AMSTERDAM — June 17, 2024 — On Monday at HLTH Europe, the Trustworthy & Responsible AI Network (TRAIN), a consortium of healthcare industry leaders, announced its expansion into Europe, aiming to help organizations in the region operate responsibly with AI through technology-based guardrails. Organizations that came together to form TRAIN Europe include Erasmus Medical Center (Netherlands), HUS Helsinki University Hospital (Finland), Sahlgrenska University Hospital (Sweden), Skåne University Hospital (Sweden), Universita Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Italy) and University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands), with Microsoft as the technology enabling partner. Foundation 29, a nonprofit organization that aims to empower patients and transform healthcare through data-driven initiatives and innovative technology, is also part of TRAIN Europe. The network is open to other European healthcare organizations that would like to join.
Emerging AI technologies have great potential to revolutionize the healthcare sector in Europe and around the world. By improving patient care outcomes, streamlining processes and reducing costs, AI has the potential to transform the industry. As the technology continues to evolve, robust development and evaluation standards are essential to ensure responsible and effective AI application. TRAIN aims to improve the quality, safety and reliability of AI tools deployed in healthcare, ensuring clinicians and patients can benefit from this innovative technology.
The initial establishment of TRAIN, announced in March 2024, will see major US medical institutions become part of the network. The operational goals of the consortium are to:
Provide technology and tools that enable operationalization of trustworthy and responsible AI principles at scale. Work with other TRAIN members and key stakeholders to ensure that all organizations, including low-resource environments, can benefit from technology-based, responsible AI guardrails. Share best practices related to the use of AI in healthcare settings, including safety, reliability, and oversight of AI algorithms, and the skillsets required to responsibly manage AI. Data and AI algorithms will not be shared among member organizations or with third parties. Work to enable a registry of AI used in clinical care or clinical operations through a secure online portal. Provide tools that enable measurement of outcomes related to the implementation of AI. This includes best practices for studying the effectiveness and value of AI methods in healthcare settings, and leveraging privacy-preserving environments that consider both pre- and post-deployment settings. Tools may also be provided that allow for analysis to be performed on subpopulations to assess bias. Work to develop a federated AI outcomes registry for sharing across organizations. This registry will record real-world outcomes related to the effectiveness, safety, and optimization of AI algorithms.
To find out more about European TRAIN, join us on Tuesday, June 18th, from 12:30-12:40pm CEST, on the Forum Stage (H90) at HLTH Europe, where we will share more information about the network and its objectives.
TRAIN members' comments:
“Transforming healthcare with AI needs to be seen as a global challenge that requires worldwide cooperation across borders. This approach is an important step towards tackling the challenge not just at national level, but across the EU and globally. To truly ensure its adoption at the bedside, we need to work together to ensure that AI benefits everyone. Safeguards built into the technology will help ensure this equity.” — Dr. Michel van Gendren, intensive care physician at Erasmus Medical Center and co-founder of the Erasmus MC Datahub
“As an NGO researching the use of AI in healthcare, Foundation 29 cares deeply about ensuring that the use of AI respects patient privacy and security. High-quality data, often derived from patients, is essential to advancing AI technologies, but ensuring this data is used responsibly is equally important. For us, protecting patient data and fostering a trustworthy environment for the development and deployment of AI in healthcare is of the utmost importance.” — Sarah Harmon, President, Foundation 29
“AI has the potential to transform healthcare, but we must remain vigilant about its ethical implications. With TRAIN, we are joining forces across Europe to share knowledge and tools for the successful and sustainable introduction of trustworthy and responsible AI into healthcare.” — Magnus Kjellberg, Head of the AI Competence Centre at Sahlgrenska University Hospital
“TRAIN is a role model for joint efforts between the technology industry and healthcare. AI represents a strategy that offers hope for the efficacy of healthcare in the future. The upcoming European TRAIN effort will be an opportunity to take a fundamental step towards operationalizing responsible AI solutions by facilitating the generation and validation of algorithms without compromising the integrity of patients.” — Prof. Stefan Jovings, MD, PhD, Head of Research and Education, Skåne University Hospital, Sweden
“TRAIN is focused on responsible AI principles and privacy protection collaboration, reinforcing strategies for the safe and ethical use of AI technologies. This effort builds trust, protects patients' data and ensures that the practices of participating institutions are aligned with European healthcare standards.” — Carlo Tacchetti, Professor and Coordinator of UniSR's AI Strategic Programme and Director of the Experimental Imaging Centre at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute
“AI in healthcare requires collaboration at national and international levels to harness the power of AI to improve patient care and outcomes. We are pleased to be part of this collaboration and contribute to the new era of healthcare that awaits us.” — Ben Collignon, Chief Information Officer, UMC Utrecht
“TRAIN's primary goal is to enable individuals and organizations to operationalize responsible AI principles through technology-based guardrails. TRAIN also enables organizations to collaborate through a federated, privacy-preserving approach. The establishment of TRAIN in Europe will help foster trust and confidence in the application of AI in healthcare and ensure data privacy is maintained.” — David Lu, MD, chief medical officer and vice president of Healthcare, Microsoft
About the Trusted and Responsible AI Network (TRAIN)
The Trusted and Responsible AI Network (TRAIN) is one of the first healthcare AI networks dedicated to operationalizing the principles of responsible AI. Through collaboration, TRAIN members contribute to improving the quality, safety, and reliability of AI in healthcare by sharing best practices, enabling a registry of AI used in clinical care and operations, providing tools to measure outcomes related to AI implementation, and facilitating the development of a federated AI outcomes registry that can be shared across organizations.
For further information, please contact:
Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777,
[email protected]
