ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day – Conference Report

Last week, the fifth edition of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day took place. Once again, the Health-Trends team was on-site and has summarized the most important activities and insights from the event below.

The event took place at the ZHAW School of Engineering in Winterthur and was marked by various keynotes on the topic of innovation in healthcare. The keynotes were complemented by workshops and a Digital Health Startup Pitching Session, in which the startup Magnes won both the Public Award and the Jury Award for the best startup. Magnes prevailed over nine other finalists.

Keynote 1 – Digital Health – A Vision Comes to Life (Sven Hirsch)

The first keynote of the day by Sven Hirsch focused on the vision of digital health and its practical implementation, particularly in the context of the canton of Zurich. The canton is planning significant investments in the area of digital health and promoting joint innovation with various stakeholders. The goal is to achieve closer integration between medical practice and technological innovations to improve the quality of healthcare. A key concept here is the Digital Twin in healthcare, which enables precise simulations of medical processes and patient conditions. This aims to support and optimize the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

The importance of Digital Twins is increasingly taking center stage in digital health. These are digital representations of patients or medical devices, allowing treatments or procedures to be virtually tested before being implemented in reality. A Digital Twin is based on real-time data and uses machine learning algorithms to create detailed models that accurately replicate both the behavior and condition of the physical counterpart. This offers enormous benefits for personalized medicine, as treatments can be tailored individually and potential risks can be better assessed. In preventive medicine, the use of Digital Twins also enables early predictions of disease progression and the optimization of therapies before serious health problems arise. However, this technology is still at the beginning of its broad clinical application, as regulatory processes and integration into existing medical systems remain challenges.

A crucial step in advancing digital health is the integration of machine learning components into medical devices, made possible by new approval procedures, such as those from the FDA. This represents a significant progress, as not only entire systems but also individual components improved by machine learning can be approved. This accelerates the pace of innovation in the industry, as technological advancements reach clinical practice faster. The field of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in image processing, such as in radiology, remains a driving force. AI can also play a supportive role in other areas, such as the transmission of information to hospital information systems (HIS).

Another central theme of this keynote was the importance of regulatory approval of medical software, as it is classified as a medical device. This process is often time-consuming and complex, which leads many companies to initially target the consumer market to bring innovations to market maturity faster. Hirsch also emphasized that as medical data becomes scarcer, more physical knowledge is required to enable precise predictions and diagnoses. Real-time coupling and decision support are essential to maximize the medical benefit. Overall, collaboration with regulatory authorities and an interdisciplinary approach are crucial to addressing the challenges in digital health.

Keynote 2: Program DigiSanté – Management Update (Gian Reto Grond)

The second keynote of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day was delivered by Gian Reto Grond and focused on the DigiSanté program. The core of the presentation was the vision of DigiSanté and its goal to sustainably transform digital health in Switzerland. The program is set to run for ten years, with funding being a central challenge. The industry will receive funding but must largely provide its own solutions, as the program’s primary focus is not on supporting individual companies.

A key aspect of DigiSanté is changing the approach to involving various stakeholders. While it has often been emphasized that certain stakeholders should be involved, the program aims to make this involvement an integral part of the development of digital health solutions.
Another key topic of the presentation was the security of digital health solutions. Grond emphasized that security is often the deciding factor in the success or failure of a digital health product. Ironically, the lack of security in traditional methods, such as faxing sensitive medical documents, is often less addressed. The security of the electronic patient record (EPR) was particularly highlighted, as its login system even has a higher security level than online banking.

Finally, Grond discussed the legal framework necessary for the successful implementation of DigiSanté. All planned changes must be integrated into existing laws, which is a lengthy process. The goal is to implement these legal adjustments within five to six years at both the federal and cantonal levels, which is an ambitious target. The harmonization of legislation across various levels remains a key challenge for the digitization of healthcare in Switzerland.

Keynote 3: Bridging Lived Experience and Innovation in Rehab Robotics (Roger Gassert)

The third keynote of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day, presented by Roger Gassert, addressed the topic of bridging lived experience and innovation in rehab robotics and connecting real-world experiences with technological innovations in the field of rehabilitation technology. Gassert emphasized that while significant technological advances have been made in rehabilitation robotics, these are still rarely applied in practice. This presents a central challenge, as innovative technologies often do not make it into clinical practice or broader use.

A core point of the presentation was that it is not only about developing advanced technologies but also ensuring that they are aligned with the actual needs of patients and medical staff. Technology must bridge the gap between innovation and the real-world experiences of users to have a positive impact on the rehabilitation process. Gassert emphasized that the development of rehabilitation robotics should not only be driven by technical excellence but also by how this technology can be practically applied.

Another topic raised in the keynote was the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Only through the involvement of experts from various fields – from technology to medicine to the patients themselves – can solutions be developed that are not only technically mature but also practical. This requires close collaboration between research, industry, and end-users to ensure that the developed solutions truly provide added value.

