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A first version of the rules that will apply for data providers and users, as well as the operational procedures for the platform have also been published.
The Initiative aims to deliver a European federated infrastructure of cancer images data to support healthcare providers, research institutes and innovators in making the best use of innovative data-driven solutions for diagnostics, cancer treatment and care, for the benefit of cancer patients.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, said:
With the launch of the Cancer Image Europe platform, we are harnessing the power of data in our fight against cancer. We are paving the way towards a cross-border, interoperable and secure infrastructure for cancer imaging data in Europe, in line with EU values and rules. This will boost the development of new AI-driven technologies for better cancer care.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said:
Digital technologies will revolutionise healthcare, especially when it comes to cancer detection, treatment and care. As part of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, the European Cancer Imaging Initiative will be key in making early detection through screening more precise, timely and accessible and help us develop of the next generation of cancer diagnostics and treatments.
In line with the European Strategy for Data and the European Health Data Space, the European Cancer Imaging Initiative launched in December 2022 is one of the flagships of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan. The Cancer Image Europe platform that is under the Initiative is supported by the Digital Europe Programme with €18 million. The European Digital Innovation Hubs under the Digital Europe Programme will support the rollout of the technologies that are relevant to this.
The first version of this digital infrastructure, delivered by the European Federation for Cancer Images (EUCAIM) project, features a public catalogue of cancer imaging datasets from the repositories of EU-funded projects related to Artificial Intelligence for Health Imaging, as well as a search tool to understand the information available at the data providers' sites across EU.