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

A new video by our ODELIA (Open Consortium for Decentralized Medical Artificial Intelligence) project has just been released. offering a captivating glimpse into the world of Swarm Learning and its impact on healthcare. Learn more about how ODELIA aims to revolutionise medical AI, ensuring privacy, collaboration, and better patient outcomes:

Exciting News! The ESR Research Seed Grants 2024 are here! 🎉

The European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR) are thrilled to introduce the ESR Research Seed Grant Programme’s third call for proposals!

🌍 2024 Thematic Areas:
1) Contrast-enhanced Imaging
2) Imaging Surveillance in Cancer Treatment

💰 Funding Amount: €5,000 – €7,000
🗓️ Deadline: December 10, 2023

📢 Up to 10 seed grants to be awarded in 2024!

💻 To learn more about eligibility criteria and guidelines, please visit the following link: ESR Research Seed Grant

This is your chance to turn your vision into a reality and make a meaningful impact in the field of radiology. 📊 We are looking forward to your applications! 🔬

EUCAIM is looking for your feedback! The EU-funded EUCAIM project coordinated by EIBIR is reaching out to potential end-users and stakeholders through a recently published Stakeholder Survey. This survey is carried out in order to understand your expectations and to identify essential aspects for future engagement and collaboration with EUCAIM’s platform!

Therefore, we would like to invite you to participate in the Stakeholder Survey about the Cancer Image Europe platform.

Completing the survey will take approximately 10 minutes. Your participation is crucial to the success of this project, and we deeply appreciate your expertise in shaping the future of cancer imaging and treatment.

Click here to access the survey

Responses are anonymous, unless you leave your contact details for more information about workshops and training events. In case of questions, please contact pgordebeke@eibir.org.

The EUCAIM project is establishing the Cancer Image Europe platform, a robust and trustworthy space for researchers, clinicians, and innovators to access diverse cancer images. This platform will facilitate benchmarking, testing, and piloting of AI-driven technologies. EUCAIM is one of the flagship activities under the EU’s European Cancer Imaging Initiative.

To learn more about EUCAIM and the Cancer Image Europe platform, the project has prepared a short video:

To follow EUCAIM’s journey, please visit their website and connect with them on social media:

EUCAIM’s Website

EUCAIM’s LinkedIn

September 29, 2023

Vienna, Austria – The EUCAIM consortium and the European Commission are excited to announce the first public release of its platform, Cancer Image Europe, marking a major milestone in the project’s development and an exciting step towards achieving its vision and goals. The first platform release brings benefits to researchers, clinicians and AI innovators across Europe and paves the way for the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Key features and highlights of EUCAIM’s first platform release include:

• A public catalogue of cancer imaging datasets from the repositories of the EU-funded AI for Health Imaging projects, following a common metadata schema.
• A federated searching tool to understand the information available in the federated providers.
• Full integration with the Life Science Login Authentication and Authorisation Infrastructure.
• Reusing and adding value to key components of EU-funded research projects and infrastructure in the field of cancer.

Commenting on this milestone achievement, Ignacio Blanquer, leading the EUCAIM infrastructure development, says “this early prototype of EUCAIM is a proof of concept for the federation model pursued in EUCAIM. It will be the basis for a fully fledged infrastructure for sharing, reusing and exploiting cancer imaging data, especially using AI techniques.”

Prof. Luis Martí-Bonmatí, Scientific Coordinator of EUCAIM, adds that “this is the first step towards the set-up of the largest known-to-date cancer imaging infrastructure in Europe. Over the next months, the EUCAIM project will continue to extend the functionalities of the platform, linking to other research repositories, screening programmes and data warehouses towards its next upgrade, expected to be released in June 2024”.

By releasing the first version of Cancer Image Europe, sharing of cancer images and supporting clinical data is facilitated and collaboration between researchers, clinicians and AI innovators across Europe is stimulated. The platform aims to accelerate the pace of AI development and other data-intensive cancer research activities, thereby enabling and empowering scientific breakthroughs that will shape the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment. The project’s goals and vision contribute to the strategic objectives of the European Union’s initiatives and foster innovation and research.

With the Cancer Image Europe infrastructure, the EUCAIM project addresses the fragmentation of existing cancer image repositories. A distributed Atlas of Cancer Imaging with over 60 million anonymised cancer image data from over 100,000 patients will be established as part of future updates, and the infrastructure will be fully in alignment with the European Health Data Space. The data will be accessible to clinicians, researchers and innovators across the EU for the development and benchmarking of trustworthy AI tools.

The EUCAIM project is a cornerstone of the European Commission-initiated European Cancer Imaging Initiative, a flagship of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, which aims to foster innovation and deployment of digital technologies in cancer treatment and care, to achieve more precise and faster clinical decision-making, diagnostics, treatments and predictive medicine for cancer patients.

For more information about the first release of the Cancer Image Europe platform and the EUCAIM project, please visit cancerimage.eu.