Abstract NEODATA+

NEODATA+ builds on an already operational, high-frequency digital infrastructure embedded in routine care within a university Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The platform continuously captures 24/7 high-resolution physiological vital signs data like breathing and heart rate, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) data.

The project extends this existing infrastructure into a robust, ethically governed, and interoperable European health data platform by integrating multimodal datastreams, enabling objective assessment of neonatal disease phenomena like Apnea, Bradycardia and Desaturations and extending into pain, discomfort, and early neurodevelopmental risk.  
To achieve this in the EHDS context for this vulnerable group of newborn patients a key bottleneck is to develop the governance, legal and regulatory requirements to be in place.  

In this project we demonstrate both the technical solution for federated learning as the governance required to scale to NICUs across Europe. The bundled datapower enables the close structural innovation gaps for pediatrics.

NEODATA+ aligns with the European Health Data Space by embedding privacy-by-design, federated data access, and secondary use readiness from inception. The project focuses on consolidation, governance, multimodal integration, and interregional scalability rather than early-stage feasibility, positioning neonatal care as a leading real-world EHDS use case.