In a significant stride toward advancing ethical considerations in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the TRUSTroke project has garnered attention and earned a coveted spot at UNESCO's Global Forum on Ethics in AI on 5-6 February 2024. It is a high-level political event, with ministers of state, UNESCO directors, and other influential figures, focusing on the ethical considerations surrounding AI. This marks a pivotal moment for the project and underlines its commitment to shaping a responsible and trustworthy AI landscape.

TRUSTroke is an innovative European project, coordinated by Vall d’Hebron and funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, which aims to bridge the gap between AI advancements and ethical considerations, particularly in the realm of stroke outcomes. The TRUSTroke Consortium will create a platform to facilitate a personalised management for stroke patients, enabling a more efficient personalized monitoring and patient follow up. The system will be trained using data from medical records and other information provided by patients and healthcare professionals via the Nora mobile app.

Based on the information provided and its own learning, a roadmap of the recovery process after an ischaemic stroke will be created. “The final aim is to flag risk factors and predict possible complications that may affect the chronically disabled stroke patient. This novel AI-based tool will assist clinicians, patients and caregivers in the management of stroke by providing risk prediction of early readmission, stroke recurrence and long-term clinical outcome”, states Dr. Carlos Molina, head of the Stroke Unit at Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the Stroke Research group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and coordinator of TRUSTroke.

A project compromised with the ethical use of AI

TRUSTroke integrates cutting-edge AI algorithms with a strong ethical framework. “Our mission is to develop AI technologies that adhere to the highest ethical standards, prioritizing trust, privacy and equality”, highlights Dr. Dragi Kocev, researcher at the Department of Knowledge Technologies at Jozef Stefan Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia), and representative of TRUSTroke at the UNESCO’s Global Forum. To contribute to the ethical use of AI, Dr. Kocev explains that “we prioritize transparency, fairness, and accountability in our AI models to ensure they are not only accurate but also trustworthy”. In the healthcare domain, where ethical considerations are paramount, TRUSTroke strives to set a benchmark for responsible AI deployment.

TRUSTroke's participation in UNESCO's Global Forum on Ethics in AI is a testament to the project's dedication to ethical AI practices. As the project continues to evolve, it serves as a beacon for others in the industry, demonstrating that technological advancements can coexist harmoniously with ethical considerations. “Being part of the UNESCO Global Forum provides us with a platform to share our experiences, learn from other pioneers in the field, and collectively work towards establishing global ethical standards for AI”, says Dr. Kocev. This acknowledgment reinforces the commitment of the researchers to fostering a culture of responsibility and trust in the AI community.

This project is funded by the European Union in the call HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-two-stage under grant agreement No 101080564.