Upcoming and open funding calls

We're continuously updating this page with calls relevant to biomedical imaging

Below are the full call texts for open and forthcoming calls relevant to biomedical imaging. This includes information on the budget and prospective estimates on how many projects will be funded. You can scroll down, or use the quick menu on the right side of the screen to navigate.

Calls for Funding
A draft text for Innovative Health Initiative call 11 may be found here. EU4Health calls may be found in full here. For Digital Europe, download the 2025–2027 programme (See section 2.3.3, Apply AI for Health, p. 75) here.

EIC Pathfinder – For projects in any field of science, technology or application without predefined thematic priorities

The EIC Pathfinder is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to research teams by:

  • Funding research to develop the scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies
  • Supporting the earliest stages of scientific, technological or deep-tech R&D
  • Aiming to build on new, cutting-edge directions in science and technology to disrupt a field and a market or create new opportunities
  • Realising innovative technological solutions to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovations in Europe

You must submit your proposal via the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal before the given deadline. Which instrument is right for you?

  • ‘EIC Pathfinder Open’, open to support projects in any field of science, technology or application without predefined thematic priorities.
  • ‘EIC Pathfinder Challenges’ to support coherent portfolios of projects within predefined thematic areas with the aim to achieve specific objectives for each Challenge.

Deadline for submitting your proposal:

  • EIC Pathfinder Open: 21 May 2025 – Indicative budget: grants of up to EUR 3 million or more if duly justified
  • EIC Pathfinder Challenges: 29 October 2025 – Indicative budget: grants of up to EUR 4 million or more if duly justified

Before applying for the EIC Pathfinder Open, you should review the EIC Pathfinder Challenges and check if your project matches any of the predefined topics. The EIC Pathfinder Open and the EIC Pathfinder Challengers are described extensively in the EIC Work Programme. In particular, challenge 2 (p. 37) and accelerator 3 (p. 86) relate strongly to imaging and are described below.

EIC Challenge 2

Generative-AI based Agents to Revolutionize Medical Diagnosis and
Treatment of Cancer

Indicative budget: € 4 million
Opening: 28 July 2025
Deadline(s): 29 October 2025

Keywords: artificial intelligence, European AI Strategy, Cancer Plan for Europe, Cancer Mission, autonomous agents, personalised treatment

Expected Outcome

In support of the European AI Strategy and the Cancer Plan for Europe and the Cancer Mission this Challenge looks to support the the development of the next generation models for cancer diagnosis and treatment, with Generative AI.

This Challenge aims to create a collaborative environment where diverse expertise — including for example data science, informatics, oncology, radiology, pathology, medical physics, bioinformatics, geneticists, healthcare administrators, and patient advocacy groups — converges to address the complexities of developing autonomous agents for holistic patient care, through enhanced diagnosis and personalized treatment.

The Challenge aspires to significantly improve patient care and reduce pressure on the healthcare system by leveraging advanced interactive autonomous agents for diagnosis and personalized treatment. By alleviating the burdens on clinicians and ensuring compliance with the EU concept for Trustworthy AI, the initiative will enhance the quality and reliability of medical services. Economically, it promises substantial cost reductions and cost avoidance, leading to long-term improvements in healthcare efficiency and sustainability. Ultimately, this challenge will foster innovation and establish Europe as a leader in the field, delivering profound benefits to patients, healthcare providers, and society at large.

The portfolio of selected projects will be designed to deliver a set of agents/models for improved diagnosis and personalized treatment of the above-mentioned cancers.

Specifically, the projects will collaborate to:

  • Create a shared database of synthetically generated images to be used across all projects for the development of their algorithms;
  • Compare the use of a combination of the agents in the case of multiple cancers;
  • Benchmark agents for enhanced diagnosis and personalized treatment selection;
  • Define innovative clinical pathways in oncology;
  • Externally validate the developed agents within a project at clinical premises of another project in the portfolio;
  • Develop standardized methods and frameworks for evaluating AI- Act and Medical Device Regulation (MDR)-compliant generative AI models.

The portfolio of projects to be funded under this Challenge will be composed in such a way that they address ideally all cancers mentioned in this call, apply different technologies, and provide access to relevant clinical facilities and research infrastructures. The following categories will be used for the composition:

  • Category 1 – type of cancer
  • Category 2 – type of technology
  • Category 3 – access to appropriate infrastructure data and ecosystem integration.

