That was AI in Health 2025!

For the fourth time, the “Bremen Symposium AI in Health” took place. On November 27, 2025, around 120 participants from academia, medicine, technology, nursing, business, politics, and society gathered at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bremen to discuss the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all areas of healthcare — from prevention and screening to diagnosis, therapy, rehabilitation, and nursing.

Impressions & Networking

© Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Opening Remarks

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Karl Hahn offered insights into how AI is driving key developments in healthcare and unlocking new potential for diagnostics, therapy, and modern care structures. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Antje Wulff presented how routine clinical and research data can be stored and exchanged in an interoperable way, and how data-driven methods and AI technologies can be used to develop clinical decision support systems. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Session "From Prevention to Screening"

Session chairs Prof. Dr. Benjamin Schüz (far left) and Prof. Dr. Marvin Wright (far right) with the presenters. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Krasimira Aleksandrova demonstrated how theoretical models of risk prediction can be applied in practice and highlighted complementary perspectives on AI-supported screening strategies. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Nils Strodthoff analyzed the transformative potential of multimodal AI for prevention and critically discussed key challenges in clinical translation. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Session "From Screening to Diagnosis"

Session chairs Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Karl Hahn (far left) and Prof. Dr. Konrad Stopsack (far right) with the participants. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Dr. Samy Hakroush demonstrated the steps from intraoperative consultation to AI-supported documentation of the results, including written reporting. During his presentation, he connected live with a colleague at Klinikum Bremen-Mitte to walk through a prepared example of an intraoperative consultation.

Dr. rer. nat. Johannes Lotz presented serial section registration, a technique that reduces the workload for medical professionals, accelerates cancer diagnostics, and opens up the third dimension for digital pathology. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

In “Unicorns and Multitask Medical Imaging Foundation Models,” Raphael Schäfer presented a foundation model that was pre-trained to handle multiple tasks in medical imaging simultaneously. As part of a software demo, he demonstrated how the model can even be taught a new task. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Konrad Stopsack demonstrated the capabilities of modern algorithms in replicating human diagnoses and estimating prognosis after initial therapy, as well as how they can be reliably validated for clinical use. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

The panel discussed how hospitals, research, and startups can work together to shape the impact of AI on everyday life in pathology and beyond — from simple speech recognition to fundamentally rethinking diagnostic processes and workflows. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Antje Wulff, Professorin für Big Data in der Medizin an der Fakultät VI - Medizin und Gesundheitswissenschaften der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, bei der Podiumsdiskussion. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Dr. Samy Hakroush, Chefarzt und ärztliche Leitung des Instituts für Pathologie am Klinikum Bremen-Mitte und dem Fachärztezentrum Hanse, bei der Podiumsdiskussion. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Dr. med. Sebastian Casu, Chief Medical Officer / Managing Director Elea.ai GmbH, bei der Podiumsdiskussion.

Session "Therapy"

Session chairs Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andrea Schenk (center) and Prof. Dr. Dirk Weyhe (second from left) with the presenters. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andrea Schenk compared different methods of 3D visualization, including surface rendering with interactive segmentation, surface rendering with automatic segmentation, and tagged volume rendering. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Dirk Weyhe presented the conflict between regulatory requirements and medical benefit: Non-MDR-compliant 3D visualizations must be disregarded, even though in certain cases they may provide indications of a potentially feasible surgical intervention — one that could, under some circumstances, offer the patient additional lifetime. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

In “Recurrent Multi-view 6DoF Pose Estimation for Marker-less Surgical Tool Tracking” Dr.-Ing. Tom Koller presented a surgical navigation system that uses optical cameras instead of infrared ones. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

In “Extended Reality in the Operating Room of the Future,” Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gabriel Zachmann demonstrated how immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality could transform the operating room of the future. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

In his presentation, Prof. Dr. med. Moritz Schmelzle emphasized that current clinical challenges cannot be solved by AI alone — but that AI can provide targeted support, especially where it gives time back to the care team, standardizes workflows, supports complex decision-making, and improves diagnostic quality. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Session "Rehabilitation and Robotics"

Session co-chair Prof. Dr. Sebastian Otte (far right) with the participants. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Otte highlighted that the enormous energy consumption of conventional AI represents a major challenge. Neuromorphic computing offers a promising approach for significantly more efficient and sustainable AI systems that can drastically reduce the energy demands of modern applications and open up new possibilities in medical technology, robotics, and speech recognition. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Dr.-Ing. Dominik Raab presented the specific challenges involved in AI-assisted assessment of walking ability in stroke patients and outlined potential solution approaches. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Kate Bereziy presented how modern exoskeletons capture large volumes of biomechanical and neurophysiological data and, with the help of artificial intelligence, translate them into clinically relevant insights on recovery dynamics, therapy prognosis, and personalized training programs. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Staff members from ExoAtlet presented exoskeletons on-site, provided a hands-on introduction, and demonstrated their practical use — giving the audience a direct impression of their capabilities and potential for rehabilitation. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Session "Nursing"

