Research Strategy 2025-2027

Odense University Hospital (OUH) and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) jointly operate three research centres situated within the Department of Clinical Development at OUH:

• CIMT – Centre for Innovative Medical Technology, established in 2014 in collaboration between the Department of Clinical Research, SDU, and OUH.
• CAI-X – Centre for Clinical Artificial Intelligence, established in 2021 in collaboration between the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, the Department of Clinical Research, SDU, and OUH.
• CCR – Centre for Clinical Robotics, established in 2021 in collaboration between the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, SDU and OUH.

Together, these three joint centres between the hospital and the university comprise more than 25 professors and associate professors, as well as over 30 affiliated PhD students at SDU. The centres publish more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications annually, and thereby forming Denmark's largest research centre for digital health technologies, including AI and clinical robots.

The purpose of the three units is to drive and support the research-driven development, evaluation, and implementation of innovative medical technologies, AI and clinical robotics at OUH and other hospitals in Denmark and abroad.

The foundation for the research activities in the three centres is outlined in OUH's Innovation Strategy 2024-2027, "From Clinical Need to Implemented Solution." The strategy focuses on the following key areas:

1. Needs: Innovation at OUH must always be driven by clinical needs to ensure relevance and value for patients, relatives, and the organisation.
2. Solutions: Innovation at OUH must focus on solutions that create the greatest value for both patients and the organisation.
3. Implementation: Innovation at OUH must ensure that innovative solutions are implemented into operations, as solutions only generate value when used by patients, relatives, and staff.
4. Culture: Greater competencies in innovation and stronger anchoring of innovation efforts within leadership.
5. Competences: Innovation is a discipline that requires competences and training.
6. Leadership: Leaders have a central role in driving and supporting innovation.

Thus, our research activities in CIMT, CAI-X and CCR are highly focused on the patients’ need and the value for patients as described in the OUH Patient Pyramid and our goal to have “Patients First”. We also focus on research in all elements of the innovation process as illustrated below in order to support that new technologies are designed to reflect the patients’ need, are assessed and demonstrate value and are implemented in practice and change the hospital routine and our healthcare services for patients, relatives and society.

In addition, the research in the three centres in 2025-2027 will also reflect two significant new initiatives that will play a major role in the national development of healthcare and medical technology in the coming years: MedTech Odense and the Healthcare Reform 2024.

MedTech Odense

MedTech Odense was initiated in the fall of 2024 and is a strategic partnership between the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), the Region of Southern Denmark, represented by OUH, and Odense Municipality with the aim to ensure that new, proven health technology solutions can be quickly implemented and scaled widely across the healthcare system, which will both improve patient care and free up healthcare professionals for the most important tasks.

Healthcare Reform 2024

In November 2024, the new healthcare reform was agreed between the Government and other Danish parties. The reform will change the organisation and the tasks for the healthcare system in order to address the demographic challenges and the growing inequality in access to healthcare. The reform focus on increased use of digital health technologies, the primary care sector and use of healthcare services in patients’ home.

The described research strategy has been developed by the Research Committee for CIMT, CAI-X, and CCR. It is intended to serve as a guiding framework for research in the coming years, as well as a practical tool to ensure that our research activities remain focused and support the strategic goals of OUH and SDU.
The target audience for the strategy includes researchers affiliated with the three centres, researchers at OUH and SDU as a whole, and among our current and future collaborators and funding bodies.

On behalf of the Research Committee for CIMT, CAI-X and CCR:

Professor Kristian Kidholm (Head of Research, CIMT)
Associated Professor Benjamin (Head of Clinical Research, CAI-X)
Professor Kasper Hallenborg (Head of Technical Research, CAI-X)
Professor Thiusius R. Savarimuthu (Head of Research, CCR)
Rikke Lyngholm Christensen (Programme Manager, CIMT)
Peter Børker Nielsen (Programme Manager, CAI-X)
Søren Udby (Programme Manager, CCR)
Professor Jane Clemensen
Associated Professor Marianne Harbo Frederiksen
Professor Malene Grubbe Hildebrandt
Professor Christoph Patrick Beier
Professor Anne Gerdes
Associated Professor Mette Juel Rothmann
Associated Professor Thomas Schmidt
Associated Professor Knud Bonnet Yderstræde
PhD student Maja Kjær Rasmussen
Thomas Kristensen (Head of Innovation, OUH)

The Research Committee for CIMT, CAI-X, and CCR has, on the basis of OUH's Innovation Strategy 2024-2027, the MedTech Odense initiative and the Healthcare Reform 2024, identified the following focus areas for research in 2025-2027:

2.1 Technical Research

2.2 Research in Clinical Robotics

2.3 Research in AI in Healthcare

2.4 Healthcare Professionals and Digital Health Technologies

2.5 Integrated Care and Hospital at Home

2.6 Research methods for faster implementation

2.1 Technical Research

Medical robotics is an emerging technology with unique challenges and opportunities. Much of the existing technology has been adapted from industrial applications, leading to limitations in both hardware and software that can impede safe and effective patient interaction. The industrial origins of these technologies often introduce critical safety and security challenges that require extensive adaptation for the medical domain.

