Artificial Intelligence in Health
In August 2021, the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, in collaboration with the Québec Foundation for Research Promotion, the “Fonds de recherche du Québec” (FRQ), launched a call for proposals on Artificial Intelligence in Health. Three bilaterally funded collaborative projects received a total of approximately one million euros in funding starting in early 2022 for a period of three years.
Decision support in lung cancer screening with low-dose Computed Tomography
Lead Bavaria: Prof. Michael Ingrisch with Dr. Katharina Jeblick (LMU Klinikum, München); Lead Québec: Prof. Philippe Després (Université Laval, Québec)
This collaborative project between Québec and Bavaria aimed to promote the responsible use of artificial intelligence in lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography. The work included the development of digital infrastructures, the management of research data in accordance with the FAIR principles, the creation of a real-world clinical dataset, and the evaluation of AI algorithms in contexts representative of clinical practice. In addition, factors influencing the acceptance of AI algorithms for lung cancer screening in clinical settings were investigated.
AIrway, an AI-powered wearable device for airway health monitoring
Lead Bavaria: Prof. Andreas Kist (Universitätsklinikum Erlangen); Lead Québec: Prof. Nicole Li-Jessen (McGill University, Québec)
The goal of this project was to develop a wearable device for monitoring respiratory function and, thereby, to predict early exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, so that preventive measures can be taken in a timely manner. For the wearable device, which can be temporarily attached to the patient’s neck, a neural network was developed that can identify characteristic symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and changes in voice pitch.
Artificial intelligence for an integrative approach to analyze the brain and spinal cord in multiple sclerosis (AIMS)
Lead Bavaria: Prof. Dr. med. Mark Mühlau (Universitätsklinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München); Lead Québec: Prof. Julien Cohen-Adad (Polytechnique Montréal, Québec)
The project aimed to develop reliable guidelines on which treatment to use for patients with multiple sclerosis in specific situations. To this end, a technical framework was created that uses artificial intelligence to analyze MRI images of the brain and spinal cord simultaneously, thereby enabling the precise measurement of the extent of tissue damage in the brain and spinal cord. The goal was to better predict the course of the disease and to integrate the method into everyday clinical practice.
