26 January 2026
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Health is one of the domains to which all four Brightlands campuses are committed. Each campus has something to contribute to healthcare, including in the field of ICT. For that reason, Brightlands is presenting at ICT & Health World Conference to be held from January 27 to 29 at the MECC Maastricht.
Brightlands has a pavilion at the fair together with the Limburg Institute for Development and Financing (LIOF) where a number of companies and partners are presenting: Blended Clinic, Gaston Medical, KEMBIT, MindMedia, Maastricht University-DACS, Valid, Zuyd Knowledge Centre Data Intelligence and Zuyd EIZT.
According to Jordy Rijksen, manager of Health AI at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen, it's not just about what these companies have to offer in terms of innovation in healthcare, but it's also about showcasing the Brightlands innovation climate in which these companies and institutions thrive.
Healthcare professionals
The fair is all about the future of healthcare. There are presentations and debates about innovations in the field of AI, data, robotics, hybrid care, relevant techniques and their applications in healthcare. Jordy Rijksen: "ICT&Health is a magnet for healthcare professionals in particular. Now mainly from the Netherlands but this is becoming more international every year. This is a great opportunity for us to show what Brightlands is, what we do and how much knowledge and expertise we can display. On the other hand, it is important that the sector is given the opportunity to get together and exchange knowledge. Helping them get expertise they need to solve problems. Very concretely, that's what we do on the campuses in Maastricht, Geleen, Venlo and Heerlen: invent innovations and solve the problems we encounter in the process.'
IT giants and start-ups in healthcare
Rijksen cites the Health AI & Data Alliance Limburg as an example. The five Limburg hospitals, radiation institute Maastro Clinic and the Brightlands Services Campus work together under that banner to develop and implement AI. In the healthcare sector. 'The steps we have made in the past year, we will show at the fair. These are not only relevant for hospitals, but also for elderly care, mental health care, you name it. We show what possibilities AI offers for the care of the future. The fair attracts not only healthcare parties but also IT giants and start-ups active in the health sector. By revealing our ecosystem, we may be able to get them to collaborate or establish a presence on one of the campuses. Offer. We can organize a lot in that respect. Certainly when it comes to Limburg, or rather the region: if you want to gain access to that system, it is convenient to do that through Brightlands. You also do that by forging alliances. Not only in Limburg, but also in Belgium and Germany. It must be clear to everyone: this is the place to develop your start-up. The campuses have everything they need to facilitate that collaboration and that accommodation.'
Blended Clinic
As a good example of innovation that will be shown at the fair, Rijksen mentions Blended Clinic. A company with a Dutch owner, started and tested in Germany and for years one of the partners at the Brighlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen. Blended Clinic works with an AI-driven digital rehabilitation program to help people recovering from a stroke with their rehabilitation at home from a virtual clinic. 'That principle is being extended and expanded all the time, even to a physical clinic on campus. There they are monitored and then guided remotely at home. You see that their model, the way they do it, is very much catching on with other service providers in healthcare. It is a way to reduce the pressure on care and to give people better quality care.
Applicable solutions
On the Heerlen campus, AI is leading. Jordy Rijksen: "What we are strong in is the translation to the application of technological innovation. So how do you make sure you can concretely translate that technology into applicable solutions, services, products for the healthcare sector or healthcare in general. That is our story, in that implication we are very good. We listen to the sector and ask what is really the problem. What really is the challenge. What do you really want to achieve? So not: I want something with AI. But: what is the problem that you solve with it? And is AI the solution you need? Or is there another, ICT-like solution possible. That's why we are forging alliances, to develop these kinds of things with multiple partners. We are currently developing a prediction model for the inflow of birth care. And not only hospitals but also the Academy of Obstetrics at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, the Acute Care Network Limburg and midwives are participating in this. We are building mini-ecosystems to apply an innovation. That is what we also show during the conference.'