilled to announce that EIBIR in collaboration with ESR will be hosting an insightful webinar focused on the significant impact of cancer imaging research and the digital transformation of healthcare.

This webinar aims to explore the intersection of cancer imaging research and the digital transformation of healthcare, with a focus on digital infrastructures, AI and lung cancer screening. By bringing together experts and stakeholders, we seek to foster discussions on the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field.

🎯 Target Audience:

• Healthcare professionals
• Researchers in medical imaging and oncology
• Industry professionals in healthcare technology and AI development
• Policy makers and healthcare administrators

📝 Agenda:

1. Welcome and introduction (Regina Beets-Tan)
2. The European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research – what does EIBIR hold for you? (Regina Beets-Tan)
3. Harnessing AI for Cancer Imaging in the Era of Digital Transformation (Luis Marti-Bonmati)
4. Advancements in Lung Cancer Screening (Hans-Ulrich Kauczor)
5. Interactive panel discussion (Moderated by Regina Beets-Tan)

📅 Date & Time: Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, 15:00 CEST.

🔗 Registration Link: https://form.jotform.com/241121290151339

⏳ Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 7th, 16:00 CEST.

Don’t miss this chance to delve into the forefront of cancer imaging research with EIBIR and ESR! Register now to secure your spot and be part of this insightful discussion.

*An application has been made to the UEMS/EBR for CME accreditation of this event.

The European Commission has recently announced a substantial increase in the budget allocated to the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024. The amendment sees a rise of almost EUR 1.4 billion, bringing the total budget to EUR 7.3 billion. This increase includes approximately EUR 124 million allocated specifically to support the EU Cancer Mission. 

The amendment introduces six new Cancer Mission calls, which formally opened on April 18, 2024, and close on September 18, 2024. These calls target crucial areas of cancer research and treatment, ranging from enhancing data platforms to advancing early detection methods and improving the management of late-effects in adolescents and young adults with cancer.  

Furthermore, the amendment introduces public procurement actions aimed at enhancing synergies with other EU missions, fostering international collaboration on cancer research, and ensuring effective communication and stakeholder engagement. These actions are backed by a budget of approximately EUR 5 million. 

The Health cluster within Horizon Europe also introduces a new call focusing on Implementation research for managing multiple long-term conditions in the context of non-communicable diseases, with a budget of EUR 1 million. 

For more information and details on the Horizon Europe Work Programme amendments, visit HaDEA’s website or the European Commission’s press release about the amendment. 

For further information on relevant calls, visit our section Open Funding Calls. 

Horizon Europe, the EU’s primary funding programme for research and innovation, has announced 6 calls for proposal under the Mission on Cancer, providing approximately €116 million to address this disease from prevention to treatment. This latest initiative will support improving our understanding of cancer, advancing prevention and early detection strategies, facilitating the delivery of personalised care, and enhancing the quality of life for patients and survivors.

Funding is available for 6 topics:
🔹 Use cases for the Uncan.eu research data platform
🔹 Support dialogue towards the development of national cancer data nodes
🔹 Accessible and affordable tests to advance early detection of heritable cancers in the EU
🔹 Support of pragmatic clinical trial programme by cancer charities
🔹 Improving the understanding and management of late-effects in adolescents and young adults with cancer
🔹 Information portal for the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre

The deadline for proposal submission for each call is September 18, 2024.

The HaDEA website provides more information with links to the call descriptions, and an online info day has been organised for April 26 to enable researchers to construct effective proposals for this great opportunity.

EUCAIM is excited to announce an upcoming webinar dedicated to providing more insights into their open call for new beneficiaries. This webinar presents a unique opportunity for individuals and organisations interested in contributing to cutting-edge cancer research and innovation to learn about joining the EUCAIM consortium. The open call is geared towards incorporating new data into the EUCAIM platform and training, benchmarking, and validating AI algorithms for cancer imaging.

During the webinar, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the open call process, including eligibility criteria, application requirements, application procedure, etc. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with members of the EUCAIM team.

Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to learn more about the EUCAIM open call and how you can contribute to shaping the future of cancer imaging research. Mark your calendars and register now to secure your spot!

Date: April 26th, 2024.
Time: 10:00-11.30 AM CEST.
Location: Online webinar – Link will be sent to all registered participants in due course.
Webinar registration: https://form.jotform.com/240983490161054
Further information about the Open Call: https://cancerimage.eu/open-call/

The EUCAIM Consortium is thrilled to announce the launch of its open call, inviting new beneficiaries to join the EUCAIM consortium. This call is geared towards incorporating new data into the EUCAIM platform and training, benchmarking, and validating AI algorithms for cancer imaging.

