CLAIMS – AI for Personalized MS Diagnostics

CLAIMS ("Clinical Impact through AI-Assisted MS Care") is a European research project aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) using artificial intelligence (AI). The goal is to develop a digital platform that can predict individual disease trajectories and support physicians in finding the best possible therapy for each patient.

MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that can vary greatly in its course. Personalized therapy is therefore particularly important – but also complex. CLAIMS uses state-of-the-art AI models to combine medical imaging, laboratory values, comorbidities, and other individual factors. The platform is designed to provide well-founded, data-driven decision support for MS treatment. The project, running until May 2027, is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Friedemann Paul (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin). The research group of ECDF Professor Hanna G. Zimmermann is responsible for the analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) data using deep learning methods: "The aim is to standardize and automate OCT-based diagnostics – an important step towards precise MS care," explains the Professor for Applied Research on the Visual System. Specifically, the group is working on standardized image quality assessment, segmentation of intraretinal layers, morphometry of the fovea and the optic nerve head (papilla), as well as the development of a multicentric training environment for AI-assisted analyses in retinal imaging. This is carried out in close collaboration with the start-up Nocturne, a spin-off of the research group.

In the long term, the platform is to be clinically validated and approved as a medical device. CLAIMS thus exemplifies the shift towards data-driven, personalized medicine – with the goal of finding the right therapy faster, slowing disease progression, and sustainably improving the quality of life for MS patients.