The consortium, led by the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) and Royal Philips, brings together 42 partners from 17 countries to conduct 22 clinical studies involving over 14,000 patients. The primary goal is to transform the detection, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases by addressing three key intervention points: preventing the disease before it develops, reversing its progression, and slowing it down in advanced stages.
In the European Union, over 60 million people live with cardiovascular diseases, which often significantly reduce quality of life. Early detection, timely diagnosis, and appropriate treatment are crucial to prevent these diseases from silently progressing to established conditions, potentially leading to premature death.
Professor Pim van der Harst, project coordinator, emphasizes the vision of "a future where heart diseases are no longer a one-way street," achieved by understanding biological and social determinants and deploying integrated innovations in diagnostics, monitoring, and care.
Robin Nijveldt, head of Cardiology at UMC Utrecht, highlights the importance of a comprehensive view of the patient's journey, moving beyond individual specialties to build transformative cardiovascular care for millions across Europe.
The EXIT-CVD clinical studies will focus on three key intervention points: early detection through digital monitoring ('early exit'), personalized risk assessment and specific interventions ('mid exit'), and advanced therapies for recovery in later stages ('late exit'). By combining diagnostic techniques, digital tools, and advanced therapeutic approaches, the project aims to develop implementable strategies for European healthcare systems.
The project also emphasizes accessible innovation, ensuring solutions are scalable, sustainable, and available to all relevant populations, including those historically underserved. A digital data platform, aligned with the European Health Data Space (EHDS), will facilitate the integration and evaluation of project innovations.
Bert van Meurs, business unit leader for Image-Guided Therapy at Royal Philips, notes that innovations such as contactless vital signs monitoring and advanced spectral computed tomography will be explored to enhance cardiovascular care.
The consortium will conduct 22 clinical studies with over 14,000 patients, including hospital monitoring via cameras (CARDIO-CAM), spectral CT for early detection (LEADER-PAD), remote heart failure monitoring (REMODEL-HF), and trials on image-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (GUIDANCE-PCCT) and imaging techniques for cardiomyopathies (NOTIFY-2).
The partnership includes clinical and academic partners such as Politecnico di Milano, KU Leuven, King's College London, and industrial partners like GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Medtronic, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi, among others.
