The action will provide enabling support for cancer imaging data providers, to contribute to and benefit from the European Cancer Imaging Initiative.

The action will improve readiness of national, regional or local imaging data repositories to connect and make available their data via the Cancer Image Europe infrastructure established under the DIGITAL programme (EUCAIM project^[1]) and to use this infrastructure for data enrichment and insights by accessing the nodes, tools and methodologies offered by EUCAIM.

This action is relevant for the proposed European Health Data Space. In order to contribute to the planned EHDS, this action will seek alignment with the relevant EHDS infrastructures (MyHealth@EU and HealthData@EU). Where applicable, it will link cancer imaging databases with the relevant bodies and infrastructures in the proposed EHDS, particularly health data access bodies and HealthData@EU.

This action will also explore ways to leverage on the EHDS interoperability specifications for the European Electronic Health Record exchange Format, including relevant eHealth Network guidelines, as well as minimum specifications for datasets to be used for research and innovation.

This action will support the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan objective to ensure high standards in cancer care and implements the EU4Health Programme’s general objective of improving and fostering health in the Union to reduce the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (Article 3, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/522) through the specific objectives defined in Article 4, points (a) and (g), of Regulation (EU) 2021/522.

This action will also support the implementation of the proposed EHDS Regulation and implement the EU4Health Programme’s general objective of strengthening health systems (Article 3, point (d) of Regulation (EU) 2021/522) through the specific objective defined in Article 4, point (f), of Regulation (EU) 2021/522.

Scope:

This action contributes to the implementation of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

Expected Impact:

The action will support hospitals and other imaging repositories, for example those involved in conducting cancer screening, in creating enabling conditions for becoming a node in the European federated infrastructure of cancer imaging data. Short-term improvements include strengthening the collaboration between national and regional screening programmes for breast, lung and prostate cancers, with the European Cancer Imaging Infrastructure in particular regarding the management of the screening data and opportunistic screening (as opposed to organised, population-based screening programmes) and with the relevant infrastructures of the proposed European Health Data Space, such as HealthData@EU. The project beneficiaries are expected to represent a wide range of relevant stakeholders such as researchers, NGOs, experts, Member States institutions and industry.

In the mid-term, this action is expected to increase the geographical reach of the European Cancer Imaging Initiative. It will also contribute to the alignment of the European Cancer Imaging Infrastructure with the proposed EHDS infrastructures and processes.

Close collaboration of projects participants is expected with the European Cancer Imaging Initiative, in particular the EUCAIM project, and with relevant stakeholders involved in the implementation of the proposed EHDS regulatory framework, such as the TEHDAS 2 Joint Action, QUANTUM and the HealthData@EU pilot project^[2]. Links should be established with EU4Health actions on screening, Comprehensive Cancer Centres in Member States and other relevant actions under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and Cancer Mission, as well as with other relevant actions concerning the proposed EHDS. The action shall contribute to other relevant actions under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the Cancer Mission.

[1]https://cancerimage.eu/

[2]https://ehds2pilot.eu/results/