The objectives of the EUCAIM open call are:

• • to onboard new cancer image data holders, enhancing the platform’s geographic dimensions, data modalities, and cancer targets;
  • to include reliable AI algorithms trained on the repository’s cancer image data.

To achieve these objectives, new beneficiaries will implement data incorporation, scientific, and/or clinical use cases. These use cases play a pivotal role in outlining technical, ethical, and legal steps, ultimately improving clinical outcomes and patient care.

The following use cases are accepted for this call:

• • Incorporation of large amounts of cancer imaging data into the Cancer Image Europe platform for further re-use, which can be leveraged to address relevant clinical questions (either into the central repository or through the federation of local repositories)
  • Development, training, benchmarking and/or validation of AI algorithms
  • Clinical use cases addressing a specific question (e.g. identification of imaging biomarkers)

The prospective implementation duration for applicants is expected to be between 18-24 months, with a total maximum budget of 3,852,000 EUR (1,926,000 EUR EC contribution).

Deadline for submission is June 10th, 2024. Interested parties are encouraged to visit https://cancerimage.eu/open-call/ for further details on the open call. If you wish to apply, this is the link for the application form: https://form.jotform.com/240802834247354

Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to advance cancer research and innovation!

Exciting news! The European Commission has released information on the new EU4Health call: CR-g-24-37 Call for proposals to support integration of cancer images into the federated pan-European infrastructure to foster screening programmes. The tentative calendar of the upcoming call can be found here.

Expected Outcome

The action will support hospitals and other imaging repositories, for example those involved in conducting cancer screening, in creating enabling conditions for becoming a node in the European federated infrastructure of cancer imaging data. Short-term improvements include strengthening the collaboration between national and regional screening programmes for breast, lung and prostate cancers, with the European Cancer Imaging Infrastructure in particular regarding the management of the screening data and opportunistic screening (as opposed to organised, population-based screening programmes) and with the relevant infrastructures of the proposed European Health Data Space, such as HealthData@EU. The project beneficiaries are expected to represent a wide range of relevant stakeholders such as researchers, NGOs, experts, Member States institutions and industry.In the mid-term, this action is expected to increase the geographical reach of the European Cancer Imaging Initiative. It will also contribute to the alignment of the European Cancer Imaging Infrastructure with the proposed EHDS infrastructures and processes. Close collaboration of projects participants is expected with the European Cancer Imaging Initiative, in particular the EUCAIM project, and with relevant stakeholders involved in the implementation of the proposed EHDS regulatory framework. Links should be established with EU4Health actions on screening, Comprehensive Cancer Centres in Member States and other relevant actions under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and Cancer Mission, as well as with other relevant actions concerning the proposed EHDS. The action shall contribute to other relevant actions under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the Cancer Mission.

Scope

The action will provide enabling support for cancer imaging data providers, to contribute to and benefit from the European Cancer Imaging Initiative. The action will improve readiness of national, regional or local imaging data repositories to connect and make available their data via the European infrastructure of cancer images data established under the DIGITAL programme (EUCAIM project) and to use this infrastructure for data enrichment and insights by accessing the nodes, tools and methodologies offered by EUCAIM. This action is relevant for the proposed European Health Data Space. In order to contribute to the planned EHDS, this action will seek alignment with the relevant EHDS infrastructures (MyHealth@EU and HealthData@EU). Where applicable, it will link cancer imaging databases with the relevant bodies and infrastructures in the proposed EHDS, particularly health data access bodies and HealthData@EU. This action will also explore ways to leverage on the EHDS interoperability specifications for the European Electronic Health Record exchange Format, including relevant eHealth Network guidelines, as well as minimum specifications for datasets to be used for research and innovation.

Total budget: €8 000 000

Indicative publication date: June 18th, 2024

Submission deadline: October 10th, 2024

Stay tuned for more information on EUCAIM’s website and the EC funding and tenders portal.

We have great news to share with all of you! On March 14th, 2024, EUCAIM is organising a webinar to go through the Cancer Image Europe platform.

The webinar is for AI innovators and data providers that are interested in the platform. This webinar will feature an introduction to EUCAIM and Cancer Image Europe, as well as a demonstration of data exploration and access.

This is your opportunity to learn how to access and utilize our federated cancer image repository!

👉 Sign up here

Save the dates! 🗓️ EIBIR is thrilled to host 7 insightful sessions at ECR 2024 from February 28 to March 3. 🌐 Check out the full congress program on ESR Connect here!

All EIBIR project-related sessions, as well as the ECR sessions will be of open access. All you need is to log in ESR Connect with your ESR MyUserArea credentials or create an account.

