About RLS-Digital Health

The RLS-Digital Health Initiative is the newest research group in RLS-Sciences in 2020/22. Committed to advancing knowledge and promoting translational research in a wide spectrum of topics in the digital health field, the group benefits from the diversity of the RLS regions. In investigating a matrix of methods and medical use cases, they explore and jointly take advantage of the transformative potential that digital health brings to our societies by bridging the gap between research and application.

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The Partners

The regional lead partners of the Digital Health Initiative include (listed alphabetically by region):

Uniklinikum Erlangen-University Hospital Erlangen (Bavaria)
University of Georgia (Georgia)
Consortium Santé Numerique Université de Montréal - Digital Health Consortium University of Montreal (Québec)
Universidade de São Paulo - University of São Paulo (São Paulo)
Shandong First Medical University (Shandong)
Medizintechnik-Cluster - MedTech Cluster - Business Upper Austria (Upper Austria)

Click on any partner's logo to learn more. Interested in joining the RLS-Digital Health Initiative? Get in touch here. 

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News and Updates

RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2022
18-21 September, 2022 in Herrsching, Bavaria

The RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2022 took place in Herrsching, Bavaria from 18th- 21st September 2022, hosted by Bavaria. Altogether, 76 participants from five RLS partner regions joined to exchange within and between the RLS-Sciences themes (Renewable Energy, Aerospace, Small Satellites, Digitalization, and Digital Health). During the pandemic, the network created a transition scenario and met all together virtually in June 2021 and April 2022 for the RLS-Sciences Digital Weeks. This new format bridged the time between the in-person conferences. The RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2022 also marked the official launch of the “RLS-Digital Health Initiative” as the fifth RLS-Sciences group, after a preparatory phase and first exchanges in 2020 and 2021.

The RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2022 followed in the model of the inaugural RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2019, hosted by FAPESP and INPE in São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo. The conferences create an opportunity for the entire RLS-Sciences network to meet in person, deepening work in person and exchanging with other groups in joint interdisciplinary sessions.

The next RLS-Sciences Overall Conference 2024 will be hosted by Québec.
 
Review the 2022 program here.

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Digital Health Initiative at the RLS-Sciences April Digital Week 2022
4-8 April, 2022 online and in Munich, Bavaria

The RLS-Sciences April Digital Week 2022 took place online from 4th- 8th April 2022, hosted by Bavaria. Over the course of the week, the RLS-Sciences Network met virtually for 2 hours each day. Altogether, 112 participants from all seven RLS partner regions joined to listen to over 30 speakers who shared their expertise on advanced air mobility, energy security and systems resilience, data-use possibilities for pico-satellites, and regional digital health initiatives. The overarching theme for the week was “Sustainable and Resilient Regional Recoveries”. The Digital Health Initiative met on Friday for a session to exchange on key digital health initiatives and projects out of their respective regions, and featured presentations from Bavaria, Georgia, Québec, São Paulo, and Shandong.

Photo Credit: WKS Bayern-Québec/Alberta/International, 2022

The RLS-Sciences Digital Week model was established during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first Digital Week in June 2021. The Digital Week will continue as a fixture in RLS-Sciences in years to come, to create a dedicated opportunity for virtual exchange which complements the in-person conferences, and to retain accessibility gained during the increase in virtual activities over the last three years.

Review the RLS-Sciences April Digital Week 2022 program here.

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First RLS-Digital Health Initiative Workshop
8-9 November, 2021 online and in Munich, Bavaria

On 8 and 9 November, 2021, the RLS-Digital Health Initiative met online for its first independent workshop. The workshop was designed to create an opportunity for participants from the RLS partner regions to exchange on topics related to digital health from their regional and research perspectives.
 
The impetus for the RLS-Digital Health Initiative came from Bavaria and first exchanges took place during the RLS Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 hosted by Upper Austria in September 2020. In continuity, the inaugural workshop was opened with statements from political representatives in Bavaria and Upper Austria. Speakers from Bavaria, Georgia, Québec, Shandong, and Upper Austria presented to nearly 50 participants out of the regions over the two days. The workshop included presentations, discussions, and question-and-answer sessions covering digital health topics out of the RLS partner regions including AI applied to healthcare and medicine, the perspective of clinicians and practitioners on new developments in digital health, responsibility and ethics, and more.
 
To prepare for future collaborative work, Dr. Sebastian Bickelhaupt presented a joint roadmap for the group to discuss and further develop together. The roadmap created with regional perspectives will guide the next stages of the group as they advance together, and is currently under review.

Review the program here.

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RLS-Sciences Online Conference 2021
14-18 June, 2021 online and in Munich, Bavaria

From 14 to 18 June, the RLS-Sciences network met virtually each day for two hours for the RLS-Sciences Online Conference 2021, hosted by Bavaria. In the beginning of 2021, Bavaria proposed a new working scenario for 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This scenario began with the RLS-Sciences Online Conference 2021. This conference built upon the inaugural RLS-Sciences Conference hosted by São Paulo in 2019 and the RLS Virtual Symposium on COVID-19 hosted by Upper Austria in 2020. The overall theme of the 2021 conference was “Data as a Resource for the Regions”.

From Monday to Thursday (14 to 17 June), one of the 4+1 research groups - Global Aerospace Campus, Energy Network, Small Satellites and the RLS-Expert Dialogue on Digitalization with the RLS-Digital Health Initiative - met each day. On Friday (18 June), the entire RLS-Sciences network was invited to a joint interdisciplinary session which included reports from the 4+1 research groups, a panel discussion, and contributions from the political and science management levels of RLS-Sciences. Over the five days, over 140 participants joined, representing all seven RLS partner regions.

Photo Credit: WKS Bayern-Québec/Alberta/International and Véronique Baril, Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Québec

Read a summary of the RLS-Sciences Online Conference 2021 here.

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RLS-Sciences at the RLS Virtual Symposium on COVID-19
15-16 September, 2020, live and in-person in Linz, Upper Austria

Within the framework of the chairmanship of the "Regional Leaders' Summit", Upper Austria invited the partner regions and the RLS-Sciences Network to a virtual symposium on 15-16 September, 2020. The symposium was an international exchange between politics and science, discussing best practices, challenges, and exit strategies for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. A new Digital Health Initiative was launched with the aim of expanding the scientific network and conducting interdisciplinary research.

Read a summary of the RLS-Sciences activities here.
Review the symposium programme here.
Review the symposium booklet here.
Watch the RLS Virtual Round Table on COVID-19 here (Part 1), here (Part 2 including the RLS-Sciences inputs), and here (Part 3). ​​