The University hospitals of Geneva (HUG), the Department of Health and Mobilities (DSM) of the Canton of Geneva and the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuro Engineering enter into a three-party agreement to create an artificial intelligence (AI) reference hub for healthcare and neuromodulation1 with its inauguration set for the second half of the year. The aim of this partnership is to significantly improve the treatment and prevention of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

This artificial intelligence hub will be created in a 1,000 m² space at the entrance of Campus Biotech on the Sécheron site. Its mission is to develop and provide the most advanced treatments for patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. The HUG will provide the general management of the hub. Robert Mardini, Director general of the HUG, explains, “The hub will provide a tailored environment to bring together AI-related hospital and technological expertise, in collaboration with the HUG Innovation Center. Campus Biotech fosters synergies between experts in emerging technologies and those who need them.”

This hub will have four missions:

1)Admission of patients, follow-up consultations and medical investigations (HUG and Wyss Center) performed by HUG staff assigned mainly by the Department of psychiatry of Professor Stefan Kaiser and the Department of clinical neurosciences of Professor Karl Schaller, in coordination with the Wyss Center’s innovative AI-guided neuromodulation programme.

This admission facility will complement the current brain health and mental health consultations for people with persistent cognitive and motivational disorders (in the context of a psychotic disorder or head trauma) in the building adjacent to Campus Biotech and will enable admission of people suffering from epilepsy, strokes, depression and sleep disorders. The aim is to promote synergies with research: a patient receiving care at the HUG will have access to the latest diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and benefit from the state-of-the-art infrastructure available at Campus Biotech. Patients will also be able to participate in clinical trials evaluating new treatments.

2) Translational research² and development (Wyss Center): focused on AI-guided neuromodulation with the aim of supporting the emergence of innovative start-ups in this field.
One such example is the dEEGtal start-up, which develops AI-based diagnostic software designed to respond to the urgent need for an early detection of epilepsy. This project was notably an award-winner at the HUG Innovation Day.
“This partnership marks a decisive milestone in healthcare, starting in Geneva and, in the long term, expanding beyond, explains Erwin Böttinger, Director of the Wyss Center. Thanks to our collaboration with research and clinical partners, we will develop state-of-the-art solutions set to transform the lives of people with neurological and mental disorders and also the lives of their families.”

3) AI integrated into care and prevention (HUG): applied research and innovation to develop AI-based solutions in the healthcare sector, specifically in relation to prevention and mental health. Projects linked to the simplification of medical administrative tasks (admission, discharge letters, etc.), the optimisation of patient flows and the improvement of company management functions (human resources, invoicing, accounting) will also be developed.

4) Training and dialogue (DSM): a meeting place for health professionals (care network), AI experts and citizens, to raise awareness, reflect and receive training on the ethical, scientific and social challenges relating to AI in healthcare. Participatory activities are planned including training sessions, townhall discussions and demonstrations. Furthermore, as Campus Biotech is located in the heart of international Geneva, links with international stakeholders active in healthcare, and the on-site presence of the Institute of Global Health and the Geneva Digital Health Hub of the Faculty of Medicine, mean that global issues linked to AI and digital health will also be examined within the hub framework. “This artificial intelligence hub for mental health embodies the ambition of Geneva, which is to innovate to create more accessible, personalized and effective treatments, whilst placing humanity at the heart of the technology,” declares Pierre Maudet, Councillor of State in charge of the DSM.

This project is aligned with the 2023-2028 legislative programme of the State Council in which the government is also undertaking measures “to stimulate innovation through clusters and hubs of excellence like Campus Biotech” and conducting “studies on the potential of artificial intelligence”. Its cost will be shared equally between the HUG, the State of Geneva and the Wyss Center, with each contributing CHF 900,000 over three years.

Project timeline
This pilot project will span a provisional timeline of three years, from 2025 to 2027.
14 February 2025: signature of the rental lease and the three-party agreement.
Second half of 2025: inauguration of the hub with all the activities up and running.
2028: The hub is expected to become a space exclusively dedicated to the admission of patients and other clinical activities of the HUG, integrated with research.

¹ Modification of brain function through magnetic fields, focused ultrasound or other emerging technologies in order to treat conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, schizophrenia or essential tremors.
² Translational research is the phase which enables the transition from fundamental research to clinical research.