In a context where technology and innovation are rapidly transforming the way we conceive and deliver health and care services, the Galician Health Cluster has assumed a central role at the forefront of this revolution. The CSG has decided to continue in 2024 with a new European project: the Twinning DHU (Digital Health Uptake). This project not only marks a milestone in international collaboration, but also represents a firm commitment to continuous improvement and homogenization of digital solutions in the field of health and care.

The Twinning DHU project stands as a beacon of progress in this field. It is a mechanism to facilitate the transfer and implementation of innovative digital practices from one region to another. Therefore, its primary objective is to establish a solid foundation for the standardization and constant improvement of digital health and care solutions through Living Labs (LL’s) in the participating regions. These LL’s are not mere spaces for technological exchange, but rather become authentic incubators for co-creation, testing, prototyping and data management. It is in this place of ideas where cutting-edge digital solutions that are redefining the global health and social care landscape are born and perfected.

In this project we find the idea that digital transformation in health and care is not an isolated process, but rather a complete ecosystem that involves regulators, service providers, researchers and, most importantly, the patient and end-users themselves. Living Labs immerse themselves in the different healthcare ecosystems, intimately connecting the real needs of users with the technological solutions available. This user-centered approach ensures that innovations are not only technologically advanced, but also truly relevant and effective in clinical practice.

Participants in the Twinning

During this new adventure towards digital transformation, the CSG joins its collaborators ThessAHALL, leader of the twinning, and the Son Espases University Hospital, a BIOIB partner, being the latest also a member of the #ClustersSaludEspaña alliance. Throughout this time, ThessAHALL will strive to support and improve the capacity of the ITGALL services, the Galician Health Cluster, and the Son Espases University Hospital in order to promote Living Lab initiatives for the adoption and expansion of innovations.

To achieve this, three online meetings and other face-to-face meetings have been organized mainly to share common points. CSG proposed the creation of a Living Labs agora as part of the VIII edition of the Forum RIES 2023, led and organized by them. This annual event, recognized for its focus on innovative health and care solutions and their impact on people’s well-being, has become a key meeting and discussion space in the sector. In this way, and with the aim of strengthening this collaboration, the “Ágora Living Labs in care. How to homogenize at a European level the validation of digital solutions in care through Living Labs” was developed and where it was possible to talk and interact about crucial topics such as: European standardization, financing, ethics, co-creation with citizens, the role of LL’s, etc., and much more, generating synergies with various entities in the sector.

On the other hand, the partners of this project (ThessAHAL, ITGALL and the Son Espases University Hospital) also participated in the Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium in Brussels. Organized by the VITALISE project and the European Living Labs Network, the harmonization of Living Labs services and procedures as Health and Wellness Research Infrastructures was highlighted. ThessAHALL presented in this framework the interests of the adopting members with the continuation of this project. Additionally, best practices in using Living Labs for health and wellbeing research were discussed, with one-on-one meetings between the twinning lead members and adopters to create detailed adoption plans.

Together, they commit to strengthening existing capabilities, fostering collaboration, and opening the doors to new initiatives that drive the adoption and expansion of these technologies in the health field. This joint effort not only promises a more efficient and connected future in healthcare, but also represents an inspiring example of how international collaboration can lead to transformative results and tangible benefits for society as a whole.

Next steps

The Galician Health Cluster will continue its commitment to the Twinning DHU project taking advantage of the strengths of its care ecosystem, identified since 2018. During this time, the CSG has implemented several strategic lines of action to create sustainable value-added services. The identified testing and piloting capabilities, together with a community that offered the perfect context to develop turnkey projects, have been brought together under the ITGALL umbrella. Thanks to the IN-4-AHA project, a co-creation, testing and reporting protocol was established and validated, along with the development of well-being indicators. The latter have proven to be a good start for a business model that guarantees the sustainability of ITGALL. However, with this twinning it is hoped to gain a broader understanding of the interconnection of Living Labs and the ability to collaborate and validate technologies more effectively. This initiative will further strengthen the CSG’s commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in the field of digital health.

