How AI is transforming healthcare in Amsterdam

What can AI do for healthcare?

Imagine a stethoscope that listens to your heartbeat while analysing it in real-time, flagging potential issues before symptoms arise. Or AI-powered systems that streamline administrative tasks, allowing doctors to spend more time with their patients. These innovations aren’t just distant ideas—they are being developed by some of today's brightest healthcare innovators.

Though still in early stages, AI holds vast potential in healthcare. It can take over routine tasks, help doctors make complex decisions, and make processes faster and more efficient. From improving diagnostics and treatment planning to reducing medication errors, supporting virtual nursing assistants, and enabling less invasive surgeries, AI is changing how healthcare works.

The OECD  predicts that in the next 15 years, healthcare costs will grow faster than economies in most countries, driven by ageing populations and medical advances. The challenge is to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare while keeping costs under control. In this context, AI offers a powerful solution by making healthcare more efficient, safer, and higher in quality.

A network built for impact

Amsterdam has grown into a hub for responsible AI development, leveraging initiatives and policies designed to innovate in healthcare while ensuring ethical and secure practices. A key example of this, is the Amsterdam AI, technology for people, which brings together academia, medical research and government to develop human-centred AI applications across industries, including in healthcare.

The city also supports data-sharing policies, such as the Amsterdam Data Exchange (AMdEX), which accelerates the transition to a fair data economy. Integrating these policies aims to facilitate innovation while safeguarding privacy and equity in healthcare.

AI and health tech innovation is being achieved through strong collaboration with the triple helix model, connecting academia, industry, and government. Public-private partnerships, supported by initiatives like the Innovation Centre for AI and the VU Campus Centre for AI & Health, transform research breakthroughs into practical applications.

Key initiatives, such as Smart Health Amsterdam and the "AI Technology for the People" program, have fueled advancements in responsible AI and data-driven health solutions, with recent achievements in medical data-sharing underscoring the region's role in health tech innovation.

Another initiative is the Amsterdam Economic Board's Health Data Space. By collaborating with seven regional partners, they have devised a strategic plan to harness health data intelligently. They aim to make a meaningful impact on public health in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area by offering valuable insights to promote long-term health and well-being.

Changing the landscape of patient care

In Amsterdam, companies are taking these advancements further, creating AI solutions that address specific healthcare challenges. For example:

• HealthSage AI: Simplifying doctor-patient communication with a platform that cuts down administrative work, giving healthcare providers more time to focus on care.
• Kepler Vision: Using AI to transform elderly care. Their “Kepler Night Nurse” monitors patients through smart vision technology, catching issues faster and improving outcomes. 
• Lapsi Health: Improving diagnostics with their AI-enabled stethoscope that doesn’t just listen to the heart—it analyses data instantly, offering non-invasive diagnostics to save lives. 
• Ellogon.ai: Fights cancer with AI-driven solutions that customise treatments for individual patients, making therapies more effective and less invasive.

The Amsterdam approach

Amsterdam’s strength in AI-driven healthcare is its focus on turning innovative ideas into practical solutions. By prioritising responsible data use, ethical development, and human-centred design, the city is ensuring that the future of AI is both effective and trusted.  

As healthcare systems worldwide continue to navigate rising costs and growing demand, Amsterdam is showing how AI can address these challenges – from research to real-world applications. 

Read more about Amsterdam’s medtech and AI companies to watch