Articles

S3E Reverse: University Hospital Cologne and Tero join forces to implement Big Data management systems in hospital settings

Through the S3E Reverse program, University Hospital Cologne and Greek startup Tero are coming together to devise effective management systems for highly sensitive clinical data.

Part of the EU-funded project South3E, Reverse is a dedicated business brokerage program connecting corporate challenges with deep tech solutions developed by scaleups and SMEs from Southern Europe. The program is built on a successful open innovation methodology designed to foster collaboration and drive technological advancement.

The challenge

The University Hospital Cologne (Uniklinik Köln) is one of Germany’s most outstanding medical centers, internationally renowned for its innovation-driven research powering some of the most disruptive solutions in modern healthcare. Among its many successes, the interdisciplinary teams at Cologne are acclaimed for leading up the development of new treatments for patients underpinned by robust scientific research, especially in the area of rare diseases.

In order to facilitate the safe exchange of clinical data and support informed clinical decision-making at the Hospital, they were looking to implement a robust data-protecting systems for its intra- and interhospital infrastructures, which is crucial for ensuring that sensitive patient information is transmitted securely between departments and partner institutions, minimizing the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.

Without such protections, the hospital could face significant risks, including compromised patient privacy, potential legal liabilities, and the erosion of trust in the healthcare system. Additionally, delays or inaccuracies in clinical decision-making due to insecure or inefficient data exchange could lead to suboptimal patient outcomes.

With this in mind, the University Hospital Cologne signed up to S3E Reverse as a Challenger to find a specialist tech startup capable of providing the ultimate solution to their key need.

After receiving Cologne’s challenge, Reverse broker Epaminondas Christophilopoulos was assigned to the mission of finding the best match for them. He is the UNESCO Chair on Futures Research at the Institute of Technology and Research (FORTH), and holds an impressive track record of providing foresight, strategy, innovation and long-term planning advisory in R&D activities carried by public and private corporations.

The solution

Greek startup Tero specialises in developing technologies aimed at improving environmental and social welfare. Their main focus is to provide innovative solutions for environmental monitoring, pollution control and sustainable development, and they offer expertise in managing projects that integrate advanced technology with environmental science.

However, in addition to their environmental focus, Tero also works on projects that have a significant social impact. This includes initiatives that enhance public health, safety, and community well-being through the application of their ICT solutions, making them the perfect Solver to tackle University Hospital Cologne's challenge: to design a high-tech platform for big data management and the support of secure information exchange in a hospital setting.

By joining S3E Reverse, Tero’s team of professionals brought in their expertise and knowledge to help Cologne’s clinicians and researchers to implement a big data management system to enhance the protection of clinical data by centralizing and securing patient information across various platforms. This approach will enable the hospital to monitor data access, detect potential breaches in real-time, and enforce stringent security protocols. Additionally, the system would ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information, reducing the risk of unauthorized data exposure.

Overall, by collaborating hand-in-hand with Tero, the Hospital will be able to manage large volumes of clinical data efficiently, as well as improving their compliance with regulatory standards, safeguarding patient privacy and maintaining trust.

A call to innovators: apply to be a Solver and join the Deep Tech revolution!

This partnership between University Hospital Cologne and Tero is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation to tackle industry challenges.

We invite all Deep Tech startups and SMEs based in Southern Europe to explore our challenges and join the S3E Reverse program as a Solver. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2024.

For more information and to apply, click here.

by carmen@australo.org

S3E Reverse: University Hospital Cologne and CNT set on a mission to revolutionize medical research

Through the S3E Reverse program, University Hospital Cologne and Greek startup Creative Novel Technologies (CNT) are joining forces to develop AI-powered tools that can help researchers and clinicians bring new solutions to patients faster.

Part of the EU-funded project South3E, Reverse is a dedicated business brokerage program connecting corporate challenges with deep tech solutions developed by scaleups and SMEs from Southern Europe. The program is built on a successful open innovation methodology designed to foster collaboration and drive technological advancement.

The challenge

The University Hospital Cologne (Uniklinik Köln) is one of Germany’s most outstanding medical centers, internationally renowned for its innovation-driven research powering some of the most disruptive solutions in modern healthcare. Among its many successes, the interdisciplinary teams at Cologne are acclaimed for leading up the development of new treatments for patients underpinned by robust scientific research, especially in the area of rare diseases.

With the amount of research being produced by medical and healthcare experts, the university hospital has been looking at appropriate techniques to develop search strategies for systematic reviews of medical research. One of the main challenges that researchers encounter during their investigative processes is having to sift through multiple databases and sources of scientific literature, making it extremely time and resource intensive.

With this in mind, the University Hospital Cologne signed up to S3E Reverse as a Challenger to find a specialist tech startup capable of providing the ultimate solution to their key need.

After receiving Cologne’s challenge, Reverse broker Epaminondas Christophilopoulos was assigned to the mission of finding the best match for them. He is the UNESCO Chair on Futures Research at the Institute of Technology and Research (FORTH), and holds an impressive track record of providing foresight, strategy, innovation and long-term planning advisory in R&D activities carried by public and private corporations.

The solution

With a clear mission to leverage the full capabilities of IoT technologies to help others innovate, Thessaloniki-based startup CNT stood out as the most fitting Solver to tackle two challenges submitted by University Hospital Cologne: to develop sustainable search frameworks to support medical and clinical researchers in their day-to-day investigative work.

Dimitrios Tektonidis is the brain behind CNT's innovative solutions, a Computer Science expert leading a large network of specialists to create new products, services and integrated IT solutions — from the implementation of Internet Systems Management all the way to the creation of tailored Cloud-based systems.

By joining S3E Reverse, CNT’s team of professionals brought in their expertise and knowledge to help Cologne’s researchers accelerate their discoveries, bringing them closer to finding solutions to some of the most pressing health issues they’re dealing with. 

In order to tackle the challenge, CNT has offered their very own AI-powered semantic search services supported by the in-house developed ONAR framework, which has been developed as part of long collaborations with industry and research organisations, and previously validated in a number of business and use cases. This will help medical researchers minimize their paper scouting time, accelerating the speed in which life science researchers gain insights.

Thanks to CNT’s state-of-the-art IoT approach, this powerful collaboration with University Hospital Cologne is set to revolutionize medical research in academia, and in turn make a positive impact on the lives of many patients whilst paving the way for the future of healthcare innovation.

A call to innovators: apply to be a Solver and join the Deep Tech revolution!

This partnership between University Hospital Cologne and CNT is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation to tackle industry challenges.

We invite all Deep Tech startups and SMEs based in Southern Europe to explore our challenges and join the S3E Reverse program as a Solver. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2024.

For more information and to apply, click here.

by carmen@australo.org