Gassert concluded by noting that the path from technological breakthroughs to their implementation in clinical practice is often long and challenging. A continuous exchange between the developers of the technologies and those who use them is necessary to ensure that innovations truly reach practice and benefit patients. Only then can rehabilitation robotics reach its full potential and provide real value for patients.

Workshop “Industry perspectives on AI in Healthcare: Organizational requirements, Human Factors and Regulations”

For years, a key component of the Digital Health Lab Day has been the various workshops that take place in the afternoon, where industry representatives discuss various relevant topics interactively with event participants. Our team attended the workshop “Industry perspectives on AI in Healthcare: Organizational requirements, Human Factors and Regulations.” This workshop consisted of three short presentations highlighting different aspects of AI in healthcare.

The first presentation, given by Fabio Brugger from Zühlke, showcased various use cases of AI in healthcare. One example was the improvement of genomic data analysis, where poor datasets were efficiently sorted using AI methods. This reduced the analysis time from over an hour to just eight minutes. The risks and challenges of AI technology were also discussed, particularly the integrity of the technology, which can be life-saving in some cases. An important point mentioned was that radiologists often show a deviation of 3-5% in data interpretation, underscoring the need for more precise AI systems.

The second presentation, given by David Jule Mack from Philips, pointed out the importance of data quality and the risk of data bias in the development of AI models. A central point was that medicine and AI development each have their own specialized languages, making the creation of a common vocabulary between these disciplines necessary. Additionally, the concept of “Shift-Left-Compliance” was emphasized, stressing the importance of starting documentation early to meet regulatory requirements and ensure a smooth development process.

The third presentation addressed the new European AI regulation (EU AI Act) and its impact on the healthcare industry. Rolf Kaufmann from Effectum Medical emphasized, among other things, that the EU AI Act provides a structure for the implementation of continuously learning medical AI. Companies have three years to internally acquire the necessary knowledge about AI and regulation. Kaufmann also mentioned that most medical devices fall under the high-risk category, which brings additional safety and compliance requirements. Interestingly, generative AI models, such as large language models (LLMs), are hardly covered by the regulation. Kaufmann warned against using such general AI tools for medical purposes, as there are more specific models better suited for these applications.

Keynote 4: The Role of Digital Biomarkers in Evidence Generation – Development, Use, and Value (Guy Bogaarts)

The fourth keynote of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day, given by Guy Bogaarts, focused on the role of digital biomarkers in evidence generation, their development, use, and value. Digital biomarkers are playing an increasingly important role in clinical research, especially in phases 2 and 3 of clinical trials, where they are used to assess disease progression and treatment effectiveness. The focus is on the use of motion sensors, which are primarily applied in diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s to monitor patient progress and support decisions about the continuation of studies or treatments.

Bogaarts emphasized that insights from digital biomarkers significantly contribute to whether certain clinical activities are continued or discontinued. Digital biomarkers, such as those used in Parkinson’s patients, show good patient adherence in the conducted tests, underscoring their clinical relevance. The integration of this technology into clinical practice is becoming increasingly important to make more accurate and personalized assessments of patient conditions.

From a regulatory and company-specific perspective – as seen in the example of Roche – the validation of digital biomarkers is a complex process. Verifying the hardware can be relatively resource-efficient in the lab, often automated through the use of robotics. Clinical validation, on the other hand, requires more extensive measures, such as conducting concept elicitation interviews with patients to ensure that the measured data is clinically relevant and meaningful. This represents a crucial step in advancing the acceptance and widespread use of digital biomarkers in healthcare.

Bogaarts made it clear that digital biomarkers are not just a tool for monitoring and diagnosis but can also have a significant impact on decisions in clinical development and patient treatment. Their correct implementation and validation are essential to maximizing their value in personalized medicine and clinical research in the long term.

Final Panel Discussion

The panel discussion at the end of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day, consisting of Prof. Dr. Claudia Witt from USZ, Prof. Dr. Lisa Martin-Niedecken from ZHdK, and Diana Hardie from Swiss Healthcare Startups, focused on various aspects of innovation in healthcare, particularly in relation to data availability, collaboration, and the role of incentives.

A central point was the importance of creativity and innovative thinking in the healthcare sector. However, it was emphasized that working in “data silos” remains a major obstacle. Although a huge amount of data is available in Switzerland, it is not effectively used due to a lack of standards and governance structures. The need to view innovation not just as technological advancements but as solutions that are truly useful and intended for the users was highlighted.

The discussion made it clear that data, not necessarily financial resources, is the key to market penetration. Startups can test and verify their solutions based on data and then achieve cost reimbursement. Standardization and the creation of a national data pool, as possibly envisaged in the DigiSanté program, could play a crucial role in this.

Another important point was the question of what incentives exist for society to share data. Topics such as data ownership and the legal frameworks for data access were discussed intensively. It was suggested that the public should be better informed about why sharing data makes sense and how this data is used. Many of the available data cannot currently be used due to legal reasons or lack of consent.

Overall, it became clear that improved collaboration between stakeholders, incentives for data sharing, and clear standards are necessary to unlock the full potential of innovations in healthcare.