AI is advancing rapidly. Turning that progress into better intensive care depends on something much less visible: access to high-quality, representative data.

That was a central message from Michel van Genderen, INDICATE’s PI, on day I during ESICM Lives 2026. 

The session “INDICATE: Connecting data in European Intensive Care” was moderated by co-PI Christian Jung and work package lead Maria Theodorakopoulou.

Michel started with the wider picture: increasingly capable AI models, growing pressure on healthcare systems, and the gap between promising research and tools that actually support clinicians at the bedside.

Closing that gap takes more than model performance. We need to address bias, help healthcare professionals use AI effectively, and ensure that models are developed and evaluated using data that reflects the patients they will serve.

Yet across Europe, ICU data remains fragmented across hospitals.

This is where INDICATE comes in.

We are building a federated infrastructure that connects European intensive care data through shared data standards and agreements on how it can be used responsibly.

The principle is simple: code travels to the data. Patient data stays at the hospital. Only aggregated outputs return.

Over the past two years, we have invested in the foundations: data standards, governance, legal and ethical frameworks, and the technical infrastructure needed to make this work across hospitals.

Now, the first data providers have been onboarded, and we are moving towards scaling the network.

That next step is also about growing our community. We welcome hospitals, researchers and organisations beyond the consortium who want to contribute to the future of data-driven intensive care.

Interested in joining us? Get in touch at info@indicate-europe.eu.