ZIMPACT: People-centred and impactful AI in healthcare

Status: Ongoing Data & AI Health

ZIMPACT supports healthcare organisations and businesses in implementing people-centred and impactful Artificial Intelligence (AI). The project develops practical tools, training programmes, and an AI agent to guide organisations through all phases of AI innovation. Solutions are tested and refined through practical use cases. Partners Thomas More, VITO, and imec are working together with healthcare organisations and businesses to address ethical, legal and practical challenges.

Working together to build people-centred and responsible AI in healthcare

ZIMPACT is a project that supports healthcare organisations and companies in developing and implementing human-centred and impactful AI solutions. There is a growing need for it due to the increasing digitalisation of healthcare and the complexity of ethical, legal, and practical constraints. Many organisations have access to data and technology but lack the right tools to deploy AI successfully and responsibly.

Within ZIMPACT, concrete tools are therefore being developed to guide organisations through all phases of AI innovation: from ideation and user research to implementation and impact measurement. These tools help to assess the maturity of solutions and support organisations in making well-considered choices. In addition, training courses and workshops are organised to disseminate knowledge and actively engage stakeholders.

Another key component of the project is the development of an AI conversational agent, which helps users quickly find the right tools, methodologies, and experts. This lowers the barrier to entry for organisations who want to start using AI or improve their existing solutions.

The solutions, such as voice-controlled technology, telemonitoring, virtual assistants, and smart planning systems, are being tested and validated in various practical use cases. There is a strong focus on collaboration between knowledge institutions and industry.

ZIMPACT is a collaboration between Thomas More (LiCalab), VITO, and imec, amongst others, and builds on existing expertise and initiatives relating to AI in healthcare. Through this cross-pollination with other projects (such as SOLID4HEALTH) and applications (such as the Caring Technology Tool and the Ethical-Legal Compass), ZIMPACT contributes to a broader ecosystem centred on reliable and human-centric AI.

VITO’s contribution to ethically responsible AI innovation in healthcare

Within ZIMPACT, VITO assumes the role of research and innovation partner with strong expertise in ethical, legal, and human-centred AI applications in healthcare. Our researchers build on extensive experience in developing privacy-conscious, inclusive, and sustainable digital innovations, as seen in projects such as We Are, WellData, SOLID4HEALTH, and DigiH4A.

Specifically, VITO will further develop existing ethical and legal tools, such as the Caring Technology Guide and the Ethical and Legal Compass for Healthcare Technology, and adapt them to the context of AI development and implementation. These tools will be further optimised for ease of use and accessibility: we are translating them into practical evaluation and decision-making tools for healthcare organisations and companies.

In addition, VITO is investigating how these methodologies can be effectively deployed throughout the entire innovation cycle and how they can be scaled up to broader onboarding and application procedures within healthcare ecosystems. This also establishes a link with existing initiatives such as the We Are platform, where citizen control over health data is central.

Through this approach, VITO contributes to the further development of standardised, applicable, and scalable frameworks for ethically responsible AI in healthcare, and strengthens the integration of these tools into both current and future healthcare innovation projects.