COSIMENA-Funded Workshop: Bridging Research to Revenue

The workshop began with a keynote address by Dr Carsten Walbiner, Director of the DAAD Regional Office Cairo. He emphasised the essential role of third-party funding in advancing research and ensuring its sustainability. Dr Walbiner highlighted the importance of connecting academia with industry to secure ongoing research funding, noting, “The connection of research with the industry or with business is one of the key components of securing further research.” He also pointed out the challenge of balancing academic goals with commercial interests, as companies prefer funding projects that yield commercially viable results. His address underscored the significance of international cooperation to achieve research objectives effectively.

Following Dr Walbiner’s remarks, Prof. Dr Mohammed Abdelmegeed Salem from the German University in Cairo spoke about the evolving role of universities in integrating research, teaching, and commercialization. Referring to the concept of “third-generation universities,” he illustrated how institutions like Stanford University and Technische Universität Berlin have created entrepreneurial ecosystems that transform academic research into marketable solutions. Prof. Salem also discussed the rapid growth of global and African medical imaging markets, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies. However, he acknowledged challenges such as limited access to investment and the need for stronger collaboration between industry and academia.

The first part of the workshop, session on “AI in Medical Imaging”, chaired by Prof. Mohamed Abd El Ghany Salem, began with a presentation by Prof. Dr. Ghada Bouattour from Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany. In her presentation “Industrial Challenges of Wireless Sensors for Medical Applications”, Prof. Dr Bouattour discussed the potential of wireless sensors to reduce diagnostic costs and enhance chronic disease management. She introduced E-Textiles, clothing embedded with wireless sensors, as a promising innovation in medical imaging. However, she also pointed out the challenges of sensor integration, including durability and energy supply, stressing the need for cost-effective, sustainable solutions.

The second continued with Prof. Omar Mamdouh Fahmy from Zewail City of Science and Technology, who presented “Breast Cancer Monitoring Using Microwave Imaging Technologies.” Prof. Fahmy introduced a non-invasive smart bra equipped with microwave sensors designed to detect breast tumors. He explained the promising results of the CatBoost model, which demonstrated 98% accuracy for detecting tumors as small as 10 millimeters. However, challenges remain for smaller tumors. During the discussion, attendees raised questions about the integration of mobile apps with this technology and the potential for adapting it for oral health monitoring.

Prof. Sahar Mansour from Kasr El-Ainy Hospital, Cairo University, followed with a presentation of her study “Harnessing AI for Enhanced Breast Cancer Screening: A Prospective Study of 32,822 Mammograms in the Egyptian Population.” Prof. Mansour highlighted AI’s potential to improve the accuracy and efficiency of mammogram analysis, thus reducing diagnostic errors. Her research demonstrated that AI can significantly complement radiologists by decreasing false positives and negatives.

Aligned with the previous talk, the last talk in this session was presented by Dr Shereen Afifi from German University in Cairo titled “Transforming Healthcare: AI-Powered Portable Ultrasound for Continuous Monitoring”. She gave insights from her running projects on utilizing AI in advancing home healthcare even for tough diseases such as cancer.  The session concluded with a Q&A that covered the ethical considerations of using patient data in AI training and the challenges posed by high-density breast tissue.

The next session, “Challenges and Success Stories in Medical Imaging Commercialization”, was chaired by Prof. Mohamed Hamed and featured several expert speakers. Prof. Ahmed M. Ehab Mahmoud from Cairo University and Astute Imaging LLC presented “Transforming Healthcare: AI in Radiology—From Bench to Bedside”. He detailed the evolution of AI in healthcare, highlighting how it can improve diagnostic accuracy and streamline workflows in radiology. Prof. Mahmoud emphasised the role of personalized medicine through AI, sharing his journey in developing AI solutions for breast imaging. He discussed the ethical considerations and challenges associated with implementing AI in clinical practice.

Dr Thea Raduentz from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health followed with a presentation on “AI-Based Research for Occupational Safety and Health.” Drawing on her 15 years of experience, she discussed the use of AI to enhance workplace safety conditions and introduced research using EEG signals to assess workload in real-world environments such as air traffic control. Dr. Raduentz emphasized a balanced approach to the risks and opportunities of AI, addressing concerns over algorithmic fairness and privacy.

Dr Mustafa Elattar from Nile University and Intixel discussed “Trustworthy AI: Policies for AI Development and Deployment in Healthcare.” He stressed the need for ethical policies in AI integration, particularly in healthcare, and outlined the various machine learning strategies used to enhance efficiency and accuracy in clinical practice. Dr Elattar addressed concerns about the validation and reliability of AI results and emphasised the importance of statistical tools to ensure accuracy and confidence in AI predictions.

The commercial session concluded with a presentation by Dr Ahmed Sayed from Amazon Web Services, EMEA Professional Services. His talk, “Cloud Technology in Medical Imaging”, focused on the growing need for enhanced storage and analysis capabilities as digital clinical data increases. Dr Sayed shared case studies, including King Hamad University Hospital’s success in reducing storage costs by 40% through cloud solutions. He also introduced a multimodal AI model that automates imaging data analysis to improve report accuracy and efficiency for physicians.

In addition, the event granted a chance to young researchers and students to participate actively in the “Tabla Show”, a three-minute presentation session chaired by Dr Shereen Afifi. ,   Radwa Taha, Nahla Afifi, and Mariam Wael, engineering master’s and PhD students,  Youssef Poulis, George Sherif, Karol Adel, and Ahmed Monssef, a software engineering students, appreciated the opportunity to present their projects on AI-based cancer detection and noted the value of such workshops in showcasing implementable ideas.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion chaired by Prof. Dr Mohammed Salem, featuring Dr Thea Raduentz, Dr Ahmed Sayed, Dr. Ghada Bouattour, Prof. Mohamed Abd El Ghany Salem, Prof. Ibrahim El Noshokaty from Enosh Science Center and Dr Sara Atito from University of Surrey in UK. The panelists discussed the challenges of commercializing research and the trust deficit between academia and industry. They emphasised the need for structured partnerships, referencing successful models such as Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, which builds trust through clear project outcomes. The discussion highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the potential for further innovation through academia-industry partnerships.

Diverse audience have attended the event. Nadine Salah-Eldin, a mechatronics engineering student, expressed enthusiasm for the wide range of topics discussed and their relevance to her AI-powered teacher robot project. Ahmed Mohammed Walaa Zeinhom, a communication engineering student, highlighted the workshop’s role in enhancing critical thinking through exposure to AI applications in biomedical engineering. In conclusion, the workshop successfully bridged the gap between research and commercialization, providing valuable insights into the role of AI in medical imaging and fostering discussions on how to bring academic innovations to market.