About us
Board
The ZHAW Digital Health Lab was launched in 2018 and is led by an interdepartmental board of directors.
Head of Research/Focus Area, ZHAW digital health lab, Head of the Center for Computational Health, Chairmen of the Digital Health Lab
"Digitalisation will revolutionise the health care system. We are shaping this development creatively, innovatively and responsibly for people."
Deals with the following main topics:
- AI in Health Care
- Digital Biomarkers from Biosignals, Imaging and clinical data
- Digital Twins for Healthcare
- Digital Health Solutions
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Head of the Health Care Management Unit at the ZHAW School of Management and Law, Deputy Head of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab
"We need to communicate the good news much more strongly: A smart digitalised healthcare system is the better system for all of us!"
Deals with the following main topics:
- The contribution of digital health from a business perspective
- The impact of digitalisation on the efficiency and effectiveness of operational processes
- The transformation path for actors towards smart organisations
- The Big Picture: the transformation of the Swiss healthcare system through digitalization
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
- Im Advisory Board von mehreren Digital Health Start-ups
- Kommission Thurgau Gesundheit (board member)
- Digital Health Center Bülach (board member)
- Vereinigung für Management im Gesundheitswesen (co-founder)
- EURAM (National Representative for Switzerland)
Head of Applied Complex Systems Sciences
"The Digital Health Lab is the platform to solve real problems with new techniques on the one hand and to develop new practice-relevant methods and concepts inspired by practice on the other hand."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Multiscale modelling incl. applications of AI in life sciences
- Evolutionary technologies
- Biomimetic technologies and Artificial Life
- Morphological computing
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Lecturer + Project Manager in the Hospitality & Service Management Expert Group at the Institute for Facility Management; Coordinator of Digital Health Lab Ambassadors
"Without digital support, we will struggle to align resources in complex health organisations in a holistic effective, efficient and consistently stakeholder-centric sense."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Non-medical support services in healthcare organisations
- Healthcare Organisation Management and Digital Transformation
- Service Management and Project Management in Healthcare Organisations
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Lecturer for ICT strategy, GRC and digital Management at the Institute for Business Information Technology at the School of Management and Law
"Health affects us all, as an individual person, in the family, at work and as contributors. Here I want to make a contribution that shows innovations and enables real value contribution to society."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Digital transformation of the health sector, through the use of new technologies, especially for hospitals
- Interoperability through data standards, formats, taxonomies and ontologies in the health sector
- Legal regulations, e.g. MepV, data protection and data security of IT systems
- Digital architectures, platforms and ecosystems in the health sector
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Professor for Medical Physics, Program Director Systems Engineering, ZHAW School of Engineering
"Understanding and knowing are not synonymous: while clinical trials and data offer knowledge, gaining a deeper understanding requires the exploration of novel concepts and methodological approaches."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Systems Medicine
- Model-based Data Analysis in Oncology, Immunology, Pharmacology and Epidemiology
- AI in Medical Imaging Physics
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
- Platform Medical Systems – Systems Medicine
- Swiss Society of Radiobiology and Medical Physics (SSRPM)
- Swiss Society for Biomedical Engineering (SSBE)
- SASRO
Director and head of Research and Development of the Institute of Physiotherapy at the School of Health Sciences
"Effective together."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Rehabilitation technology
- Assistance technology
- Digital solutions for prevention and physiotherapy
- User centricity
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Ambassadors
ZHAW Digital Health Lab Ambassadors are ZHAW members in different positions and with different backgrounds. They actively contribute their ideas and network contacts regarding the topic of digital health(care).
Lecturer for Computer Science in the "Human-Centered Computing" group at the School of Engineering
"The digitisation of healthcare requires both conceptual excellence and innovative implementation at a technical level, which spurs me on as an interdisciplinary challenge to bring my expertise to bear in team play."
Deals with the following main topics:
- User-centred application development (mobile health, web, apps)
- Interactive visualisation and analysis of health data (2D, 3D, VR, AR, XR)
- Digital data formats in healthcare (openEHR, HL7 FHIR, SNOMED-CT, ...)
