Bildnachweis: Pexels, Annette Koroll FOTOS, CAIMed, Sunriseforever – pixabay.
AI only transforms medicine once innovations reach the point of care. The Hannover region offers strong foundations for this: research, clinical care, business, and politics work closely together here. Networks such as the Health Innovation Hannover Region (HIHR) and partners such as CAIMed help integrate innovative procedures into patient care at an early stage and shape the path from development through testing to everyday clinical practice.
VC Magazin: What makes Hannover stand out as a hub for medical AI?
Wilms: Hannover brings together cutting edge medical research, AI expertise, and clinical practice within a compact area. MHH, Leibniz University, L3S, PLRI, Hannover Unified Bi- obank, and CAIMed combine medicine, computer science, and data science. The HIHR complements this network with a transfer platform that specifically brings together research, healthcare, industry, payers, and policymakers.
VC Magazin: In which areas is AI already delivering concrete medical benefits?
Winter: Medical AI is particularly beneficial in situations where large amounts of data must be analysed under high clinical decision making pressure. In imaging, it supports more precise diagnoses; in drug development and prognosis, it enables new therapeutic approaches. Looking ahead, causal AI will expand beyond mere pattern recognition to include robust cause and effect relationships.
VC Magazin: In your opinion, what conditions are necessary for the responsible use of AI?
Winter: Transparent models, robust clinical evidence, data protection, and secure data infrastructures are required. Methods such as federated learning enable crosssite training without transferring sensitive patient data. Transparent recommendations, clear responsibilities, and continuous validation in everyday clinical practice remain crucial.
VC Magazin: Where do you see the biggest hurdles in transferring these technologies into clinical practice?
Wilms: The biggest hurdle lies less in AI development than in its integration into everyday clinical practice. Solutions must integrate into existing workflows, demonstrate medical benefit, and be financially viable. Added to this are data protection, regulation, interoperable data, and external validation. Early collaboration among all stakeholders is therefore crucial.
VC Magazin: CAIMed – Lower Saxony’s Center for AI and Causal Methods in Medicine – is launching with 13 early-career research groups. What potential is particularly evident here?
Winter: The 13 CAIMed early-career research groups combine methodological AI research with clinical needs and address, among other things, infectious diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. One example is the early detection of sepsis in paediatric intensive care: An AI model analyses numerous vital signs and text data and can flag critical developments six to twelve hours earlier.
VC Magazin: How can the HIHR support the transition from research to practice?
Wilms: The Health Innovation Hannover Region is the open innovation platform for sustainable healthcare. Initiated and coordinated by hannoverimpuls, it connects people, ideas, and resources from academia, business, healthcare, research, and payers. The focus is on the community a vibrant space in which stakeholders from various fields come together. Here, connections are made, companies are advised and supported, and innovations are tested in real world settings. The platform is supported by dedicated partners who contribute their expertise and networks, and is complemented by supporters who provide targeted impetus with specialised know-how. This fosters a strong ecosystem that sustainably strengthens Hannover as a healthcare hub – rooted in the region, visible nationally, and relevant internationally.
VC Magazin: Thank you very much!
About the interview partners:
Kristina Wilms is founder of a digital health start-up, consultant for digital innovation in healthcare, and Head of the Health Innovation Hannover Region (HIHR) at hannoverimpuls GmbH. She combines entrepreneurial experience with strategic innovation consulting and is committed to developing future-proof, accessible solutions at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and society.
Dr Johannes Winter is the managing director of the Lower Saxony Center for AI in Medicine (CAIMed) and chief strategy officer at the L3S Research Center. His focus is on the strategic development of AI innovation projects. Previously, he headed the technology division of the German Academy of Science and Engineering and served as the founding managing director of the AI platform ‘Lernende Systeme’.
