Supporting Projects From Concept to Clinical Evaluation
The M1 Clinical AI Consultants build on more than seven years of experience from the Helmholtz AI network of scientific AI consultants. The initiative is co-led by Prof. Carsten Marr, Director of the Institute of AI for Health (AIH), and Dr. Marie Piraud, Head of the Helmholtz AI Consultant Team for Health Research.
The team works alongside clinicians throughout the full project lifecycle, from the initial concept through validation and prospective trial design. The objective is not merely to develop functional AI models, but to evaluate them in real-world clinical settings.
Interdisciplinary Expertise for Translating AI Into Clinical Care
The team brings together experts in medicine, artificial intelligence, data science and ethics, including both a medical ethicist and a medical doctor. It also works closely with leading researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), including Prof. Alena Buyx, Prof. Daniel Rückert and Prof. Björn Eskofier, and is endorsed by the M1 Munich Medicine Alliance. This interdisciplinary collaboration ensures that ethical, regulatory and clinical considerations are integrated throughout the entire development process.
Why Many AI Applications Fail to Reach Clinical Practice
Although the number of AI applications in medical research continues to grow, only a small proportion ultimately make their way into clinical practice. Key challenges include limited generalizability across different patient populations, changes in datasets over time, and the lack of prospective clinical evaluations. Additional barriers include data protection requirements, integration into clinical systems, and access to high-quality clinical data.
Practical Support for Clinicians
As clinicians often have limited time to pursue innovation projects alongside their daily responsibilities, the team follows a hands-on, closely supported approach. Every project begins with a comprehensive needs assessment to understand clinical workflows, available data and the specific challenges involved. The consultants then support project partners throughout the entire process – from study design and ethics applications to the development and evaluation of AI solutions.
From Ideas to Patient Care
The Clinical AI Consultants complement clinicians' expertise with methodological know-how in the development, validation and implementation of medical AI. Their focus is not on developing as many algorithms as possible, but on successfully translating AI solutions into clinical practice with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. The consulting service is provided free of charge to clinicians.
About M1 - Munich Medicine Alliance
The M1 Munich Medicine Alliance is a strategic partnership between the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University Hospitals of LMU and TUM, and Helmholtz Munich. Established in 2025, the alliance aims to accelerate translational medicine by strengthening collaboration in clinical research, technology transfer and innovation, enabling scientific discoveries to be translated more rapidly into clinical practice and improved patient care.
Original Press Release
The original press release includes additional background information and an interview with the team.
