LIVE INCITE · Project

Digital Patient Coaching Platform That Cuts Post-Surgery Complications and Recovery Time

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Imagine you're about to have surgery, and your doctor tells you that quitting smoking or eating better beforehand could seriously reduce your risk of complications — but nobody actually helps you do it. LIVE INCITE built a digital service that gives each patient a personalized plan before and after surgery, using machine learning to track their progress on things like nutrition and alcohol use. It even loops in family and friends to keep the patient on track. Think of it as a smart personal coach that connects you, your surgeon, and your support network in one place.

By the numbers

project deliverables produced

consortium partners

countries involved (DK, ES, SE)

years of development (2016-2021)

The business problem

What needed solving

Patients going into surgery who smoke, drink excessively, or are malnourished face significantly higher complication rates and longer recovery times. Today, hospitals hand out generic leaflets about risks and post-surgery exercises, but there is no personalized digital system that actually helps patients change their behavior before and after the operation. The result: avoidable complications, extended hospital stays, and higher costs for healthcare providers and insurers.

The solution

What was built

A digital perioperative lifestyle intervention platform that uses machine learning to create individual-specific patient plans, monitor compliance through continuous feedback, and connect patients with care providers, family, and friends. The project produced 35 deliverables including pilot products demonstrated by R&D suppliers, built on open architecture and interoperability standards.

Audience

Who needs this

Hospital groups with high surgical volumes looking to reduce complication ratesDigital health companies building perioperative or patient engagement platformsHealth insurers wanting to cut post-surgical claims costsRegional health authorities modernizing surgical care pathwaysPhysiotherapy and rehabilitation clinic chains

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Hospital & Healthcare Systems

enterprise

Target: Hospital groups and regional health authorities managing surgical departments

If you are a hospital network dealing with high post-surgery complication rates and long patient recovery times — this project developed a digital perioperative coaching platform that delivers individual-specific lifestyle intervention plans. It uses machine learning to monitor patient compliance with pre- and post-surgery activities, potentially reducing complication risk and rehabilitation time. The platform was designed with open architecture and interoperability standards for integration with existing hospital IT systems.

Digital Health & MedTech

SME

Target: Health technology companies building patient engagement or remote monitoring solutions

If you are a digital health company looking for validated perioperative care technology — this project produced 35 deliverables including pilot products demonstrated by R&D suppliers, built around behavioral change concepts and continuous patient monitoring. The open architecture design and use of international standards means the technology can be integrated into existing platforms or white-labeled. The consortium of 4 partners across 3 countries (Denmark, Spain, Sweden) validated the approach in a Pre-Commercial Procurement setting.

Health Insurance & Managed Care

enterprise

Target: Health insurers and managed care organizations seeking to reduce surgical costs

If you are a health insurer dealing with expensive post-surgical complications and extended hospital stays — this project demonstrated that targeted lifestyle interventions (addressing smoking, alcohol, malnutrition) before surgery can reduce complication risk and rehabilitation time. The digital platform enables scalable patient monitoring without adding clinical staff. Fewer complications mean fewer readmissions and shorter recovery periods, directly reducing claims costs per surgical episode.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this system in our hospital?

The project data does not include specific pricing or implementation costs. As a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) project led by Region Stockholm, the solution was developed through a competitive R&D procurement process. Licensing or deployment costs would need to be negotiated directly with the R&D suppliers who built the pilot products.

Can this scale across multiple hospital sites or countries?

Scalability was a core design requirement. The project explicitly enforced interoperability, open architecture, and international standards to enable dissemination across a European-wide procurer community. The consortium itself spanned 3 countries (Denmark, Spain, Sweden), validating cross-border applicability.

What is the IP situation — can we license this technology?

As a PCP-funded project, intellectual property typically stays with the R&D suppliers who developed the pilot products. The emphasis on open architecture and international standards suggests the technology was designed to avoid vendor lock-in. Specific licensing terms would need to be discussed with the supplier organizations involved.

Does this comply with healthcare data regulations?

The platform was designed around international standards and interoperability principles for European healthcare systems. However, specific GDPR compliance details and medical device certification status are not detailed in the available project data. Any deployment would require validation against current regulatory requirements.

How long would integration with our existing systems take?

Based on available project data, the platform was built on open architecture principles specifically to support integration with existing hospital IT infrastructure. The project ran from 2016 to 2021, producing 35 deliverables including demonstrated pilot products. Integration timelines would depend on your current systems, but the standards-based design was intended to minimize lock-in.

What clinical evidence supports the outcomes?

The project objective states that lifestyle factors like smoking, hazardous alcohol drinking, and malnutrition are proven independent risk factors negatively impacting surgical outcomes. Evidence suggests intensive lifestyle intervention programs can significantly reduce post-surgery complication risk and rehabilitation time. The project itself produced a demonstrated pilot through R&D suppliers in the Original Development Phase.

What patient populations does this cover?

The platform targets all surgical patients whose lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, malnutrition, physical condition, mental state) could impact perioperative outcomes. It was designed to move beyond general risk information to individual-specific plans, using machine learning and continuous monitoring. The physiotherapy component suggests orthopedic and rehabilitation-intensive procedures were a focus area.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium of 4 partners across 3 countries (Denmark, Spain, Sweden) is lean and public-sector driven, with zero industry partners and zero SMEs. It includes 1 university, 1 research organization, and 2 other entities (likely health authorities or patient organizations). The coordinator, Region Stockholm, is a major European public healthcare authority — giving the project direct access to real hospital environments for testing. The absence of commercial technology partners means the actual digital solution was developed through the PCP procurement process by external R&D suppliers, not by consortium members themselves. For a business looking to adopt or license this technology, the conversation would need to include both the consortium (for clinical knowledge) and the winning R&D suppliers (for the technology).

REGION STOCKHOLMCoordinator · SE
REGION HOVEDSTADENparticipant · DK
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTETparticipant · SE
HOSPITAL CLINIC DE BARCELONAparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

Region Stockholm is a public healthcare authority in Sweden — look for their innovation procurement or digital health department contacts.

Order a report on this consortium See REGION STOCKHOLM profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

SciTransfer can identify the R&D suppliers who built the pilot products and facilitate introductions for licensing or deployment discussions. Contact us for a detailed technology brief.

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