Utrecht AI Labs – Health

Within UMC Utrecht, five AI Labs bring together biomedical researchers, healthcare providers, business developers, and other stakeholders to collaborate with external partners including industry partners on the development, validation, evaluation, implementation and upscaling of AI systems and algorithms.

These five AI-Health labs are:

• AI Lab for Healthy Living & Prevention
• AI Lab for Imaging & Image-Guided Interventions
• AI Lab for Living Technologies
• AI Methods Lab
• AI Lab for Molecular Medicine

The five Health AI Labs within UMC Utrecht have been carefully established through extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders and the Executive Board. They all align directly with UMC Utrecht’s strategic accelerators, the thematic communities of the Utrecht Life Sciences (ULS), the UU AI Labs beyond the health domain and the focus areas of the EWUU.

For each Health AI Lab, dedicated directors and coordinators have been appointed. They are responsible for the lab’s structure, strategic focus, and coordination of all AI-related activities. These roles are filled by experts with deep expertise in both AI and the specific thematic domain of each lab.

We offer support to the research community by providing expertise and innovative services at the intersection of artificial intelligence, data, and biomedical data science. Our multidisciplinary teams combine domain knowledge with advanced AI methodologies to accelerate discovery, improve decision-making, and translate research into real-world impact.

Our expertise spans a broad range of AI-related domains, including data and data management, ethics, responsible AI, genetics, radiology, radiotherapy, pathology, clinical research, organoid research, epidemiology, and statistics. We have extensive experience with machine learning (ML), large language models (LLMs), and regulatory frameworks such as the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and the European AI-Act, ensuring that innovation is aligned with healthcare practice and compliance requirements.

Beyond domain expertise, we offer strong methodological support. We help researchers design, develop, validate and implement robust AI approaches—both within the biomedical sciences and in emerging areas of generative and agentic AI. This includes tackling complex logistics, optimization, and planning challenges, where AI-driven solutions can significantly enhance efficiency and scalability.

Connection with University Utrecht (UU) AI Labs

The structure of the five Health AI Labs mirrors that of the other AI Labs at Utrecht University (UU), addressing other domains than healthcare. In contrast to the UU AI Labs, the Health AI Labs do not primarily address societal questions driven by external parties. Instead, they are explicitly aligned with UMC Utrecht’s core missions of patient care, scientific research, and academic education.

The UMC Utrecht AI Labs collaborate actively and successfully with these other AI Labs at Utrecht University, which have a long-standing and strong position in the AI domain beyond the health sector. By jointly addressing overlapping AI themes, these collaborations enhance both scientific and societal impact while leveraging complementary expertise and experience.

Together, this collaboration results in an integrated Utrecht approach to AI in healthcare and fosters the exchange of knowledge, expertise, funding opportunities, and educational activities between the UMC Utrecht AI Labs and the UU AI Labs.

Media highlights (in Dutch):

• Jeroen de Ridder (Directeur AI Lab for Molecular Medicine) – National Geographic
  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ai-neurosurgery-brain-cancer
• Utrecht AI-event TivoliVredenburg – Dutch Health Hub
  https://www.dutchhealthhub.nl/artikelen/utrechtse-ai-hubs-sturen-technologie-in-juiste-richting
• Jeroen de Ridder (Directeur AI Lab for Molecular Medicine) bij BNR Beter
  Nieuwe techniek herkent soort hersentumor nog tijdens de operatie | BNR Nieuwsradio https://www.bnr.nl/podcast/beter/10568991/sneller-dan-ooit-ai-helpt-chirurgen-hersentumoren-herkennen
• Karin Jongsma (AI Methods Lab) Komt een AI-systeem bij de dokter… | ICT&health https://www.icthealth.nl/nieuws/komt-een-ai-systeem-bij-de-dokter
• RIGH:T-consortium versnelt veilige inzet generatieve AI in zorg | ICT&health https://www.icthealth.nl/nieuws/right-consortium-versnelt-veilige-inzet-generatieve-ai-in-zorg
• Maarten van Smeden (Directeur AI Methods Lab) in de VvE podcast over de externe validatie van predictiemodellen in de klinische praktijk
  Podcast – Vereniging voor Epidemiologie https://www.epidemiologie.nl/podcast/#episode-9
• Carl Moons, Maarten van Smeden, Anne de Hond (AI Methods Lab) halen NWA-ORC Grant binnen voor DECIDE project in EWUU verband.
  EWUU Alliance Secures €2.8 Million as Part of DECIDE NWA-ORC Grant – Artificial Intelligence https://ai.ewuu.nl/2025/09/ewuu-alliance-secures-e2-8-million-as-part-of-decide-nwa-orc-grant/
• Interview met klinisch epidemioloog en arts-onderzoeker Carmen van Dooijeweert en research-analist Sven van Kempen over hoe kunstmatige intelligentie het werk van pathologen kan verbeteren (AI Lab for Imaging & Image-guided interventions).
  AI kijkt mee in het lab: twee toepassingen van kunstmatige intelligentie in het UMC Utrecht – FHI, federatie van technologiebranches https://fhi.nl/nieuws/ai-kijkt-mee-in-het-lab-twee-toepassingen-van-kunstmatige-intelligentie-in-het-umc-utrecht/
• De internationale richtlijn voor veilige toepassing van AI is gepubliceerd in de British Medical Journal. Internationale richtlijn veilige toepassing AI gepubliceerd – UMC Utrecht https://www.umcutrecht.nl/nl/over-ons/nieuws/pers/internationale-richtlijn-veilige-toepassing-ai-gepubliceerd