Q1: What is Dataspace4Health?

Dataspace4Health is a groundbreaking open ecosystem designed to revolutionize secure and compliant health data exchange in Luxembourg and beyond. This innovative initiative aims to transform healthcare by leveraging the power of data while fully adhering to EU regulations and Gaia-X standards. It aligns perfectly to the national and European digital strategies. This collaborative project is led by a consortium of domain and industry leaders and is co-financed by the Ministry of Economy of Luxembourg as part of Luxembourg’s national Gaia-X strategy. 

Q2: What are the benefits of Dataspace4Health?

The Dataspace4Health project will bring numerous advances to Luxembourg's healthcare landscape. One of the key benefits is enhanced patient care, which includes improved diagnoses and treatments, better understanding of diseases, and effective preventive measures. Additionally, the platform will foster research and innovation by providing secure access to health data, enabling research that will ultimately lead to improved healthcare outcomes. Furthermore, the platform will help build a connected ecosystem by establishing a secure and efficient layer for data sharing across institutions, fostering collaboration and advancements. 

Q3: What motivated the creation of the Dataspace4Health project?

The project is motivated by the need for a new approach to health data sharing that respects the GDPR and the patients' rights. Currently, health data is often siloed, fragmented, and underutilized, which limits the potential for innovation and research. The project will explore how to use Gaia-X as a European framework for data spaces that ensures data protection, security, and interoperability. It will also demonstrate the benefits of data-driven innovation and AI for healthcare and research, such as improving diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases, enhancing patient outcomes and quality of life, and advancing scientific knowledge and discovery. 

Q4: What are the key highlights of the Dataspace4Health project?

The Dataspace4Health project has several key highlights. Firstly, it is a Gaia-X Lighthouse candidate in healthcare for Europe, setting the standard for secure and compliant health data exchange across the continent. Secondly, the platform is a collaborative effort led by a consortium of domain and industry leaders and open to onboard additional members. Thirdly, it will be exploring and unlocking new medical treatments through data and AI. Lastly, the built ecosystem is use-case driven and has been validated through initial use cases in diabetes and oncology, paving the way for future applications in other healthcare sectors. 

Q5: What is the diabetes use case for Dataspace4Health?

Diabetes affects over half a billion people globally, and this number is projected to increase to 783 million by 2045. Diabetes is not a uniform disease, causing different complications that need individualized care. AI is seen as a potential technology to prevent them. A decision support system based on AI that can prevent diabetes complications might be a key step in the treatment of Diabetes. In one use case, that reliable decision support system uses thousands of anonymized patient records linked to a Digital Twin of patients from LIH to provide personalized treatment. 

Q6: What is the oncology use case for Dataspace4Health?

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in many countries, after cardiovascular diseases. Every year, cancer affects tens of millions of people worldwide, and more than half of them die from it. While hospitals are in charge of diagnosis and therapy, researchers bring novel solutions, treatments, and insights on disease mechanisms to the oncology field. The primary goal of this use-case is to implement a precision oncology program and a federated data architecture that enables better data interoperability and exchange between healthcare providers and research institutions. 

Q7: How does Dataspace4Health address health data sharing in Luxembourg?

Dataspace4Health not only focuses on two of the most important medical use cases in healthcare, it also pays attention to the legal foundation and uses European Regulation to address health data sharing in Luxembourg. 

Q8: What is the vision behind the Dataspace4Health initiative?

Olivier Posty, Managing Director at NTT Ltd Luxembourg, expresses the vision behind this initiative, "Dataspace4Health represents a significant stride in our mission towards digital transformation in healthcare. Our aim is to build a healthcare ecosystem that is more connected, secure, and efficient. With this open platform, we're not only leveraging our global technological expertise but also integrating our deep understanding of local needs." 

Q9: What is the significance of the Dataspace4Health collaboration?

Dr. Marc Berna, CEO of Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, emphasized the significance of the collaboration: "The Dataspace4Health project represents a pivotal moment for healthcare in Luxembourg. We see this initiative as a crucial step towards realizing our vision of a digitally transformed healthcare system."

Q10: How does Dataspace4Health drive research and innovation? 

Prof. Yves Le Traon, Director of University of Luxembourg SNT comments on the research opportunities, "Our role is to drive the AI component of this project, developing new algorithms for medical research, thus opening new frontiers in healthcare innovation." 

Q11: How does Dataspace4Health transform healthcare data utilization?

Bert Verdonck, CEO at LNDS explains the transformative nature of the project, "Dataspace4Health allows us to bring the data space concepts to Luxembourg and to pioneer its application in the health domain, to advance the capabilities of clinicians and to the benefit of their patients.” 

Q12: What is the role of Agence eSanté in the Dataspace4Health project?

Ian Tewes, General Director at Agence eSanté adds, “The Dataspace4Health project reinforces the role of Agence eSanté as technological third party in the healthcare sector. At the Agence, we are deeply involved in facilitating this collaboration.”