On March 27, 2025, the official kick-off event with scientific and practical partners of the ISyCARE project took place at the premises of Connext Communication GmbH in Paderborn. The format met with great interest: 50 representatives from healthcare, the healthcare industry and science took the opportunity to find out about transfer strategies for assistance systems and new opportunities for participatory technology development.
ISyCARE is one of 20 funded innovation communities in Germany supported over a period of four years under the DATIpilot funding directive of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The ISyCARE community has now officially launched its work and is focusing on the integration of socio-technical systems into healthcare for people requiring rehabilitation and support. During the kick-off event, the goals, structures, and working methods of ISyCARE were presented.
inIT brings expertise in the field of care data into the community
In addition, participants were given insights into the first research projects. inIT is receiving funding for the CareDataSpaces sub-project and is responsible for transfer tasks in the field of care data. This includes all care-related technologies aimed at improving nursing and rehabilitation services through purely data- and software-based technical solutions. These include digitalization concepts, the integration of app-based solutions, data analysis using machine learning, and digital assistance systems supported by artificial intelligence methods. “Our aim is to tap into the potential of intelligent systems for greater participation and to overcome barriers such as lack of acceptance or insufficient knowledge in order to improve the patient journey through the healthcare system,” says research associate Frauke Wiegräbe from the inIT Discrete Systems working group, headed by Prof. Dr. Volker Lohweg.
Application perspectives using Parkinson’s disease as an example: Digital data spaces for better therapies
Volker Lohweg and Christoph-Alexander Holst from inIT used Parkinson’s disease as an example to illustrate how developing a healthcare platform can improve regional care: “Digital data spaces facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-sector networks. This enables better coordinated Parkinson’s therapies and contributes to improved quality of life for those affected,” said Volker Lohweg.
Positive outlook
At the end of the successful event, Uwe Borchers, Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in the Healthcare Industry (ZIG) OWL and spokesperson for the ISyCARE innovation community, extended an invitation to collaborate on regional development: “Anyone who is interested in actively shaping the healthcare landscape in the region and is curious about innovative assistance technologies is warmly invited to get involved.” The event provided a platform for exchange and discussion between science and practice, for which the ISyCARE team had prepared various participatory formats. The results and approaches developed during the event will now be further pursued and consolidated in the form of concrete development projects.