ELF and ERS to be part of a new exciting EU project – DRAGON

A new Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) project with a budget of €11.4 million has been awarded funding. This project will help to identify patients who have got COVID-19 or novel coronaviruses that may arise in the future.

DRAGON will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (using computer programmes that learn with experience) to deliver a decision support system for precise coronavirus diagnosis using CT scanning. It also aims to be able to better predict the outcomes of patients.

The DRAGON project is led by OncoRadiomics and partners and includes 21 high-tech small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), academic research institutes, biotechnology and pharmacological partners, and ELF and ERS.

The role of ELF in the project is to help empower citizens and patients to be more involved in their coronavirus diagnosis, care and preparedness. A patient and public advisory group will be created, which will advise and input throughout the course of the project.

At the end of the DRAGON project, patients will be more aware of what to do and clinicians will have a better understanding of the perspectives of patients.

Wim Vos, DRAGON’s Project Coordinator from OncoRadiomics, said: “DRAGON was set in place in record time without compromising on the quality of the project. I am proud that we could unite such a strong consortium of companies, researchers, hospitals and even patients. We are looking forward to the next three years as we work to move beyond flattening the curve and towards increasing capacity to handle viral pandemics.”

If you have experience of COVID-19 first-hand or wish to have a say in how future coronavirus outbreaks will be dealt with, please contact the ELF team at info@europeanlung.org