Our strategic focus is to address these challenges by developing purpose-built hardware and software stacks specifically designed for medical applications. This customised approach will emphasise the unique needs of healthcare environments, enabling seamless, safe interactions between robots, patients, and healthcare professionals. Through this focus on bespoke solutions, we aim to advance medical robotics to new levels of reliability, security, and usability in clinical settings.

To ensure the successful integration of medical robotics into clinical environments, our approach prioritises human-centred design principles and strict adherence to regulatory standards. Unlike industrial robots, which operate in structured and predictable settings, medical robots must function safely in dynamic and often unpredictable healthcare environments. This requires designing systems that are not only technically robust but also intuitive, ergonomic, and seamlessly integrated into existing workflows.

Prioritised Research Questions:

• How do we make robots that interact directly with the human anatomy?
• What are the control strategies to support the same hardware to be compliant and stiff at the same time?
• How do we create multisensory fusion for the medical domain?

2.2 Research in Clinical Robotics

Current clinical robotics are typically designed as single-purpose solutions, addressing specific problems within clinical workflows. These systems are often implemented without allowing sufficient time for staff to adapt to the new technology, and their high cost can make them challenging to justify for individual departments or isolated use cases.

Our research aims to explore the development of adaptable, versatile robotic solutions that can address multiple use cases within clinical settings. By designing systems that are robust and easy to operate across different applications, we seek to maximise both the functionality and cost-efficiency of clinical robotics. This approach will enable healthcare staff to seamlessly transition robots between tasks, improving usability and enhancing the overall value of robotic systems within healthcare.

Furthermore, our research explores the integration of shared autonomy, where robots collaborate with medical staff rather than operating in isolation. Through real-time sensor fusion and multimodal interfaces, including voice commands, haptic feedback, and gesture recognition, these systems will provide more natural and responsive interactions. Ultimately, by developing robotics that are scalable, adaptable, and interoperable across various healthcare applications, we aim to bridge the gap between robotic potential and real-world clinical utility.

Prioritised Research Questions:

• How can we create an evaluation model or Health Technology Assessment (HTA) model for robotic applications in the medical domain?
• What is needed to convert single-use robotic solutions to multifunctional solutions?
• What are the impacts on patients and personnel interacting with robotic solutions?

2.3 Research in AI in Healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing in healthcare, offering the potential to improve patient outcomes, enhance clinical decision-making, and optimise healthcare operations. The overall focus of our strategy is to support interdisciplinary collaboration around the development and implementation of AI. This includes promoting AI solutions that not only align with clinical needs but also originate from them.

Our primary aim is to explore how AI can be effectively developed and integrated into healthcare while proactively addressing ethical and practical challenges. A key focus is on providing transparent insights that enable healthcare professionals to make informed decisions while maintaining control and accountability.
Our commitment to advancing AI for clinical use spans all facets of the technology, from standalone AI systems and AI integrated with IoT to AI in robotics and decision support, including patient-reported outcomes (PRO). Further, we are also exploring AI’s role in automation to enhance efficiency in clinical settings.

A central part of this is conducting research in close collaboration with end users and patients, ensuring that the right technology is applied in the right context. This approach is reinforced by working within established frameworks that facilitate the balanced and effective integration of AI into health care.

Prioritised Research Questions:

• What are the key barriers to the successful implementation of AI in healthcare settings, and how can they be mitigated?
• What strategies can ensure that AI-driven decision-support systems are transparent, interpretable, and maintain accountability for healthcare professionals?
• What are the key challenges in developing pragmatically useful AI Ethics by Design frameworks to ensure responsible development, implementation, and use of AI in healthcare settings?

2.4 Healthcare Professionals and Their Use of Digital Health Technologies

The development of new, innovative digital health technologies including AI and robots can significantly impact healthcare professionals and, simultaneously, depend on the clinical staff in various ways.

Firstly, the clinical staff may have preferences towards the technology and the implementation process for new technologies. Secondly, technology may require special skill and competences. Thirdly, the actual use of new digital health technology might affect how time is used, result in time savings or increase use of time and impact how clinical and administrative tasks are distributed among the staff. Therefore, this theme focuses on the complex relationship between health care professionals and their use of digital health technology, encompassing implementation science but also other research methods and research disciplines.

The background for this theme is the expectation that a better understanding of matters related to healthcare professionals and their perceptions and use of technologies will enhance technologies’ value for patients and the healthcare system. In addition, knowledge about the organisational aspects of digital health technologies is expected to be central in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of the value of the technologies and a central part of the new European HTA-model being developed in the EDiHTA project that CIMT is part of.