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Lecturer at the Centre for AI (CAI), Head of Group «Explainable AI (XAI)» at the School of Engineering
"I want to contribute to the transformation of healthcare through the development of explainable, multimodal AI-powered approaches to disease diagnosis and treatment, in close collaboration with healthcare professionals and patients, in a safe and responsible way."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Explainable/trustworthy AI
- Multimodal biomedical AI
- Machine learning/Deep learning/Reinforcement learning for (sequential) decision making and knowledge discovery (disease diagnosis and therapy optimisation)
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Director of Institute, (Co-head) Institute for Public Health, Head Research Public Health, Scientist and Public Health Expert
"For a successful digital transformation of healthcare, a public health perspective is essential."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Digital Public Health
- Digital Health Literacy
- Digital Health Information Seeking
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
- Schweizerische Gesellschaft der Fachärztinnen und Fachärzte in Prävention und Gesundheitswesen
- Swiss Society of Public Health (European Public Health Association (EUPHA)
- FMH-Swiss Medical Association
Lecturer at Winterthur Institute of Health Economics (WIG) at the School of Management and Law, Private lecturer at ETH Zurich, Lecturer at EPFL, Visiting Professor at Vlerick Business School
"I actively contribute ideas, run projects, teach and coach on the topic of digital health(care)."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Evaluating and measuring the value of new health technologies for different stakeholders (e.g. hospitals)
- Understanding the impact of institutional logics on the technology affordances
- Fostering algorithmic fairness in the pharmaceutical industry
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Head of the Technical Communication Group at the Institute for Multilingual Communication (IMK) at the Department of Applied Linguistics, Chair of Human-Machine Communication incl. Usability Lab
"With technology communication and usability, I want to drive and promote the inclusion of users in the development process of new digital products, solutions and processes in the field of eHealth, so that they are aligned with the customer, user and patient journey."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Usability testing
- Human-machine interactions
- Internal and external technology communication
Head of the Movement Laboratory at the Research Center Physiotherapy Science, Lecturer and Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Institute of Physiotherapy (focus on biomechanics and technologies in physiotherapy) at the School of Health Sciences
"It takes collaboration between different disciplines and a real understanding of the practice to effectively implement digitalisation in healthcare."
Deals with the following main topics:
- User-centred design of digital solutions in rehabilitation
- Validation of digital solutions with a focus on movement
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Senior Lecturer for Product Management, Focus on Healthcare, at the ZHAW School of Management and Law
«Too many digital health projects unfortunately fail because they underestimated revenue model, market approval, data privacy and other challenges of the healthcare market. Bringing innovation to life despite these challenges, is where we can support intra- and entrepreneurs with early product-market fit and strategy evaluations.»
Deals with the following main topics:
- Product Strategy & Market Fit in Digital Health and MedTech
- Health AI and DTx Adoption
- Biodesign- and LeanStartup innovation processes
Dep. Head of Health Care Management at Institute of Health Economics (WIG) at the School of Management and Law
"The Digital Health Lab networks and bundles competencies and resources in research and consulting and therefore offers ideal opportunities to support the digitalisation of complex systems in the health sector."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Digital placement platform for temporary work in the health sector
- Capacity management systems for better forecasting and control of scarce resources at service providers
- Digital assessment platforms for the patient experience in the health sector
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Head of Section for applied Mathematics, Physics, Systems and Operations
«Digital tools enable a quantum leap in data analysis and in identifying and understanding the connections between humans, health, and sports. Progress in this field is only possible through interprofessional collaboration.»
