International Health Ruhr

The digitalisation of the healthcare system is particularly concerned with the intelligent use and management of health-related data. This is also the focus of a dynamic and growing digital health cluster in the Ruhr centred around the Fraunhofer Institutes based here, many market-leading companies in their respective fields and more than 6,000 experts. Through clinical-industrial partnerships, they have successfully utilised the local healthcare landscape as a reference market and a platform to scale their businesses - a path that the current generation of smart health founders is also following. 

The spectrum of outstanding industrial expertise ranges from bioinformatics to eHealth solutions, from health insurance data systems and occupational service providers to the communication of medical imaging data and teleradiology to data management in clinical research. There are significant intersections with the field of cyber security, an area in which the Ruhr also plays a significant role both scientifically and industrially. The use of artificial intelligence is also driving the cluster forward, which benefits from cooperation between the clinics and AI centres in the region. 

Opportunities for international collaboration

Current development priorities in the Ruhr include collaborative data spaces for health research and health planning, digital platforms for the competence-strengthening with a high level of sensitivity for healthcare contexts and living conditions, as well as the regulated use of AI in healthcare processes. These areas offer excellent prospects for new business models in the healthcare sector for external partners.

Focus Area: BioTech Pharma 

Building on its traditions in the raw materials industry and in process engineering, the Ruhr has a strong biochemical industry. This is particularly evident in the research and production of active medical ingredients, which is carried out in the Ruhr by major international chemical and pharmaceutical companies. A large number of renowned research institutions specialising in biotechnology research have established themselves in the eastern Ruhr region. 

A development track has been created here that begins with fundamental scientific research and extends to the industrial use of pharmacological active ingredients. With its Drug Discovery Hub, Dortmund in particular has established itself as an international and outstandingly well-connected biotechnological service centre for the pharmaceutical industry. The Lead Discovery Centre located here is a hub for European and international drug research. The university biochemistry department also plays a key role - not only in research, but also in the training of the next generation of scientists. 

Opportunities for international collaboration

The institutions and companies participating in international research, innovation and production clusters are also linked to medical institutions in the Ruhr region and neighbouring regions. This is particularly pronounced in the field of personalised cancer drugs: The West German Tumour Centre at Essen University Hospital is one of the most renowned institutions in the field of precision oncological medicine. 

Focus Area: Medical Analytics & Therapies 

Biomedical analytics is a key area for health research and medical diagnostics, especially when it comes to predicting future diseases and making precise personalised therapy decisions. The path to medical care generally leads via the identification of so-called biomarkers, i.e. characteristic cellular and molecular biological features. The proteome, i.e. the entirety of a living organism's proteins, is important here. 

The Ruhr has a broad spectrum of research institutes working in the field of bioanalysis, for example in Dortmund, Bochum and Essen. The position of these institutes in proteomics, which has long since gone beyond foundational research, is particularly renowned. One highlight is the cooperation with the region's medical centres, which also helps to build bridges to innovative therapies in precision medicine.  

Opportunities for international collaboration

The high level of expertise in prediction and prevention through bioanalysis, diagnostics and therapy is combined with high-performance bioinformatics and biophysics and is further strengthened by the two university medical centres for artificial intelligence regarding decision support systems. This is also reflected in information and laboratory technology innovations and spin-offs and in partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry. 

The integration of medical and social care in local care networks is becoming increasingly important. This is particularly true in childhood and adolescence, as well as in the case of chronic illnesses and disabilities. Chronic care represents the greatest challenge for the healthcare systems of developed and ageing societies. It is not just about illnesses, but also about specific life circumstances that require a high degree of professional co-operation between prevention, therapy and care. 

Against this backdrop, the healthcare system in the Ruhr and other urban centres is facing a comprehensive transformation that is geared towards urban population structures and living conditions (‘population health’). The World Health Organisation is also promoting the consideration of healthcare-related topics - also in connection with the ambition of ‘Green Health’ - in urban development (‘Health in all Policies’). Disease, target group and sector-specific medical and care networks are anchored throughout the Ruhr. They are based on medical and care management institutions, vocational training and further education as well as clinical and healthcare research. 

Opportunities for international collaboration

These structures also have a particular significance for companies in the healthcare industry: the effectiveness of technical solutions and pharmaceutical therapies depends to a large extent on specific care contexts and living conditions, on professional expertise and on functioning patient management. A reference area and ‘living lab’ for such healthcare supply and value chains is being created in the Ruhr. 

Focus Area: NeuroCareTech

From a medical perspective, the human nervous system is not only relevant for neurology. It also mediates relationships between physical and mental health and between cognition, emotions, sensory and motor functions. Neuronal mechanisms are always medically relevant when it comes to learning processes (training) and human-technology interactions, therapy expectations and therapy management. 

This is the focus of neuroscience - a field covering areas such as neurobiology and neuroinformatics and which is rapidly growing in importance. The Ruhr holds a particularly prominent position in this field both nationally and internationally with several special research areas supported by the German Research Foundation DFG and the Centre for Theoretical and Integrative Neuroscience and Cognitive Science THINK, which is due to open soon. 

At the same time, the region is becoming a hotspot for applied therapeutic and rehabilitation solutions with its neurological clinics and outpatient centres. This ranges from strokes, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and MS to chronic headaches. It includes technology-based procedures from neurovascular intervention to neurostimulation and neurorobotics, to AI-based training and assistance procedures and ambient assisted living. 

Opportunities for international collaboration

The Ruhr is already being used as a reference area by internationally active medical technology companies in the field of neurocare technologies. This field is also a focal point for start-ups here. Here, supply chains are becoming innovation and value chains. Of particular interest here are the rapidly developing interconnections - especially in relation to the digital and creative industries (e.g. in relation to AI, virtual reality and game tech). 

Green health refers to the interaction between the environment and health. This largely revolves around primary prevention and health promotion, but also the role that the health system itself can play in creating a health-promoting environment. 

The integration of environment and health is an important feature of structural change in the Ruhr. The health issues associated with industrial work form the historical background for the prominence of occupational research here - including the national research institute of the statutory accident insurance. After all, occupational medicine is inseparable from environmental medicine (for example allergology, oncology and toxicology) and the world of work is a place for green health. 

There is a strong spatial connection between the topic of health and water management, which plays an extremely important role in the region. This is exemplified by the restoration of the Emscher river system, one of the world's most important renaturalisation projects. With regard to water in particular, the ‘One Health Ruhr’ research network focuses on the systemic connections between the environment, illness and health from a perspective that goes beyond the borders of the region.

In addition, the health challenges posed by climate change are playing an increasingly important role in the development of neighbourhoods and residential areas (for example in relation to heat management). In this regard, hospitals and care centres are also under pressure when it comes to restructuring their facilities in terms of resource conservation and health promotion.

Opportunities for international collaboration 

The value chains of regional health engineering offer companies in the fields of water management and environmental technology, architecture and construction, facility management, building technology and logistics, as well as urban planning and urban development, interesting prospects for health-related innovations and diversification.