About KIMed – Project, Objectives and Context
KIMed – the Network for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine – brings together data-providing institutions, methodological and technical partners, and users from the medical field. It aims to create a high-performance and secure research environment and to promote AI innovations in a targeted manner.
A key objective is the design of a protected infrastructure for processing medical data in Saxony, enabling the use of large, interconnected datasets under strict data protection requirements. This will create the conditions for modern AI applications to be developed securely and, in the future, deployed in both research and healthcare.
Strategic Perspective
KIMed aims to establish a regionally anchored and internationally connected innovation ecosystem for AI in medicine.
To achieve this, the network focuses on the following priorities:
- Connecting research, medicine, industry, regulation and policymaking as a strategic interface
- Initiating sustainable collaborations between stakeholders
- Promoting joint third-party funding activities
- Supporting the development of scalable data and AI infrastructures
- Developing shared and trustworthy governance models
- Ensuring the highest standards of quality, security, interoperability and ethical responsibility
- Accelerating the translation of AI innovations into healthcare
- Strengthening regional capacity building, particularly in Saxony
- Increasing the international visibility of the region in the field of AI in medicine
Context and Challenges
KIMed is currently in the development phase of a regional network for Artificial Intelligence in medicine. The project is positioned within a dynamic environment in which AI developments in medicine face numerous discipline-specific challenges:
Data Heterogeneity
Medical data are distributed across hospitals, research institutions and other organisations and exist in different formats and levels of quality.
Data Protection and Security
Access to sensitive patient data is highly regulated and requires specific measures to ensure compliance with data protection requirements.
Translation into Healthcare
The transfer of AI innovations from research into clinical practice is complex and requires close collaboration between science, medicine, industry and policymakers.
At state level, KIMed is therefore currently in an early phase in which the network is establishing structures, initiating collaborations and facilitating exchange between stakeholders. In the future, it is intended to complement comparable initiatives in other German federal states while increasing the visibility of Saxony both nationally and internationally.
Project Structure
The KIMed project is divided into several focus areas that collectively support the achievement of its strategic objectives. These include the establishment of a sustainable network, the design of a protected research environment for medical data, the creation of a central KIMed Portal for data discovery and networking, and the implementation of demonstrator use cases and practice-oriented training opportunities.
These focus areas complement one another: the network connects stakeholders from research, medicine, industry and policymaking, thereby promoting exchange and collaboration. Concepts such as a protected data infrastructure or a central KIMed Portal are intended, in the future, to facilitate access to medical data and create initial opportunities for the joint development and application of AI. In addition, demonstrators and training opportunities are being developed to support knowledge transfer between partners.
Detailed information on the individual focus areas can be found here.
Long-Term Perspective
KIMed aims to establish a sustainable network that continues beyond the duration of the project. The project is funded from April 2025 to December 2027 with €3.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and from tax revenues allocated through the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament.