Session chairs Prof. Dr. Karin Wolf-Ostermann (far left) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Hein (far right) with the presenters. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. Karin Wolf-Ostermann gave a brief overview of the eight ongoing AI nursing projects (KIP projects) funded under the BMBF program line “Making Repositories and AI Systems Usable in Everyday Nursing Practice.” © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Dr. PH Kathrin Seibert presented the AI Nursing Readiness Assessment (KIP-RA) as an evidence-based, practice-oriented tool that helps systematically identify barriers and success factors in AI nursing projects and integrate them into planning, implementation, and evaluation. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Bernadette Hosters' presentation on the KIADEKU project showed how an AI system for digital image analysis of pressure injuries and incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) is being developed to support nursing professionals in assessment and documentation, thereby enabling personalized, evidence-based care interventions. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Katja Schwabe presented the AI-based voice assistant for smartphones developed by researchers in the PYSA project. Offered by voize GmbH, the AI assistant converts spoken input into structured documentation entries, which are then directly transferred into the existing record systems of the respective care facility. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

The panel discussed how the use of AI in nursing can become a standard element of care delivery, what framework conditions are necessary to achieve this, and which barriers need to be overcome. © Jens Lehmkühler / U Bremen Research Alliance

Prof. Dr. -Ing. Andreas Hein bei der Podiumsdiskussion.

Dr. PH Kathrin Seibert bei der Podiumsdiskussion.

i2b meet-up "Biosignals meet Health & Care"

Opening by moderator Roland Kanwicher © Alexander Flögel

Welcome by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tanja Schultz, Professor of Cognitive Systems, University of Bremen © Alexander Flögel

Welcome address by Marita Dewitz, Vice President of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce © Alexander Flögel

Lecture: “Health Data as a Driver of Innovation: Collection, Analysis, and AI-Supported Use Using the Examples of selfBACK and HUNT4” by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Bach, Professor of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim © Alexander Flögel

Panel discussion (from left to right) with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tanja Schultz, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Bach, Prof. Dr. Iris Kirchner-Freis, Dr. phil. Hans-Jürgen Wilhelm, and Prof. Dr. Karin Wolf-Ostermann © Alexander Flögel

Closing outlook by State Councillor Jan Fries, Senator for Environment, Climate, and Science © Alexander Flögel

Organizer

U Bremen Research Alliance

The U Bremen Research Alliance brings together the University of Bremen and twelve research institutes based in the federal state from all four German science organizations as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. The aim of the cooperation is to closely interlink the diverse, excellent research in the fields of research data and artificial intelligence across institutional boundaries.
The research and action field of digital healthcare has become increasingly relevant, accelerated by the recognizable deficits in the corona pandemic. The U Bremen Research Alliance, funded by the state of Bremen, is therefore expanding the field of AI in the healthcare sector by establishing an AI Center for Health Care. This includes nine interorganizational scientific projects on AI and health as well as measures for science communication and transfer.

https://www.bremen-research.de

Cooperation Partners of the Evening Event

idea|2|business GmbH

i2b is the largest innovation, business, and science network in Northwest Germany, with over 26,000 members. Each year, i2b organizes up to 15 free meet-ups on exciting and innovative topics at various locations in Bremen. Participants experience inspiring talks, exchange ideas with experts, and make valuable connections with figures from business, science, culture, and politics. The events offer the opportunity to actively engage in the community and gain new insights for one’s own projects.

i2b.de

Integrated Health Campus Bremen

The Integrated Health Campus Bremen (IGB) has existed since 2021 and was initiated by the Senator for Science and Ports in cooperation with the Senator for Health, Women, and Consumer Protection.
The IGB sees itself as a strategic and creative umbrella for a network of stakeholders from the fields of health research, healthcare industry, healthcare delivery, and health and nursing professions (the “4Gs”).
With its strong networking structure — currently comprising over 40 partners — the IGB aims to make Bremen’s regional potential in these areas visible, to harness synergies, and to drive innovation within the region.

https://gesundheitscampusbremen.de

The AI Center for Health Care is supported by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

Cooperating in U Bremen Research Alliance:

Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence

Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials

Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems and Energy System Technology

Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing

Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research

Leibniz Institute for Material-Oriented Technologies

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology