Kickstart AI and NL AIC Select Erasmus MC as Best AI Case
Delft / The Hague, September 10, 2024 - Kickstart AI and the
Netherlands AI Coalition (NL AIC) today announced the winner of the National AI Challenge 2024. Following a selection day where five finalists presented their cases,
Erasmus MC emerged as the winner.
Erasmus MC aims to improve the efficiency and quality of care in the Accident & Emergency Department through the use of AI technology. A team of dedicated AI experts and software engineers from Kickstart AI will now work to address Erasmus MC's challenges using AI.
Luka van der Sande, Advisor & Analyst Integral Capacity Management (ICM) at Erasmus MC: "We're thrilled to have won. It's great to collaborate on our use case so we can better predict how many patients will arrive at the emergency department and when. This will enable the right care to be delivered faster in the right place. This is particularly important for our entire ROAZ region of Southwest Netherlands to gain better insight into our acute care demand."
Application Process
The first National AI Challenge began on June 11, 2024, with the submission of use cases. The most promising entries met criteria such as addressing a concrete, relevant problem within the organization's core activities, creating societal impact (scalable solution), and having sufficient quality data for AI development.
Na een voorselectie presenteerden de top 5 kandidaten op 9 september hun cases aan de jury. De finalisten waren Auris (in samenwerking met Universiteit Twente), Louwman Group, Gemeente Huizen en partners, Erasmus MC en Stichting Carecodex. Een deskundige jury, onder voorzitterschap van Marelle van Beerschoten (oprichter en directeur van Digital Shapers), bestaande uit Jos de Groot (directeur digitale economie bij het Ministerie van Economische Zaken), Janneke Niessen (oprichter en investeerder bij CapitalT), Andy Lurling (oprichter van LumoLabs) en Thomas Dohmen (directeur van Utrecht AI Lab) koos vervolgens de winnaar.
Erasmus MC stood out with a concrete problem and clear societal impact.
Marelle van Beerschoten, founder and director of Digital Shapers, and chair of the National AI Challenge jury: "Erasmus MC presented an extremely concrete and socially relevant case during the National AI Challenge. Predicting the number of patients in the emergency department is a complex challenge that requires an innovative approach where AI can play a crucial role. We're excited that Kickstart AI's experts will now collaborate with Erasmus MC's healthcare professionals to develop an AI solution that could potentially be applied more broadly in the healthcare sector."
Next Steps
In the coming months, a team of dedicated AI experts and software engineers from Kickstart AI will develop an advanced AI solution for Erasmus MC. This will focus not only on building an advanced AI model and the software needed to integrate it into Erasmus MC's current digital environment, but will also pay close attention to user-friendliness. The team aims to achieve a seamless integration between AI technology and the daily work of healthcare professionals to maximize impact on patient care. Importantly, the insights gained from this project will be valuable to a wider audience and contribute to the development and adoption of AI in the Netherlands. This will boost both innovation and productivity, strengthening the Netherlands' competitive position.
More Information
Kickstart AI and the Netherlands AI Coalition (NL AIC) both focus on promoting the development and application of AI in the Netherlands and have found each other as complementary partners with a shared mission to promote AI development and adoption. As a first step in the collaboration, the 2024 National AI Challenge was launched for NL AIC participants. Interested parties can stay informed about the project's progress via the website and social media channels of Kickstart AI and NL AIC.
For editors
Kickstart AI's mission is to accelerate the adoption of AI in the Netherlands. To achieve this, the organization collaborates with businesses and society to develop practical AI solutions for their most pressing challenges. With a rapidly growing community of over 4,500 data scientists, software engineers, and AI experts, Kickstart AI brings together the pioneers in the field of AI in the Netherlands to exchange ideas, best practices, and knowledge, thereby stimulating AI talent in the country. The organization was founded by Ahold Delhaize, ING, KLM, and NS with the aim of giving the AI ecosystem in the Netherlands a boost.
The Netherlands AI Coalition is a public-private partnership in which the government, the business sector, educational and research institutions, as well as civil society organisations collaborate to accelerate and connect AI developments and initiatives. The ambition is to position the Netherlands at the forefront of knowledge and application of AI for prosperity and well-being. We are continually doing so with due observance of both the Dutch and European standards and values. The NL AIC functions as the catalyst for AI applications in our country. More information can be found on nlaic.com. 
