News

SASICU Project at Halftime
May 2025

Now at its halfway mark, the EU-funded initiative is showing strong momentum in its mission to develop, test, and study smarter, quieter intensive care units across Europe. Over the past 18 months, the consortium — comprising healthcare providers, medical technology manufacturers, and researchers — has made substantial progress.
Key achievements so far include:

Silent ICU healing environment

  • Pre-evaluation studies published

  • Study will start in Q2 2025 with the approval of the study protocol.

Smart clinical alarm reduction

  • Patient simulator and SDC connector completed.

  • Smart alarms user interface in development.

PICS early detection and prevention

  • Clinical study in progress.

  • So far >550 patients enrolled with >110 consenting at PICS outpatient clinic.

Heart-lung interaction analytics

  • Clinical study in progress.

  • So far n>215 patients enrolled.

  • Patients provided data for septic shock, cardiogenic shock, ARDS, PPH and weaning.

Project Kickoff Press Release
November 2023

"Smart and Silent ICU" research project by Dräger and technology partners receives funding from the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI)

  • Investigation of the clinical benefits of interoperable networked medical technology and the connection of AI modules

  • Studies at participating university hospitals in the Netherlands, Austria and Spain

  • A total investment of around 18 million euros, half of which is funded by the EU research and innovation program Horizon Europe

Project group meeting in Barcelona, Spain
October 2024

The consortium recently convened to celebrate the conclusion of a successful first project year.

The meeting brought together 30 representatives from all project partners and the IHI to review achievements and provide updates. Participants reflected on lessons learned during the first 12 months and explored synergies across the four clinical use cases. A broader discussion also addressed the ethical implications of the technologies under development.

The session concluded with the identification of next steps and a refined roadmap for the project’s future.

SDC workshop at Dräger headquarters
February 2025

The Medical University of Vienna visited Dräger's Connectivity Lab at its headquarters in Lübeck, Germany, for an exchange on clinical applications of the SDC standard in the SASICU study and beyond.

As part of SASICU, MedUni Vienna is conducting a study to identify indicators that can be used to better predict the occurrence of Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) in patients.