Scope

Imaging is a crucial component of cancer clinical protocols, providing detailed morphological, structural, metabolic, and functional information. However, harnessing the full potential of the data generated through medical imaging in clinical settings remains challenging. Clinicians often struggle to combine diverse and large-scale data into a comprehensive view of patient care, disease progression, and treatment efficacy. The inability to seamlessly integrate and interpret diverse data sources result in suboptimal patient outcomes and inefficiencies in the delivery of healthcare.

The integration of traditional Artificial Intelligence (AI) with medical imaging can transform healthcare, but most existing applications are still in their infancy and must overcome a number of challenges to accelerate adoption. These include AI applications being confined to single data modalities, which restricts their overall effectiveness (Monomodal Application); inadequate and insufficient data training, leading to data scarcity and a lack of generalizability, making them less reliable across diverse patient populations, including with regard to gender-sensitivity; and the lack of AI model interpretability, as many AI systems function as “black boxes,” providing little insight
into their decision-making processes. This lack of transparency limits trust in the systems and their usability in clinical settings.

The goal of this Pathfinder Challenge is to create interactive GenAI autonomous agents and/or a combination of them (super-agent) that provide clinicians with a holistic end to end perspective of patient care, throughout the entire clinical pathway. These agents aim to enhance pattern identification, reduce inconsistencies and errors in diagnoses as well as improve cancer treatment. While the focus is on GenAI, we also encourage the integration of other advanced AI technologies, such as topological and geometric deep learning, neural fields, graph neural networks, etc., which can complement and enhance the robustness and effectiveness of GenAI-based solutions in addressing the challenges of cancer diagnosis and therapy.

The Challenge will support early-stage groundbreaking research projects that will develop and validate novel approaches and concepts for integrating and interpreting multimodal medical imaging and health data. Additionally, it will involve generating reliable synthetic medical data, which will also be pooled to form a common database and used for the development of advanced algorithms.

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IHI call 10 – a two-stage call with topics on PFAS, the EHDS, and digital labelling

Opening: 16 January 2025
Deadline (short proposal): 23 April 2025
Deadline (full proposal): 14 October 2025

IHI call 10 will be a standard, two-stage call for proposals in early 2025 with the following topics:

  • Topic 1: Digital label: one source of comprehensive information for medical technology products
  • Topic 2: Enabling and safeguarding innovation in secondary use of health data in the European Health Data Space (EHDS)
  • Topic 3: Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure, emissions, and end of life management in the healthcare sector

View the final call 10 text

Online info sessions from January 7-16 will address all call topics plus the rules and procedures. For contributing partners, a special info session on January 30 will provide an in-depth exploration of the key aspects of becoming an IHI contributing partner.

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02

Understanding the Effects of Environmental Exposure on Paediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers

Indicative budget: €30.45 million total (EU contribution per project: €6-7 million)
Opening: 06 May 2025
Deadline(s): 16 Sep 2025

Expected Outcomes

  • Advance understanding of how environmental exposures, in combination with genetic, epigenetic, and socio-economic factors, contribute to cancer onset and progression in children, adolescents, and young adults (under 40).
  • Provide robust evidence to inform policymakers and health authorities on improved cancer prevention strategies.
  • Enable discovery of novel biomarkers and cumulative environmental risk measurements to support risk stratification and early detection.
  • Promote integration and sharing of research data within the UNCAN.eu platform

Scope

Focus on leveraging new technologies and data-intensive approaches to analyze large, multimodal datasets including exposome, omics, clinical, behavioral, and socio-economic data. Projects should:

  • Employ AI, computational modeling, and advanced analytics to identify critical susceptibility windows and individual risk signatures.
  • Pool and harmonize existing cohorts, adding new data collections to generate comprehensive epidemiological insights.
  • Collaborate with European research infrastructures such as the European Human Exposome Network and the Joint Research Centre to maximize impact and data interoperability.
  • Emphasize multidisciplinary collaboration integrating biological, environmental, and social determinants of cancer risk.

Additional Information

  •  Projects should ensure FAIR data principles and promote open science aligned with the Cancer Mission objectives.
  • Integration with European and international data platforms is encouraged.
  • Multidisciplinary consortia including epidemiologists, clinicians, data scientists, and public health experts are expected.

