The European Commission provides under the program Digital Europe a total of 9 million euros for large-scale pilot projects for AI-assisted analysis of medical image data. The plan is to fund two projects with a maximum EU grant of 4.5 million euros each. The grant rate is 50 percent, and the planned project duration is 36 months.

The projects aim to implement and extensively validate scalable and transferable, cloud-based AI and generative AI systems in real healthcare environments. The focus is on applications for the early detection and diagnosis of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The systems are intended to analyze medical image data from MRI, CT, X-ray, PET, or ultrasound examinations, identify potentially relevant findings, and support the prioritization of urgent cases.

Reliable and secure European AI or GenAI algorithms, which have already been developed, trained, and validated using very large patient datasets, are required. The solutions must be embedded in a secure, privacy-friendly cloud environment and be interoperable with existing hospital infrastructures such as electronic medical records, PACS, and radiological information systems.

Medical professionals remain a central component of the process: Qualified doctors must systematically review and clinically assess the findings marked by the AI. The projects should also provide insights into the technical and clinical performance, user-friendliness, and cost efficiency of the systems. Concepts for data protection, cybersecurity, regulatory approval, risk management, and further dissemination of the solutions in Europe are also required. The systems must comply with European requirements, including the EU AI Act.

The participating medical institutions should join the European network of AI-powered advanced screening centers under the Apply AI Strategy . Each system must be integrated into at least five medical centers from different eligible countries. Applications must be submitted by consortia with at least seven independent partners from five eligible countries; at least one industry partner is mandatory. Eligible participants are institutions from EU member states, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, with additional security and control restrictions applying.

The call has been open since April 21, 2026 . The submission deadline is October 1, 2026, at 5:00 PM.