Deals with the following main topics:
- Development of digital twins using medical imaging and biomechanical data
- Computational modeling of the musculoskeletal system
- Wearable technologies (e.g., IMUs, smartphones) to assess and monitor human movement
- Development of models to predict how humans adapt to changes
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Director of Institute of Computational Life Sciences (ICLS) at the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
"Digital Health is a central topic for the Institute for Computational Life Sciences. It requires an understanding of a transformative, i.e. socially effective and application-oriented science, to which our institute and I personally feel committed."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Digital health assistance systems
- Forecast methodologies for health logistics
- Applications of AI and cognitive computing in health
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Research associate at the Institute of Business Information Technology at the School of Management & Law
"As a DHL Ambassador, I'm dedicated to creating innovative tools in digital health, with a special focus on personalized nutrition, to uplift the health of the Swiss population."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Personalized Nutrition
- Digitalization of nutritional advice
- Translational science
Head of research focus "Cognitive Computing in Life Sciences", Institute of Computational Life Sciences (ICLS) at the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
"We want to make robotics and AI fit for the hospital, i.e. safe and useful, and for this we need to build a bridge between healthcare specialists and technology developers."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Neuromorphic technology for machine vision and artificial intelligence
- Robotics: cognitive robots, assistance robots, …
- AI and autonomous systems in healthcare
Lecturer at the Centre for AI (CAI) and head Research group Intelligent Vision Systems (IVS) at the School of Engineering, Coordinator of PhD Program UZH
"I want to harness the enormous potential of safe and trustworthy AI for diagnostics and treatment, as well as in everyday clinical practice."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Application of AI, machine learning and deep learning for multimodal pattern recognition and in medical image processing
- Development of trustworthy, transparent and secure AI
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Lecturer and Researcher at the Institute of Applied Media Studies (IAM) at the School of Applied Linguistics
"When introducing digital solutions, strategically planned communication is central to acceptance and part of empowerment."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Strategic health communication
- How digital solutions can be introduced in a communicatively targeted, acceptance-oriented, and effective way and how they can be accompanied by sustainable communication.
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
- ZHAW Digital Futures Lab
- ZHAW GEKONT Kompetenzzentrum für Technologien in der Gesundheitsversorgung (Board member)
Head of research group Medical Image Analysis & Data Modeling at the Institute for Computational Life Sciences (ICLS) at the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
"So that we can drive evidence-based medicine using statistical data modelling."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Evidence-based medicine: clinical prediction models, medical statistics, machine learning.
- Applied probabilistic methods: Bayesian inference, Bayesian networks, causal inference.
- Medical imaging: magnetic resonance imaging, radiology, deep learning
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Professor specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAI) at the School of Engineering
"Digital Health is a heavyweight in ZHAW research, with dozens of excellent working groups and the proven possibilities to approach the topic in a holistic and transformative way. We are pleased to make a technological contribution to this from the perspective of artificial intelligence."
Deals with the following main topics:
- AI4Health
- Medical Image Processing
- Trustworthy AI
- AI Certification
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
- ZHAW Datalab (Co-founder)
- Data Innovation Alliance (Co-founder)
Lecturer for Business Information Systems, Center for Process Management and Information Security at the School of Management and Law
"The sensible digitalisation of the healthcare system is a major concern for me, so that patients receive better care and the administrative workload in medical care is reduced."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Citizen science in the fields of public health and chronic diseases
- Digital Health Literacy
- Privacy and anonymisation of health data
- Trustworthiness of medical websites and health fake news
Research Associate in the Diagnostics & Counselling Group at the Psychology Institute of t School of Applied Psychology
"We have the opportunity and responsibility to develop digital health interventions and increase the availability of safe, effective and accessible services."
Deals with the following main topics:
- In the area of digital coaching, development of evidence-based and personalised chatbot interventions to promote health and behaviour change
- Evaluation of chatbot interventions in terms of effectiveness, adherence, acceptance and application (engagement) using sound scientific methods such as randomised controlled trials
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Lecturer for digital signal and image processing at the Institute of Signal Processing and Wireless Communications (ISC) at the School of Engineering
"Sensors and signal processing enable us to listen to our body in a systematic way."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Biomedical signal processing and image processing (IR imaging, etc.)
- Wireless sensing (radar, etc.) and sensor electronics
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Lecturer + Programme Director of the CAS Cyber Security at the Institute of Business Information Technology, Center for Process Management and Information Security at the School of Management and Law
"To bring the diversity and power of modern technologies into practice for the benefit of patients and the provision of healthy living."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Sustainable smart solutions for people in digital ecosystems (Digital Health, Ambient Assisted Living, Smart Environments, etc.).
- Computer-supported cooperative work and learning scenarios.
- Applications of open-source systems in the operational and infrastructural context of SMEs.
- Data protection, cyber security, compliance, and forensics as enablers for digital ecosystems.