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-04

Investigator-Initiated Multinational Early-Stage Innovative Clinical Trials for Paediatric Cancer

Indicative budget: €25 million total (EU contribution per project: €6-8 million)
Opening: 06 May 2025
Deadline(s): 16 Sep 2025

Expected Outcomes

  • Support early-stage (phase 1 and 1/2) multinational clinical trials to develop innovative, safer, and more effective treatments tailored to children (0-14 years) and adolescents (15-19 years) with cancer.
  • Improve access to targeted, less toxic therapies designed specifically for paediatric oncology, reducing long-term adverse effects.
  • Accelerate translation of scientific evidence into affordable and accessible cancer care across European healthcare systems.
  • Encourage open data sharing aligned with the UNCAN.eu platform to enhance transparency and reproducibility.

Scope
Focus on paediatric cancers with distinct biological characteristics requiring specific therapeutic approaches. Projects should:

  •  Design and implement innovative clinical trials including companion diagnostics to improve patient stratification and treatment efficacy.
  • Utilize AI and advanced technologies to optimize trial design and data analysis.
  • Engage with regulatory authorities early to ensure trial feasibility and streamline approval pathways.
  • Leverage European cancer registries and infrastructures for patient recruitment and data management.

Promote patient-centered approaches considering socio-economic and biological factors affecting treatment outcomes.

Additional Information

  • Multinational collaboration and consortium-building are essential for trial success.
  • Projects should adhere to principles of open science and FAIR data management
  • Emphasis on reducing toxicity and improving quality of life for paediatric patients.

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HORIZON-HLTH-2025-03-ENVHLTH-01-two-stage

The Impact of Pollution on the Development and Progression of Brain Diseases and Disorders

Indicative budget: €40 million total
Expected EU contribution per project: €6–7 million
Opening: 22 May 2025
Deadline(s): 16 September 2025 (First Stage), 16 April 2026 (Second Stage)

Expected Outcome

  •  Generate scientific evidence and tools to understand how pollution contributes to brain diseases, including neurological, neurodegenerative, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • Inform EU and global health and environmental policies with updated data on pollutant exposure, critical windows of vulnerability, and long-term brain health risks.
  • Empower citizens and support public authorities with evidence-based strategies for prevention and risk mitigation.
  • Foster a collaborative cluster of funded projects to promote data sharing, coordinated dissemination, and maximum impact.

Scope

Research should address the life-long effects of environmental pollutants on brain health using a life-course and exposome approach. Proposals should:

  •  Investigate molecular, genetic, and epigenetic mechanisms triggered by pollutants.
  • Utilize advanced methodologies, including in vivo, in vitro, and in silico models, multi-omics, bioinformatics, and high-resolution imaging.
  • Conduct robust epidemiological and clinical studies—particularly longitudinal cohort research—to assess causality, progression, and comorbidities.
  • Focus on vulnerable populations (e.g. children, elderly, occupationally exposed groups) to understand differential risk profiles.
  • Apply FAIR data principles and integrate SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) to enhance societal relevance and impact.
  • Collaborate with key European infrastructures and agencies, including the Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), and European Environment Agency (EEA).

Engage in joint networking activities with other funded projects for data harmonization and communication.

Additional Information

  • Nutrition-related brain health studies are excluded from this call.
  • Applicants are encouraged to minimize animal use where possible by integrating alternative experimental methods.
  • Projects must support open science and contribute to a shared evidence base on pollution and brain health across Europe.

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HORIZON-HLTH-2025-03-DISEASE-02-two-stage

Advancing innovative interventions for mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders

Indicative Budget: €50 million total
EU Contribution per Project: Approximately €6–8 million (flexible)
Opening: 22 May 2025
Deadline(s): 16 Sep 2025 (First Stage), 16 Apr 2026 (Second Stage)
Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)

Expected Outcomes

The expected results are the following:

  •  Enable scientific and clinical communities to use state-of-the-art knowledge, data, tools, and training to develop innovative interventions that provide lasting therapeutic benefits.
  • Strengthen collaboration and data exchange across EU, Associated Countries, and beyond.
  • Promote FAIR data principles and integration with existing infrastructures.
  • Inform policymakers, funders, regulators, patient organizations about research progress and facilitate widespread implementation.
  • Engage patients and caregivers to ensure interventions meet their needs and improve quality of life.

