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Fraunhofer MEVIS and Radboud University Medical Center have founded the spin-off Plain Medical
The spin-off Plain Medical has emerged from the long-standing collaboration between the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS and the Radboud University Medical Center (UMC). Based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, the company began operations in the summer of 2025. Its mission is to accelerate routine radiological tasks through intelligent automation and to pave the way for a new generation of AI-driven diagnostics. In doing so, it aims to address the growing shortage of radiology professionals in Europe and to relieve the burden on clinical staff.
Radiology in Europe faces major challenges. Over the past 25 years, the number of CT examinations has risen from 37 million to 100 million and continues to grow due to an aging population. At the same time, the growing flood of medical images is met by too few trained radiologists — there is a shortage of skilled professionals. To ease the burden on physicians by reducing time-consuming routine tasks such as tumor measurements and report generation, researchers at Fraunhofer MEVIS and Radboud UMC are developing solutions to automate these often still manual processes in radiology. The team of experts is creating AI-powered image analysis tools for the rapid and precise assessment of pathological changes, with the goal of bringing these innovations into clinical radiology quickly as certified applications through the spin-off Plain Medical.
Comprehensive Image Analysis
Plain Medical pursues a comprehensive approach: its solutions do not only identify individual organs or tumors but also consider all relevant structures within medical images that are essential for assessing patients’ clinical condition. Plain Report, Plain Medical’s GenAI platform, segments more than 150 anatomical structures in thoracic and abdominal CT scans, compares them with prior studies, quantifies changes, and automatically generates an editable radiological report. With Plain Report, radiologists will work in the future within a single interface rather than switching between multiple tools and platforms for different examinations. This creates greater clarity and frees up more time for patients, even in complex cases.
In AI development, the team at Plain Medical is supported by the interactive software CuraMate, developed by Fraunhofer MEVIS, which is used for the annotation, segmentation, and quantification of radiological image features. It has already been successfully applied in numerous radiology studies conducted within the Network of University Medicine (NUM-RACOON), among others.
Pioneers of Digital Radiology Join Forces to Launch Plain Medical
The driving force behind the spin-off is Professor Bram van Ginneken, who, in addition to his role at Radboud UMC in Nijmegen, has also conducted research at Fraunhofer MEVIS. “Our goal is to establish Plain Medical as a leading player in the global market for AI in medical imaging,” says van Ginneken, the company’s CEO.
The two founding partners, Fraunhofer MEVIS and Radboud UMC, share a long-standing strategic partnership in AI-supported medical imaging and analysis. “With the spin-off, our goal is to accelerate the translation of AI developments into finished products significantly and make them available for routine clinical use,” says Professor Horst Hahn, Director of Fraunhofer MEVIS, who co-conceived and supported the spin-off from the very beginning. “We see Plain Medical as a catalyst that removes the brakes currently slowing progress,” he adds.
Professor Mathias Prokop supports the spin-off as strategic advisor, a pioneer of digital and AI-assisted radiology. As long-time head of the Department of Radiology at Radboud UMC and Deputy Chair of the Fraunhofer MEVIS Advisory Board, he has played a bridging role in numerous joint projects between the two institutions. Hahn emphasizes the importance of this collaboration: “At Fraunhofer MEVIS, we focus intensively on developing interactive, AI-based methods that must also be trained. Together, we aim to jointly refine these methods and translate them into clinical practice. Radboud UMC contributes essential ‘ingredients’ to this effort through its clinical expertise and comprehensive data”. Plain Medical receives imaging data and reports from a total of three Dutch hospitals serving as pilot partners, which are used for training and evaluating its AI methods.
Other founding members include Alexandra Jürgens, Head of Business Development at Fraunhofer MEVIS and COO of Plain Medical; Dr. Kiran Venkadesh, CTO from Radboud UMC; and Dr. Matthieu Rutten, CMO and radiologist at Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis.
Fraunhofer Venture also played a key role in the establishment of Plain Medical. As the primary contact of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for technology transfer through spin-offs, it has supported the young company from the outset, assisting with all aspects of spin-off formation and financing. In addition, Fraunhofer Venture acts as an investor and is participating in the company’s initial funding round.
Alexandra Jürgens
Head of Business Development
Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS
Max-von-Laue-Straße 2
28359 Bremen
+49 421 178 792 159
alexandra.juergens@fraunhofer.mevis.de
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