AI-Mind wins first-ever Award for Excellence in Clinical Trials
The AI-Mind project, a European research project developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools for early dementia risk prediction, has been awarded the first-ever Award for Excellence in Clinical Trials, winning the category Innovative Environment of the Year. The award ceremony took place on 29 January 2026 at the Grand Hotel in Oslo during Norway’s inaugural national celebration of excellence in clinical research.
About the ceremony
The award was presented in a ceremony attended by more than 190 representatives from across Norway’s research, industry and healthcare sectors. The event, opened by the Norwegian Minister of Health and Care Services, celebrated excellence across six categories of clinical research, recognising exceptional contributions to patient-oriented science and innovation. The Award for Excellence in Clinical Trials recognises outstanding achievements in patient-oriented and innovative clinical studies.
AI-Mind was selected by the jury for its pioneering integration of artificial intelligence into clinical research, its strong patient-centred design and its ability to translate complex biomedical data into clinically meaningful decision support tools.
“We are deeply honoured to receive this award,” said Ira Haraldsen, Project Coordinator.
“This recognition belongs to the entire consortium and, in particular, to the dedicated clinical teams and study participants across Spain, Italy, Finland and Norway. AI-Mind is built on close collaboration between clinicians, researchers, technologists and patients, and this award highlights what can be achieved when expertise and commitment come together across borders to advance patient-centred clinical research.”
The jury highlighted AI-Mind as one of the first clinical studies in Norway to apply artificial intelligence as a clinical method for early dementia risk identification. The project was also recognised for its strong emphasis on patient involvement, ethical responsibility, and long-term engagement, as well as for its standardised data collection and scalable design across multiple European clinical centres.
About AI-Mind
Funded by the European Union, AI-Mind was launched in 2021 and involves 17 partners from across Europe. The project aims to transform dementia prevention by developing AI-driven tools that support clinicians in predicting the risk of dementia among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Through its multinational clinical trials and robust governance framework, the project contributes to strengthening Europe’s capacity for innovative, technology-driven and ethically grounded clinical research. Read more on the project website.
Read the publication in Frontiers in Neurorobotics about the AI-Mind study protocol at https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2023.1289406
Looking Forward
As AI-Mind enters its final project phase, the consortium continues working towards clinical validation and real-world implementation of its AI-based tools to shorten the time of diagnosis and enable personalised care pathways for patients across healthcare systems in Europe.