Scope

Focus on mental, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental disorders with high patient and societal burden, including:

  • Severe depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, psychosis, PTSD
  • Addictive behaviours (drugs, alcohol, gaming, etc.)
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, autism spectrum disorder

Innovative interventions should combine active substances with complementary multidisciplinary approaches (e.g., neurostimulation, digital therapies, psychotherapy). Projects should:

  • Conduct rigorous clinical studies with well-represented cohorts (age, sex, ethnicity).
  • Investigate mechanisms of action via imaging, omics, biomarkers to enable personalized medicine.
  • Use advanced technologies (AI, wearables) for monitoring and managing disorders in real-world settings, ensuring inclusivity and ethics.
  • Leverage existing data, biobanks, registries, and FAIR data management.
  • Include patients, caregivers, clinicians, and regulators in designing interventions, applying gender-sensitive and intersectional approaches.
  • Utilize state-of-the-art infrastructures like ECRIN, EATRIS, EBRAINS, BBMRI, EuroBioImaging, and European Genomic Data Infrastructure.
  • Collaborate with public health authorities and regulators for robust development and uptake pathways.
  • Encourage participation of start-ups and SMEs to boost innovation and commercialization.

Additional Information

  • Rare diseases are excluded
  • Part of a blind evaluation pilot in the first stage.
  • Lump sum funding approach.
  • Projects must budget for joint networking and collaboration activities.
  • Second-stage proposals must detail clinical studies using the provided template.
  • SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) expertise is required to enhance societal impact.

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HORIZON-HLTH-2025-01-DISEASE-07

Tackling high-burden for patients and under-researched medical conditions

Indicative Budget: €30 million total
EU Contribution per Project: Around €6 million (flexible)
Opening: 22 May 2025
Deadline(s): 16 Sep 2025
Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)

Expected Outcome

  • •Scientific and clinical communities better understand under-researched high-burden medical conditions using state-of-the-art data, tools, and technologies to develop diagnostics, therapies, and prevention.
  • Strengthen data sharing, knowledge exchange, and collaboration networks within Europe and beyond.
  • Promote use of FAIR data principles via open-access databases and integration with existing infrastructures.
  • Inform policymakers and funders of research advances, fostering sustainability.
  • Engage patients and caregivers in research to ensure their needs are met.
  • Improve clinical guidelines for diagnosis and treatment accessible to health professionals.

Scope

Focus on under-researched, high-burden medical conditions that are often underdiagnosed or inadequately treated, causing chronic burden. Target conditions include:

  • Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
  • Autism
  • Gynaecological diseases
  • Low back pain
  • Other high-burden under-researched conditions (excluding rare diseases and conditions already funded under previous topics)

Applicants must specify which condition they target, and focus exclusively on it.

Additional Information

  • Expected to include clinical studies; detailed clinical study plans should be provided using the submission system template.
  • Eligibility conditions include open participation for US legal entities via NIH collaboration.
  • Award criteria: minimum score of 4 for Excellence, Impact, and Implementation; total of 12.
  • Balanced portfolio approach will be used to ensure a range of conditions are funded, not just top-ranked proposals.

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HORIZON-HLTH-2025-01-CARE-01

Horizon Europe Funding: End User-Driven Application of Generative AI in Healthcare (GenAI4EU)

Indicative Budget: €40 million total
EU Contribution per Project: €15–20 million
Opening: 22 May 2025
Deadline: 16 Sep 2025
Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)

Expected Outcomes:

  • Trustworthy GenAI-based virtual assistants for use by healthcare professionals across the care continuum.
  • Cross-border validated methodologies for increasing public and professional acceptance and trust in GenAI solutions.
  • Better patient engagement, safety, and personalisation of care.
  • Measurable health system benefits including cost-efficiency and improved quality of care.

Scope

Support end user-driven development and clinical application of GenAI in healthcare. Proposals must:

  • Build ethical, explainable, multimodal GenAI models (e.g. using imaging, genomics, EHRs).
  • Demonstrate use in at least two clinical fields.
  • Involve patients, caregivers, and healthcare workers in design/validation.
  • Address ethics, bias, data privacy, legal and societal concerns.
  • Align with EU infrastructures like EHDS, Cancer Image Europe, EBRAINS.
  • Ensure FAIR/GDPR compliance, transparency, and open science.

Additional Information

  • Open to U.S. legal entities via NIH agreement.
  • JRC may participate as a partner.
  • Mandatory use of Copernicus/Galileo if satellite data is used.
  • High evaluation threshold: minimum score of 4 per criterion.
  • Collaboration with other EU AI and health initiatives is encouraged.
  • Budget for joint activities with other projects under this call should be included.