In addition, two upcoming key events for innovation and collaboration in this sector are highlighted: the Innovation Day HLL Son Espases 2024, which will bring together various actors to explore solutions in healthcare, and the V International Conference on Medical Education Informatics in Greece, organized by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Nottingham, which will provide a platform to address crucial topics such as health innovation, the integration of emerging technologies and the impact of university education on the digital transformation of health, promoting thus the exchange of knowledge and the generation of ideas at a global level.

Both events will be meeting points to share knowledge, practices and see future advances. However, at the CSG we will continue working and reporting on the Twinning Digital Health Uptake (DHU) project through our communication channels. Do you want to have more information? Contact the ITGALL Coordination Assistant, Nieves Freire Barea, through her email itgall@clustersaude.com.

* Digital Health Uptake has received funding from the European Union’s Digital Europe programme under grant agreement No.101083929

La entrada The Galician Health Cluster (CSG) participates in the Twinning Digital Health Uptake (DHU) project in 2024 se publicó primero en Cluster Saúde de Galicia, CSG.

OLLD are sessions that seek to immerse yourself in the local ecosystem and discover how the Living Lab methodology is applied and seen in Barcelona.

The ITGALL team will try to collect all the knowledge to be able to apply it later in each of the projects to be developed.

ENoLL is the leading international, independent and non-profit association Living Labs. Its main objective is to promote the concept of Living Labs to influence EU policies, improve Living Labs and enable their implementation at a global level.

We thank the Axencia Galega de Coñecemento en Saúde, a member of the #CSG_Community, for the opportunity to represent them at this event and each of the partners we meet! We keep moving forward!

La entrada The ITGALL team in ENoLL’s Open Living Lab Days se publicó primero en Cluster Saúde de Galicia, CSG.

The project EDIH focuses on implementing disruptive technologies in validation and demonstration phases with great potential to increase the competitiveness of Galician companies and public administration, but little widespread at present. It is, therefore, necessary to support companies – especially SMEs – to facilitate their knowledge and adoption. The services will be collected in a catalogue and free for SMEs. These will include advice for implementing new technologies and proofs of the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI), High-Performance Computing (HPC), or Internet of Things (IoT). The project also continuously maps commercially available digital solutions and providers to complement the technology offers.

DIH DATAlife is a non-profit association founded in December 2019 that was born with the vision of turning Galicia into a reference Bioregion in Europe through the connection, coordination, and creation of synergies between the agents of the innovation ecosystem and the productive sectors of the region. After almost three years of work, the European Commission selected DIH DATAlife as a European digital innovation hub, granting it a seal of excellence and financing its project “EDIH DATAlife project” of almost 5,5 million euros, in which a large part of its associates accompanies the association.

The EDIH-DATAlife project is formed by a consortium of 15 members of the Galician innovation ecosystem. It has research, scientific and technological centres (5 partners), sectoral clusters (5 partners), a knowledge transfer centre, two universities and a driving company. They represent all agents of demand, supply, and technology transfer.

• DIH DATAlife
• ANFACO-CECOPESCA
• Bioga
• CESGA
• CETIM
• Cluster de la Acuicultura
• Cluster da Madeira e o Deseño de Galicia
• Cluster Saúde de Galicia
• Clúster TIC Galicia
• EnergyLab
• FEUGA
• Gradiant
• Televes
• University of Santiago de Compostela
• University of Vigo

During the next three years, the mission of DIH DATAlife and its project partners will be to facilitate the adoption of these new technologies through a catalogue of services and capabilities for SMEs, large companies, and the public sector in Galicia. The service catalogue of the EDIH-DATAlife project is based on the capabilities and facilities of its members, designed to support the entire innovation process: from the detection of needs, the idea or proof of concept to the definition of the business model, pilot tests and support in the search for the financing of the commercial process.

In addition, the creation of federated data spaces and their collaborative exploitation will be encouraged. And through different activities, the project will collect the training demands to improve digital skills and the use of disruptive technologies. All this in sectors of the value chains covered by DIH DATAlife: agro-seafood, forestry-wood, biotechnology, and health care.

In short, DIH DATAlife and its partners will become a one-stop shop for services, providing companies with access to advanced digital solutions through modern infrastructures for technology experimentation and validation.

La entrada ITGALL, CSG Living Lab, is part of the new project EDIH and will share the know-how and tools resulting from the IN4AHA project. se publicó primero en Cluster Saúde de Galicia, CSG.