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Researchers, clinicians, and innovators from across Europe gathered in Milan for the official launch of UNICA, an ambitious European project set to revolutionise how cancer is detected and diagnosed. Coordinated by Datrix S.p.A., Italy, UNICA unites partners from 10 countries and 12 hospitals to advance AI-powered cancer screening while keeping patients’ data secure and private.

At the heart of UNICA lies an innovative concept known as federated medical imaging, a technology that allows hospitals to train and test artificial intelligence models without transferring patient data. Instead of centralising sensitive information, AI algorithms travel to the hospitals’ data, learn from it locally, and return improved models to the shared network. This ensures full compliance with privacy regulations like the GDPR, while enabling Europe’s hospitals to collaborate as if their data were in one place.

“UNICA is about unlocking the power of data for the common good, without compromising patient privacy,” said project coordinator Dr. Michele Compare, CTO at Datrix. “Through artificial intelligence and secure data federation, we aim to make cancer screening faster, more accurate, and more accessible across Europe.