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HORIZON-HLTH-2025-01-TOOL-03

Leveraging Multimodal Data to Advance GenAI in Biomedical Research (GenAI4EU)

Estimated EU Contribution per Project: €15–17 million
Total Budget: €50 million
Opening Date: 22 May 2025
Deadline: 16 Sep 2025

Expected Outcome

  • Accessible GenAI models for generating insights from complex biomedical data.
  • Transparent, ethical methodologies promoting scientific trust in GenAI.
  • Evaluation frameworks ensuring fairness, validity, and societal trust.

Scope

Support the development of robust GenAI models for biomedical research to enable predictive and personalised medicine. Proposals must:

  • Use multimodal biomedical data (e.g. imaging, genomics, EHRs, lab/unstructured data).
  • Validate in at least two use cases in predictive/personalised medicine.
  • Define clear metrics for model performance, explainability, and ethics.
  • Mitigate bias and address ethical, legal, and societal issues (ELSI).
  • Ensure usability for biomedical researchers through explainability and transparency.

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HORIZON-CL4-2025-04-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01

Advanced Sensor Technologies and Multimodal Integration (Photonics Partnership)

Estimated EU Contribution per Project: €4–6 million
Total Budget: €25 million
Opening Date: 10 June 2025
Deadline: 2 October 2025 (17:00 Brussels time)

Expected Outcomes:

  • Higher sensor efficiency, smaller size, and lower power consumption.
  • Improved accuracy, reliability, and sustainability in sensing.
  • Cross-sector innovation in sensing technologies.
  • Enhanced EU leadership and IP in photonics.

Scope

Support development and integration of photonic sensor technologies across sectors to bolster EU digital sovereignty and the green/digital transitions. Proposals must:

  • Include at least two sensor types, one of which must be photonic (e.g. LIDAR, fiber optics, MEMS/NEMS, biomedical sensors).
  • Target diverse domains such as healthcare, transport, industry, agriculture, environment, security, and optical communications.
  • Utilize AI/machine learning for sensor fusion and data analytics.

Additional Information

  • Must include business case and exploitation plan.
  • Expected to contribute to standardization and open innovation.
  • Collaboration with EU initiatives such as the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and Photonics Partnership required.

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DIGITAL-2025-01

Deployment of cutting-edge multi-modal AI-based solutions in medical imaging

Indicative Budget: €16 million
Opening Date: 2026
Deadline: TBA

Expected Outcome

  • Accelerate the uptake of EU AI-driven solutions that are ready to be deployed in healthcare settings for patient care and which can also be leveraged for research purposes. This will facilitate the paradigm shift in the digital transformation of healthcare towards personalised medical solutions
  • Facilitate the deployment of EU cutting-edge AI-driven solutions in medical imaging, combined with other health data, for increased efficiency and better patient outcomes, leveraging the Cancer Image Europe platform
  • Expand the Cancer Image Europe platform beyond oncology applications and further develop its data, testing and validation services and user tools in alignment with the legal and technical framework of the European Health Data Space, also towards supporting the development and uptake of EU cutting-edge multi-modal AI-based solutions in medical imaging (including generative AI solutions) for healthcare
  • Ensure alignment and inter-operability of the Cancer Image Europe platform with the HealthData@EU infrastructure of the EHDS

Scope

48 month project. SME support grant for:

  • Hospitals and outpatient clinics (both public and private entities are eligible)
  • Healthcare research institutions (e.g., university departments providing patient care and conducting clinical trials)
  • Relevant Member States authorities (e.g., ministries of health, regional health authorities, Health Data Access Bodies)
  • AI developers, e.g., MedTech companies (especially SMEs) applying together with healthcare providers (hospitals/ outpatient clinics)
  • European Digital Infrastructure Consortia

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DIGITAL-2025-03

Apply AI: Piloting AI based image screening in medical centres

Indicative Budget: €10 million for up to 2 pilot projects
Opening Date: 2026
Deadline: TBA

Expected Outcomes:

  • Enhance prioritisation of critical cases, enabling faster decision-making.
  • Optimize resources in radiology departments, alleviating workload pressures.
  • Support underserved regions by enabling remote, high-quality screening without requiring onsite specialists.
  • Reduce diagnostic delays through integrated workflows with existing clinical systems (e.g., PACS, RIS, EHR)

Scope

36 month projects. The consortium can include public and private entities such as (but not limited to): medtech industry, SMEs, AI/GenAI and IT solution providers, hospital organisations, research organisations, governmental authorities (at national, regional, local level).

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