Zurich, Switzerland – The European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) is proud to be a clinical stakeholder in SHERPA, a major research initiative funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme. SHERPA (Smart Human-centred Effortless support for Professional clinical Applications) is a multidisciplinary public-private collaboration that aims to develop advanced, AI-driven assistive technologies for interventional radiology, with a focus on neurovascular procedures.
The SHERPA project brings together a diverse consortium of academic institutions, university hospitals, and industry partners from across Europe. Its goal is to design and implement intelligent systems that support clinical decision-making and workflow in minimally invasive procedures – spanning from diagnosis and treatment planning to intraprocedural guidance and post-procedural follow-up.
ESMINT’s involvement ensures that the project remains clinically grounded and aligned with the real-world needs of neurointerventionalists. “By participating in SHERPA, ESMINT ensures that the voices and needs of neurointerventionalists are directly reflected in the development of next- generation assistive technologies,” said Dr. Anne Christine Januel, President of ESMINT. “We are proud to contribute our clinical perspective to a project that has the potential to fundamentally improve how we plan, perform, and evaluate neurovascular procedures.”
ESMINT plays a key role in driving the development, validation, and dissemination of SHERPA innovations, contributing its extensive professional network, scientific expertise, and educational infrastructure. “By integrating intelligent support systems into daily clinical workflows, SHERPA helps us make neurointerventions safer, more precise, and ultimately better for patients,” said Dr. Matthias Bechstein, appointed SHERPA representative for ESMINT.
To showcase ongoing tasks within the project, a dedicated SHERPA outreach session will be held at the upcoming ESMINT Annual Congress in Marseille, on Friday, September 5, from 08:30 to 09:30 AM CEST. The session will highlight clinical and technical advances in areas such as aneurysm rupture/growth prediction, autocollimation and automated working projections, high-fidelity neurointerventional simulation, digital patient follow-up solutions, and automated aneurysm detection and device sizing.Through its engagement in SHERPA, ESMINT reaffirms its commitment to supporting research and technology that improve safety, precision, and outcomes in neurovascular care.
About ESMINT
The European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) promotes education, innovation, and scientific collaboration in the field of neurointervention. By participating in EU-funded research initiatives such as SHERPA, ESMINT helps drive forward clinical adoption of transformative technologies for the benefit of patients across Europe.