Smart specialisation: Health

Demand for healthcare and medical services is growing worldwide. This development will continue to be reinforced in the future by demographic change and people's increasing life expectancy. Strong growth is expected above all in the area of digital healthcare products. This includes, above all, the application of artificial intelligence in the health sector, as well as the development of various health, diagnosis and monitoring apps. Therefore, health as one of the lead markets of the Metropole Ruhr is also a target area of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3).

In the Metropole Ruhr, the health sector is already the most important lead market in terms of employment. Sales are growing dynamically. The polycentric structure of the region has given rise to various specialized centers that are well networked with one another. The basis is provided by three university medical faculties and hospitals: Bochum, Duisburg-Essen and the Witten-Herdecke Dental Clinic. In their immediate vicinity are many micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises and young companies. Together, they provide a good basis for important innovations in the industry, because this is where research expertise and entrepreneurial spirit come together.

The Metropole Ruhr also scores particularly well in the area of digital and intelligent healthcare. Bochum, for example, has an important regional competence center in the form of the Health Campus. Numerous highly innovative start-ups are emerging in the vicinity of the Ruhr University Bochum and the private University of Applied Sciences for Health. The Ruhr University also participates as a key player in the platform "Digital Health Care Startup Ökosystem NRW", an initiative funded by the state to bundle innovative activities of smart health care start-ups in NRW.

Also significant in this area is, for example, the Essen University Hospital. It founded the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (IKIM). Responsible for the SmartHospital.NRW project of the state government, it is also developing solutions with partners from research and practice to better treat patients with the help of artificial intelligence.

The Fraunhofer ISST in Dortmund is another competence center for smart health. In its Smart Health Lab, research is conducted on data-driven healthcare, among other things. Together with regional hospitals and the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, Fraunhofer ISST is also responsible for the Smart Care project.

However, there is development potential for the healthcare industry and in particular in the area of smart health not only in Bochum, Essen and Dortmund, but in the entire region. In order to develop these further, cooperation between various players is being strengthened above all. Collaboration between companies, science and healthcare forms an important element in supporting the already growing scene of innovative SMEs and start-ups. Connecting players in the healthcare industry with companies in the IT sector can help to further develop potential in the field of smart health as a rapidly growing future market.

Image credit: Rupert Oberhäuser