When is it time to treat a brain aneurysm? A new AI-powered research project backed by €300k aims to find out.

The BRIDGE AI proposal from UMC Utrecht and TU/e has been awarded €300k. BRIDGE AI is a Marie Curie Training Network focused on the longitudinal monitoring of brain disorders across the lifespan, powered by artificial intelligence. It is a collaboration of 18 partners and has a total budget of €3.6 million.

This specific project is a collaboration between Josien Pluim (Professor of Medical Image Analysis at TU/e), Irene van der Schaaf (interventional neuroradiologist at UMC Utrecht), Philips, and several other partners. It is part of Work Package 2 and aims to detect changes in aneurysms and improve treatment strategies.

Early detection

“We are conducting research on intracranial aneurysms,” says Josien Pluim, Professor of Medical Image Analysis at Eindhoven University of Technology / UMC Utrecht, “with the aim of detecting deterioration at an early stage and improving our ability to determine which patients require treatment and which would currently benefit more from watchful waiting.”

Improved monitoring

This project builds on an earlier EWUU AI project focused on predicting and preventing aneurysm rupture. Pluim: “In this new phase, the emphasis shifts more toward the temporal dimension: improving the monitoring of patients who are not treated immediately, and providing more accurate, patient-specific advice on whether—and when—treatment may eventually be necessary.”