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Head research group Biosignal Analysis and Digital Health, lecturer and researcher at the Institute for Computational Life Sciences (ICLS) at the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
"I want to support people with digital solutions."
Deals with the following main topics:
- Monitoring solutions based on vital signs and activity measurements
- Analysis of sensor based on bio signals from wearables, EEG etc.
- Supporting digital health solutions in vulnerable contexts such as ADHD and caregivers
- Patient reported outcome measures in clinical contexts
Is actively involved in the following digital health(care) networks:
Supporters
The supporters of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab are currently organisational units of the ZHAW. All supporters have the intention of advancing the Lab and its goals.
Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAI), School of Engineering
The CAI is a centre of excellence for research and deployment of artificial intelligence and machine learning. We develop humane and trustworthy AI in Switzerland, train talents in the latest methods and develop solutions for the great challenges of our time. We focus on autonomous learning systems, computer vision, perception and cognition, natural language processing, trustworthy AI and AI engineering.
Contact persons are:
Division of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mechatronics (IEM), School of Engineering
The IEM brings together four research institutes:
- Institute for Applied Information Technology (InIT)
- Institute of Embedded Systems (InES)
- Institute of Signal Processing and Wireless Communication (ISC)
- Institute of Mechatronic Systems (IMS)
as well as three degree programmes:
- Computer science
- Electrical engineering
- Systems engineering
Topics such as machine learning, eHealth, mobile health, wearable sensors or medical technology form important research and teaching content of the institutes and degree programmes.
Contact persons are:
Expert group Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, Psychology Institute, School of Applied Psychology
Together with partners in practice, the expert group investigates the evidence, suitability and effectiveness of various therapeutic and diagnostic concepts as well as interventions under practice conditions. This practice-oriented research approach is taken, for example, in projects in which we examine psychotherapies of different methodological approaches in real practice situations as well as in those of health care research. Furthermore, we are also interested in mental health from a preventive perspective. Psychology has a broad knowledge of possible early diagnosis and preventive measures in all age groups.
Contact person is:
Institute of Applied Mathematics and Physics (IAMP), School of Engineering
The IAMP focuses on five thematic research areas: applied optics, applied complex systems science, medicine and biophysics, safety critical systems and scientific computing and algorithmics.
Contact persons are:
Institute of Computational Life Sciences (ICLS), School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
The ICLS lives computational science as an interdisciplinary approach to address complex problems and develop new solutions in the central areas of health, society and environment. The IAS thus makes an important contribution to solving societal challenges and improving quality of life. We use various modelling techniques to identify and describe interrelationships in systems. In addition, we apply various simulation techniques to make complex dependencies and temporal progressions visible and understandable. Modelling and simulation form the basis for further analyses and optimisations.
Contact persons are:
Institute of Public Health, School of Health Sciences
The IPH is a national competency center for health care, health promotion & prevention and interprofessional communication & collaboration with an international outreach. The main topics of the IPH are: health care of the Swiss population, public health, health promotion & prevention, occupational health management, and interprofessional health care, education and research.
Contact person is:
Institute of Business Information Technology, School of Management and Law
The IWI operates at the interface between business administration and informatics. Informatics is not only a driver for process optimisation, but now enables completely new business models. We support companies from a wide range of industries as well as public institutions in the digital transformation of their business models, the redesign of their customer processes and process automation.
Contact persons are:
Expert Group Hospitality & Service Management (KGHM), School of Life Sciences & Facility Management
The expert group researches and works on topics in the field of hospitality and service management.
Our research focus "FM in Healthcare" is all about stakeholder-centred management of non-medical services in healthcare organisations.
Contact persons are:
Winterthur Institute of Health Economics, School of Management and Law
The WIG is a competency centre for economic and business management issues in the health sector. The focus is on health technology assessment (HTA), health economic evaluations, health services research, patient classification systems, health policy, strategy and process optimisation, market analyses and integrated care.
Contact person:
Office
The Digital Health Lab Office takes care of the communication and administrative needs of the community.
Natyra Ajvazi is the Marketing, Communications and Office Manager at the Institute of Computational Life Sciences. In the Digital Health Lab, she is responsible for the implementation of communication and marketing activities.
