They are using artificial intelligence to detect the early stages of oral cancer, employing non-invasive sensors to monitor peripheral artery disease and prevent lower limb amputation, leveraging the power of virtual reality to develop an alcohol addiction therapy, and applying a multimodal approach to help women suffering from sexual dysfunction. They are creating an AI solution to optimize the analysis of difficult radiological images, breaking new ground in clinical cancer trials, and reducing the risk of graft-versus-host-disease by making the donor matching processes in stem cell transplantation faster and leaner. Despite their different projects, the seven interdisciplinary teams from Charité and the BIH all have one thing in common: They are putting cutting-edge digital technologies to work to help patients. The BIH Digital Health Accelerator (DHA) program supports the teams in developing digital health solutions and bringing them to market.
Attendees will include representatives from government, the healthcare and insurance sectors, and patient advocacy organizations, as well as colleagues from the clinical and research communities. The keynote lecture will be given by Hedi Razavi, PhD, Managing Partner at German Entrepreneurship, who will focus especially on artificial intelligence. Razavi’s background includes founding a company in Silicon Valley and developing modern therapies for cardiac arrhythmias at the Leipzig Heart Center. In addition, two successful spin-offs of the DHA program will share their experiences as founders from the perspective of a hospital department head and CEO.
Welcoming remarks will be delivered by Prof. Heyo Kroemer, Chief Executive Officer of Charité; Prof. Axel Pries, Dean of Charité; and Prof. Christopher Baum, Chair of the BIH Board of Directors and Chief Translational Research Officer of Charité. Baum sees digital technologies as representing a great opportunity for healthcare: “We need innovative medical solutions that harness the capabilities of artificial intelligence, digital apps, and automation. Through the Digital Clinician Scientist Program of the BIH and Charité, we are supporting young medical professionals in pursuing their digital ideas. With the Digital Health Accelerator Program, we are helping them to translate their ideas into practice. Going forward we want to open up the program to digital innovators from other university hospitals. We are delighted to be celebrating the fifth anniversary and would like to thank everyone involved for their tremendous commitment. They are a testament to how we are turning research into health.”
About the BIH Digital Health Accelerator Program
BIH´s Digital Health Accelerator (DHA) Program is implemented by Charit´BIH Innovation, the joint technology transfer of BIH and Charité. It supports physicians and researchers in developing digital health solutions and translating them to the healthcare market and into clinical practice. The aim is to benefit patients and to improve the entire healthcare system. Key components of the program include funding support, a structured process for developing medical devices and other health software solutions, mentoring by experienced experts, access to talent, potential industry partners, and investors, as well as an interdisciplinary working environment in the BIH Digital Labs Co-Working Space. To date the program has funded over 35 projects, 14 of which are currently in the program. Seven spin-offs have already come out of the program – six young companies and one non-profit organization – and have created a total of over 100 jobs in the region.
Members of the media are cordially invited to attend and cover the live event, which will take place on May 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Villa Elisabeth, Invalidenstrasse 3, 10115 Berlin. The event will be held in English.
More information about the BIH Digital Health Accelerator Program is available here.
More information about Demo Day, including how to sign up for the event, is available here.