Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering
Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering

Platform4Health.Ruhr & Platform4Health.Ruhr 2

Concept Development and Exemplary, Prototype Implementation of a Ruhr Health Platform

 

In the Platform4Health.Ruhr project, the team is developing a digital platform that aggregates services related to prevention, health promotion and healthcare in the Ruhr region, presents them in an accessible way and tailors them to users’ individual lifestyles. The focus is on conceptual design, proof of concept and prototypical implementation—initially as a pilot for the city of Oberhausen, and in Project 2 also for Gelsenkirchen, Bochum and Duisburg.

Platform4Health.Ruhr and Platform4Health.Ruhr 2: Concept Development and Exemplary, Prototype Implementation of a Ruhr Health Platform
Image created with GPT Image 1.5, prompt and concept by Maren Keuchel

The Challenge  

Today, a vast amount of health-related information is available—but it is scattered, presented inconsistently and rarely tailored to people’s specific life situations. Anyone seeking local services related to prevention, health promotion and healthcare must already know what to search for. As a result, groups that would benefit the most—such as refugees or older adults—can be better served. Existing portals offer limited personalization and local relevance, while the processing of personal and health-related data requires strict data protection measures.

 

Our Services  

Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering (ISST) is responsible for the platform’s technical foundation. The team designs the overall architecture, automatically identifies existing content from reputable sources and integrates it. To do this, the team uses web crawling, web scraping and artificial intelligence (AI)-supported methods. In addition, the team is developing an agent-based solution to tailor content to individuals’ specific life contexts. An accompanying data protection concept—including a rights and roles model and technical and organisational measures (TOMs) in accordance with Article 32 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—ensures proper handling of sensitive data. The team is testing all components as prototypes in the pilot municipalities as a proof of concept.

 

The Result 

At the end of the project, a functional demonstrator of Platform4Health.Ruhr will validate content integration and personalization using four pilot municipalities as a proof of concept—supplemented by a data protection concept, a governance model and an action guide for scaling the initiative to other municipalities. The tools developed will be incorporated into the workshops of the Digital Health Factory Ruhr and made available to the innovation hub for follow-up projects. This approach will establish a foundation for a Ruhr region-wide platform to strengthen health literacy.

 

The Partners

  • Bochum University of Applied Sciences
  • TAKEPART Media
  • German Red Cross (DRK) Oberhausen
  • Oberhausen Public Health Department
  • MEDECON Ruhr
  • City of Duisburg
  • City of Gelsenkirchen
  • City of Bochum

 

Funding

  • Funding Agency: German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
  • Grant Number: 03WIR7413D/03WIR7420C
  • Duration: September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2028 / September 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028