Wednesday, 24-09-2025

Research

Cross-border research for digital home monitoring

The eye as a diagnostic window – University of Lübeck leads new Interreg project HEALTHeye

How can modern medical technology help detect chronic diseases early and provide better care for patients – even outside the doctor's office? These questions are the focus of the new German-Danish research project HEALTHeye, which is being coordinated by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Maik Rahlves from the University's Institute for Biomedical Optics in collaboration with Priv.-Doz. Dr. Ramtin Rahmanzadeh from the Medical Laser Center Lübeck.

The project, with a total budget of €1.5 million, is funded as part of the Interreg Germany-Denmark program. The aim is to develop novel portable systems for self-monitoring (home monitoring) of chronic diseases – in particular through the analysis of biomarkers in tear fluid and through 3D imaging of the eye using digital holography. Holography is a process for three-dimensional imaging of objects.

The eye serves as a “diagnostic window” to the entire body: changes can indicate diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or neurological disorders. “With HEALTHeye, we want to show that biomedical optics, artificial intelligence, and digitalization can be combined to break new ground in medical diagnostics,” explains Prof. Maik Rahlves.

Forward-looking model project for digital healthcare in rural areas

In addition to scientific developments, knowledge transfer is also at the heart of the project. A digital HEALTHeye platform will connect research, industry, medicine, and the public, providing knowledge on eHealth and home monitoring technologies. “In the HEALTHeye project, we are focusing on researching new optical and sensory approaches that can significantly improve the detection and monitoring of chronic diseases,” says Dr. Ramtin Rahmanzadeh from the Medical Laser Center Lübeck (MLL). 

The cross-border consortium brings together partners from Germany and Denmark – including Prof. Jesper Glückstad from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, the University of Lübeck, and the Medical Laser Center Lübeck – as well as numerous network partners from research, clinics, and industry, including EUROIMMUN and Novonordisk.

HEALTHeye is a pioneering model project for digital healthcare in rural areas, which is expected to benefit both patients and the business locations of northern Germany and southern Denmark in the long term.

Joint kick-off workshop at the Lübeck Technology Center

HEALTHeye is one of eleven new projects receiving a total of €15.3 million in funding under the German-Danish Interreg program. Interreg is a joint initiative of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Interreg Committee, with 36 Danish and German members entitled to vote, met in Lübeck on June 16 and 17, 2025, to make the new funding decisions.

Other projects in the current program include OSCAR for better care for people with hearing problems, RobOdin, which aims to make the region a hotspot for AI-supported robotics, and Trans-Belt MRC to establish a German-Danish network for medical robotics between Odense and Lübeck. A kick-off workshop for all eleven new projects took place on September 24 at the Lübeck Technology Center.

The Interreg Germany-Denmark (Interreg 6A) funding program covers the Fehmarnbelt and Syddanmark-Schleswig-K.E.R.N. (Kiel, Eckernförde, Rendsburg, Neumünster) regions. The new projects “bring fresh ideas and concrete solutions for a livable and sustainable border region,” as the Interreg Committee announced following the new funding decisions.