The Center of Excellence in Digital Health – ICI Bucharest (CCSD-ICI) is dedicated to supporting and promoting digital health and its pivotal role in transforming healthcare from reactive to proactive, with a focus on enhancing efficiency and access to patient-centered personalized medical services. The vision of CCSD-ICI, ”connected healthcare”, is based on the necessity for the healthcare system to benefit from progress grounded in research and innovation in the highly dynamic field of digital technologies and medical data.

The Center of Excellence in Digital Health – ICI Bucharest (CCSD-ICI) was established in October 2023. Constantly considering current programs, strategies, and trends at both national and international levels in the fields of healthcare and digital technologies, CCSD-ICI aims to actively engage and support the digitalization of the healthcare system in Romania. This involves the implementation of new, innovative healthcare models and solutions aimed at reducing inefficiencies in medical services and costs, while simultaneously enhancing the quality of medical care, the health status of citizens, and progress in medicine.

The main objectives of CCSD-ICI are as follows: the development of research and innovative solutions to support the exploitation of the digital transformation required for the restructuring of the national healthcare system; the development of research, development, and innovation (RDI) capabilities in the field of digital health; creating a framework to facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices, establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors, both for RDI at the national level and on a European and international scale; identifying the requirements for creating integrated, personalized, preventive, and proactive healthcare services tailored to national, cross-border, and European Union-specific characteristics; optimizing the use of medical data with the help of current and emerging digital technologies and their integration into the European Health Data Space.

Main Activities:

• stimulating research and innovation in the field of digital health;
• developing digital solutions to support integrated patient care, an increase in the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of medical services;
• harnessing the potential generated by health data through innovative collaborations and partnerships with academic, clinical, and industrial entities in Romania and similar organizations internationally;
• providing consulting and expertise in the development of digital solutions for patient-centered preventive healthcare services.

Areas of Expertise:

• designing and developing connected medical services: innovative models of healthcare delivery based on cutting-edge digital technologies (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Deep Learning, Internet of Medical Things, Big Data, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Digital Twins, cloud computing) in which devices, services, and functionalities are tailored to the specific needs of patients;
• developing data science-based solutions that provide healthcare specialists with decision support and the ability to transform medical data into useful information and knowledge for the implementation of predictive models, diagnostics, monitoring, and personalized therapeutic protocols;
• remote monitoring through intelligent environments and devices of individuals with various morbidities or disabilities;
• supporting digital health literacy through e-learning solutions and training;
• developing digital solutions to increase citizens' awareness of their own health and their level of responsibility and involvement in its long-term management;
• conducting studies and analyses that focus on the RDI ecosystem in home care with the aim of formulating proposals to improve policy instruments, national strategies, or programs, as well as for the exchange of experience and best practices from other European countries;

CCSD-ICI is based on researchers and specialits from ICI Bucharest with a solid and extensive expertise in digital health and related fields, enabling the creation of a suitable environment for interdisciplinary, collaborative research that aligns with excellence in research and innovation.

CCSD-ICI aims to serve as an RDI hub that facilitates and promotes (inter)national partnerships and collaborations capable of translating innovative ideas into real solutions. It addresses the need to bridge the gap between planning, research, and effective implementation of innovative solutions in the field of digital healthcare and plays an essential role in promoting the transfer of digital technology between science, industry, and society.