Don’t forget to come by EIBIR’s booth on level 1 at any time for a chat and to explore our latest projects and funding opportunities for imaging research! Looking forward to seeing you at ECR 2024!

Meet our Scientific Director at ECR 2024:

🌟 Don’t miss the opportunity to meet EIBIR’s Scientific Director! Join us for exclusive slots where you can engage directly with Prof. Regina Beets-Tan. Gain valuable insights and discuss future collaborations.

Save the date now! 🗓️

List of project-related sessions:

SAMIRA: a European Commission initiative to strengthen quality and safety in imaging (The following EIBIR projects will hold a presentation: EURAMED rocc’n’roll, SIMPLERAD and MARLIN). February 28, 13:00-14:30 CET, Room M2.

Artificial intelligence (AI) for health imaging: pioneering cancer image repositories for diagnosis and analysis (The following projects will hold a presentation: CHAIMELEON, EuCanImage, INCISIVE, ProCancer-I and EUCAIM). February 29, 8:00-9:00 CET, Room M1.

Implementing lung cancer screening programmes in Europe (SOLACE Project). February 29, 14:00-15:30 CET, Room M1.

Innovative tools for comprehensive risk assessment in radiology: insights from the SINFONIA Project. March 1, 9:30-11:00 CET, Room M1.

From pixels to probes: unveiling the potential of integrated photonics in medical imaging. (The following projects will hold a presentation: HyperProbe and Med-IPUT). March 1, 12:30-13:30, Room M1.

From seed to success: exciting projects funded by the ESR Research Seed Grant Global. (The session introduces the ESR Research Seed Grant Global funding scheme). March 2, 8:00-9:00 CET, Room M1.

EUCAIM at the forefront: innovating radiology with Europe’s cancer image infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI). March 2, 16:00-17:30 CET, Room M1.

Artificial intelligence (AI), real impact: redefining clinical decision making based on medical images. (The following projects will hold a presentation: RadioVal, ODELIA and AI-POD, along with upcoming funding opportunities and EIBIR activities). March 3, 11:30-12:30 CET, Room M1.

EIBIR interviews at ECR Studio:

Funding the Future: A Dialogue with EIBIR’s Scientific Director on Navigating EU Research Opportunities
Saturday, March 2nd, 16:00 – 16:30
Guest: Prof. Regina Beets-Tan

In this interview, the EIBIR Scientific Director Prof. Regina Beets-Tan will share their insights on how the organisation navigates the European funding programmes, aligns its research efforts with its objectives and prioritises the projects it supports. Join us as we delve into the inner workings of EIBIR and discover how it is contributing to the European Health Union.

Unveiling the Future: The Impact of EUCAIM’s First Platform Release on AI in Cancer Research
Saturday, March 2, 15:00-15:30
Guests: Dr. Esther Bron

Join us for an insightful interview as we delve into the transformative impact of EUCAIM’s first platform release on the landscape of cancer research. Our discussion will unravel the significance of this milestone, examining how the platform is set to revolutionize cancer research.

SOLACE Insight: Strengthening Lung Cancer Screening Across Europe
Saturday, March 2, 16:00 – 16:30

Guests: Prof. Helmut Prosch

The SOLACE project assesses the current state of policies, needs, and best practices of Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) in EU member states and produces a comprehensive guideline and implementation package covering all steps of the lung cancer screening pathway: evidence-based guidelines, technical papers, documents regarding quality assurance, methodology, benefit-harm balance, and cost-effectiveness.

We are happy to share with you the news that IHI has launched on January 16th, the calls 6 and 7. Of particular relevance to our community is call 7, which covers topic 1 (clinical management of heart disease) and topic 3 (clinical validation of biomarkers).Make sure to click here to read the news piece from IHI with further information on the calls.

IHI – call 6 (two stage)

Topic 1: Support healthcare system resilience through a focus on persistency in the treatment of chronic diseases

Topic 2: Development of evidence based practical guidance for sponsors on the use of real-world data / real-world evidence

Deadline for short proposals: 16 April 2024 at 17:00 Brussels time

Call web page: https://europa.eu/!RjXdcH

IHI – call 7 (single-stage)

Topic 1: Improving clinical management of heart disease from early detection to treatment

Topic 2: User-centric technologies and optimised hospital workflows for a sustainable healthcare workforce

Topic 3: Clinical validation of biomarkers for diagnosis, monitoring disease progression and treatment response

Deadline for full proposals: 22 May 2024 at 17:00 Brussels time. 

Call web page: https://europa.eu/!64yx8Y