AI in Medical Diagnostics at Barcelona International Hospitals

Barcelona International Hospitals (BIH) is a unified network of seven leading medical centers in Barcelona. They work together to implement advanced technologies, including AI in healthcare and AI in hospitals, to enhance the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment.

This article details how artificial intelligence in medicine improves medical diagnostics across the BIH hospitals, with real-world examples of implementation.

BIH Hospitals: Key Centers and Their AI Initiatives

• Hospital Universitari Dexeus — Since 2019, they have been using AI to analyze lung CT scans for early tumor detection.
• Centro Médico Teknon — Known for research into AI-powered diagnostics for urinary incontinence and pioneering AI-enabled 3D orthoses to accelerate patient recovery. You can learn more about how 3D printing is used in medicine in our article on 3D printing for surgical planning.
• Hospital Quirónsalud Barcelona — Uses the Da Vinci surgical robot together with AI-enhanced PET–CT analysis.
• Hospital Clínic de Barcelona — Employs the Aidoc platform in radiology and AI tools for COVID‑19 assessment.
• Institut Guttmann — Implements AI in neurorehabilitation using exoskeletons and physiological data analytics.
• Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona (SJD) — A major pediatric hospital in the San Juan de Dios network that uses AI for rare disease diagnosis and operational optimization, supported by AI and generative AI labs.

SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital: AI in Pediatrics and Rare Diseases

Microsoft AI Lab

In October 2023, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona and Microsoft opened the Health Copilot Lab to apply AI and generative AI in pediatric diagnostics and analytics. Initiatives include:

• AI‑driven diagnostics: automated phenotyping and EHR goal setting.
• AI integration into the hospital’s command center to optimize resource management and forecasting.

Fast, High-Quality MRI Scans

In March 2024, SJD received funding to implement SmartSpeed AI, reducing MRI scan time from 40 minutes to just 3—critical for children, minimizing anesthesia use and improving image quality.

Rare Neuromuscular Disease Diagnosis

Since October 2019, SJD has used AI to diagnose collagen VI disorders. Using confocal microscopy, the system achieves over 95 % accuracy, significantly improving rare disease detection and therapy assessment.

Dexeus: Early Lung Cancer Detection Leader

Artificial intelligence for Chest CTs

The Hospital Universitari Dexeus became the first Spanish institution to implement Infervision AI‑CT for early lung tumor detection since 2019. Their workflow:

1. The system automatically detects and marks nodules while evaluating their potential malignancy.
2. The system delivers analysis results in seconds which proves essential for high-volume medical facilities.
3. The system analyzes 25,000 CT scans daily by using global data to identify small nodules which human eyes cannot detect.

Benefits:

• Speed: instant preliminary interpretation
• Precision: detects even millimeter-sized nodules
• Physician Support: Artificial intelligence suggests findings and radiologist confirms

This dramatically speeds up cancer diagnosis and reduces the risk of missing early-stage tumors.

AI and Genomics at Teknon: Personalized Oncology

Artificial intelligence + Genomic Data = Targeted Treatment

At Centro Médico Teknon, AI algorithms analyze both clinical and genomic profiles to create personalized cancer treatment plans. This enables:

• Therapy tailored to the tumor’s mutation profile
• Optimized drug selection and dosage
• Prediction of treatment response and side effect risks

AI-driven oncology becomes more precise, safer, and effective—minimizing unnecessary procedures and improving BIH patients’ quality of life.

Benefits of AI at BIH Hospitals

Implementing Artificial intelligence in diagnostics across BIH clinics offers significant advantages:

1. Increased diagnostic accuracy, especially in early disease stages
2. Rapid results—AI turns CT, MRI, and other test interpretations into seconds instead of hours
3. Clinical decision support—AI identifies critical indicators among many variables
4. Compliance with European safety and privacy standards, including GDPR
5. Enhanced reputation—BIH is recognized as an innovative medical network offering cutting-edge care

AI Does Not Replace Doctors

BIH strictly adheres to European standards. All AI systems undergo ethical review and certification, and data processing complies with GDPR. Importantly, AI serves as a precise assistant, offering insights and forecasts based on millions of cases—while the physician retains decision-making authority.

Scaling AI in Medicine: The Future at BIH

BIH is actively expanding AI applications across disciplines such as oncology, cardiology, neurology, and critical care. They are developing tele-diagnosis and remote monitoring platforms, especially for chronic care. BIH leaders participate in EU big data and medical AI research projects like AICCELERATE.

BIH is more than a network of clinics—it’s a medical ecosystem where AI enhances diagnostics, accuracy, speed, and personalized care. From AI in pediatrics at SJD to cancer prevention at Dexeus and genomic oncology at Teknon, these innovations answer the question: how does AI improve medical diagnostics at BIH? It is a step toward the future of medicine, accessible today.

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