Prioritised Research Questions:

• How does health professionals perceive and value digital health technologies, AI and clinical robots, and how does the professionals perceive the implementation process?
• What are the main challenges and solutions for implementation processes and how can the challenges be addressed?
• How can healthcare professionals be involved in the design of implementation processes through participatory design methods and what is the effect on the speed of implementation of the technology?

2.5 Integrated Care and Hospital at Home

Integrated care and Hospital at Home have recently been recommended by two Danish governmental committees as possible solutions to the demographic challenges to the Danish healthcare system.

Integrated care is defined as a coordinated approach to healthcare that aims to bring together both primary and secondary healthcare providers to create a seamless experience for patients. It emphasises the need for improved collaboration between providers, patient-centeredness with a focus on individual needs, continuity of care across different stages, and the need to reduce duplication of efforts.

Similarly, Hospital at Home can be defined as healthcare models where patients receive acute care services at home instead of being admitted to a hospital, providing comprehensive care, a patient-centred approach, continuous monitoring by use of digital technologies, and an interdisciplinary team.

OUH has increasingly focused on the development of such services to patients, allowing them to stay at home during parts of their treatment, with technologies like digital PRO, AI, video consultations, patient apps, and home monitoring devices.

Prioritised Research Questions:

• What is the effects of integrated care and Hospital at Home on clinical outcomes and patient safety?
• What is patients’ and relatives’ perceptions of the home as the treatment centre and what are the ethical issues involved?
• What are healthcare professionals' and managers' perceptions of barriers and facilitators in implementing Hospital at Home?

2.6 Research Methods for Faster Implementation

The need for faster translation of research into clinical practice is critical, particularly for MedTech innovations in healthcare. To meet this demand, we focus on developing and investigating accelerated research designs and methodologies that maintain scientific rigor while significantly reducing the time from evidence generation to implementation.

This focus is essential for ensuring that research keeps pace with the urgent demand for effective healthcare solutions, allowing for faster and more efficient implementation of new innovations, while at the same time ensuring the safety of the patients. The strategy emphasises two main goals: Identifying research designs that facilitate rapid yet robust studies and optimising the transition from evidence generation to clinical practice.

We will prioritise adaptive trials and real-world evidence (RWE) approaches that allow for quicker, iterative research processes. These methods are crucial in rapidly evolving healthcare environments, where timely evidence is needed to deliver effective interventions.

In addition, the focus will be on streamlining the pathway from research to practice by addressing regulatory, ethical and logistical challenges. By improving processes for quicker validation and implementation of innovations, we aim to reduce the time it takes for research findings to be applied in real-world healthcare settings.

Possible Research Questions and Projects:

• What strategies are most effective for scaling AI, clinical robots and other digital health technology solutions across diverse healthcare systems and settings?
• What are the potential bias problems related to RWE and can the problems be reduced?
• Which hospital and public healthcare registers are valid and reliable in Denmark for studies of the effectiveness of MedTech?

Our funding strategy focuses on securing both long-term and project-specific funding to support the development and implementation of innovative technologies. The strategy emphasises both active engagement with funding bodies and the clinical departments at OUH and leveraging opportunities across various funding sources to ensure sustained progress and impactful outcomes.

Strategic actions:

1. Influencing Funding Calls

A key component of our strategy involves engaging with entities responsible for defining funding priorities. By aligning our research and development efforts with strategic regional and national goals, we aim to influence where and how funding is allocated. Central targets are: The Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD), Novo Nordisk Foundation etc. On the EU level we would like to identify a relevant topic groups and suggest members for them.

2. Collaboration with clinical research units at OUH

The clinical research units at OUH are involved in larger research applications e.g. for clinical excellence centres or EU calls with focus on AI, clinical robotics or other healthcare technologies. These applications can be supported by our centres and we can contribute with experience in e.g. technical research methods and methods for assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the technologies.

3. Diverse Funding Sources

To ensure robustness and flexibility, we target multiple funding streams, including:

• The Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF)
• The Novo Nordisk Foundation

European Opportunities:

• EU funding programmes such as Horizon Europe
• Regional Initiatives

In addition, we will also actively support regional agendas and initiatives by applying for regional funds such as The Regional Research Fund for Health Services Research

4. Exploring New Opportunities

Proactively identifying and applying for emerging funding opportunities tied to current policy reforms and societal needs is another essential aspect of our strategy: Government healthcare reform initiatives such as the Healthcare Reform 2024 present potential funding streams for projects that align with reform objectives.

Implementation of the funding strategy will be done by continuous mapping of available funding opportunities, building partnerships with relevant stakeholders, and fostering a dialogue with funding bodies to highlight the significance and alignment of our projects with national and regional priorities. Collaborative applications with partners strengthen our proposals and enhance the likelihood of success.