Transforming respiratory healthcare with AI

EU-backed researchers are harnessing machine and deep learning to improve the lives of patients and doctors dealing with lung diseases.

An EU-funded project called AI4LUNGS is using AI to transform lung health. Its achievements will help promote faster, more accurate diagnoses that lead to more personalised treatment plans for people suffering from respiratory diseases.

A year after its launch in January 2024, the project has already made significant progress towards the creation of innovative digital solutions that can support physicians in their decision-making during lung disease diagnosis and treatment. “We are on a mission to create a digital twin to support physicians in their daily routines, particularly with lung pathologies,” states Hélder P. Oliveira, senior researcher from INESC TEC, the Portuguese research organisation coordinating AI4LUNGS, in a press release. “Our goal is to provide AI-driven algorithms that enhance the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment by using the same data doctors already rely on—giving them additional insights to make better decisions.”

Lung diseases are a major health threat, each year causing severe illness in hundreds of millions of people and leading to millions of deaths worldwide. Several tests and exams are required before the symptoms can be understood and the disease diagnosed – a time-consuming and costly process that affects the outcome. INESC TEC biomedical engineer Duarte Dias explains how the project can aid patient health risk assessment in the case of lung cancer: “This research is unique in its ability to support the lung cancer stratification process, which is crucial in the fight against this devastating disease.”

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Engaging stakeholders

AI4LUNGS has also launched a Stakeholder Forum to ensure that the solutions being developed are aligned with the real needs of patients, physicians and healthcare systems across Europe. Since patients are the ones experiencing the daily challenges of being ill, taking treatments and dealing with the healthcare system, their views are crucial for shaping effective, patient-centred solutions. They may even pinpoint issues that researchers or policymakers might miss.

Doctors, nurses, healthcare administrators and public health officials can offer insight into how new solutions might fit into existing systems. This is an important consideration, especially in the EU, where healthcare systems vary greatly between countries. Also, involving policymakers, healthcare regulators and legal experts in project planning from the start can help avoid hurdles relating to EU policies and regulations later on.

“Innovative healthcare ideas are exciting, but they need to work in the real world. By involving healthcare stakeholders, we can better understand how new solutions will fit into existing healthcare systems and improve patient care,” observes Emma Tsai, Communication Manager at Cypriot project partner Future Needs. She adds: “The forum is open to stakeholders across the healthcare sector, and interested individuals are invited to learn more and apply to join on the project’s website:

AI4LUNGS (AI-BASED PERSONALISED CARE FOR RESPIRATORY DISEASE USING MULTI-MODAL DATA IN PATIENT STRATIFICATION) clinical partners have also submitted their clinical study proposals to ethics committees for approval. Clinical data collection will commence once the proposals have been approved, bringing the project one step closer to the development of its novel AI-based tools.

For more information, please see:
AI4LUNGS project website