AI gives Limburg care a boost

The five Limburg hospitals, radiation institute Maastro Clinic and the AI hub Brightlands are going to cooperate in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). They are forming an alliance under the title Health AI & Data Alliance Limburg. Together, these parties aim to work toward an AI-supported healthcare sector in Limburg.

By our partner Brightlands Smart Services Campus

CEO Walter Pijls of the Heerlen campus is very excited about this development. His organization connects business and R&D departments with hospitals, knowledge institutions and governments. The Limburg healthcare sector faces challenges in many areas that put pressure on the continuity of care. The newly established alliance is using technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to promote innovation and improve efficiency in healthcare. For example, AI can help shorten waiting lists, make forecasts more accurate or develop new practical applications.

The Brightlands Smart Services Campus is one of seven nationwide AI hubs with the Brightlands AI Hub. The campus in Heerlen is pre-eminently the place for cooperation between innovative companies in healthcare. Walter Pijls: "At our location, the cross-pollination must take place. We have knowledge institutions from secondary to scientific education (Maastricht University, Open University, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and Vista College) on the floor here that we connect with the business community. You see many innovations end up on paper, here they have to become concrete.'

Feeding algorithms

The data of the participating parties MUMC+, Zuyderland, VieCuri, Laurentius, St Jans Gasthuis and Maastro Clinic are crucial to feed algorithms. With the ratification of this collaboration, all these parties are making data available in a responsible manner. Andre Dekker, clinical physicist and professor of Clinical Data Science at Maastricht University, also involved with Maastro Clinic and the Brightlands Institute for Smart Society (BISS), has developed a technology that allows you to analyze and train data and algorithms without the need for that data to leave the hospital or be traceable to a patient. AI can help doctors and patients make better choices, for example, when it comes to treatment for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bowel disease and Alzheimer's. Importantly, based on the right data, AI can support and advise a doctor on a diagnosis or treatment plan.

To realize that, the infrastructure must first be put in order. Jordy Rijksen, Sr business developer at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus: "With the parties of the alliance, we will create data availability, develop AI applications and apply them. We will receive specific requests from hospitals and from scientists. Our collaboration will then provide a customized solution. One of the prerequisites for this is that the data can be matched within the standards, we also take care of that. In that context, the hospitals involved are already making significant steps.'

More focus on patient

Walter Pijls: 'Very important is also that everyone on the shop floor understands what AI can do for them. If people see that AI can really help, the acceptance to use it also increases. It's precisely about using AI in such a way that staff spend less time on time-consuming tasks and can be more attentive to patients or provide care to patients.'

Jordy Rijksen: 'AI is obviously not going to solve all the problems in healthcare at once. But you can use AI to allow specialists to better predict the course of a disease or to create treatment plans. AI can also promote efficiency in a hospital. There is a huge staff shortage; if you can use AI to better predict how long a patient will stay in the ICU after surgery, then you can adjust your bed planning accordingly.'

Limburg innovation power

Now, hospitals are already working with AI. Jordy Rijksen: 'They have been doing a lot with it for a long time. There are also already partnerships in the country, but not yet at the provincial level, so that is new. Working together means greater strength and scale. That also benefits funding and fundraising. Walter Pijls: 'This boosts Limburg's innovative power in healthcare. At the same time, I see the establishment of the alliance as an appeal to everyone in this province or beyond who is involved in care innovation to seek us out and join this collaboration.'