AI in Medicine – Grand Opening of the New Office Space for the DFKI Laboratory in Lübeck

The grand opening of the new premises in Multifunctional Center IX of the Lübeck Technology Center took place on January 23, 2026, in the presence of Dirk Schrödter, Minister and Head of the State Chancellery of Schleswig-Holstein, and numerous guests from business, politics, and science. Lectures, technology demonstrations, and the presentation of the DFKI Laboratory Lübeck provided the event's content framework. The move marks an important step in the further establishment of DFKI in Lübeck and at the same time underscores Schleswig-Holstein's role as an important location for research and development in AI for medicine, medical technology, and the healthcare industry.

From left to right: Prof. Dr. Heinz Handels (Head of Research Department 'AI in Medical Image and Signal Processing'), Dirk Schrödter (Minister and Head of the State Chancellery of Schleswig-Holstein), Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger (DFKI CEO), Prof. Dr. Claudia Schmidtke (affiliated DFKI professor), Prof. Dr. Marcin Grzegorzek (Head of the 'AI for Assistive Health Technologies' Research Department)

The state government is funding the laboratory expansion for three years, starting in early 2024, with just under five million euros. Since then, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) has been strengthening the development and use of AI technologies in healthcare through a laboratory in Lübeck. The laboratory's research focuses on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The ongoing digitalization of medicine and medical technology is leading to a rapid increase in complex, heterogeneous data sets in the life sciences, which hold great potential for intelligent healthcare systems and self-learning AI technologies. Such IT systems are increasingly supporting doctors in their diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. The Lübeck research focuses on medical image and signal processing, which enables non-invasive insights into the body and sustainably improves everyday medical practice for the benefit of people.

"From medical image and signal processing to deep learning – the DFKI laboratory is a technical anchor for AI in medicine, medical technology, and the healthcare industry in Lübeck. What's more: Germany's northernmost DFKI branch is a central component of our steadily growing AI ecosystem in the state," said Digitalization Minister Dirk Schrödter. "As an important player, it supports regional companies in bringing research to application more quickly. The opening of the new premises, therefore, sends a strong signal about our position as a hub for AI and digital technology, while providing a boost to innovation and competitiveness in Schleswig-Holstein."

DFKI CEO Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger emphasized the importance of the Lübeck research focus: "With the move to the new premises in the Lübeck Technology Center, we are creating optimal conditions for excellent AI research in medicine. The Lübeck location offers an outstanding combination of scientific expertise, medical applications, and technological innovation. Together with the University of Lübeck, with the support of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, and in cooperation with companies, we are advancing the development of trustworthy AI solutions for medicine, medical technology, and the healthcare industry."

The DFKI in Lübeck opened as a branch office in 2021. Following personnel changes and a structural realignment, the location was permanently established as a DFKI laboratory in 2023. With its focus on application fields at the intersection of AI and medicine, the DFKI laboratory marks a central milestone in the structural development of Schleswig-Holstein in artificial intelligence. Today, the laboratory conducts research in the areas of "AI in Medical Image and Signal Processing (AIMedi)" under the direction of Prof. Dr. Heinz Handels and "AI for Assistive Health Technologies (AGT)" under the direction of Prof. Dr. Marcin Grzegorzek. The work includes AI-supported image processing, the analysis of biosignals, e.g., for intelligent hearing aids or the control of prostheses, and the automated evaluation of heterogeneous personal data.

The research department "AI in Medical Image and Signal Processing" develops adaptive methods for medical image processing to support medical diagnostics and therapy. The focus is on machine learning methods and deep learning networks for the automatic analysis and recognition of disease patterns, lesions, biomarkers, organs, tissues, and more in medical images and image sequences.

The research department "AI for Assistive Health Technologies" works on AI and signal processing methods to personalize and individualize health-related measures in prevention, diagnostics, therapy, rehabilitation, and care. The focus is on developing AI methods that learn complex relationships in a data-driven way, thereby overcoming the limitations of classical mathematical models.

DFKI has recently expanded its research expertise at the DFKI Laboratory in Lübeck through the affiliation of Prof. Dr. med. habil. Claudia Schmidtke, MBA, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Eisenbarth.

Links:
https://www.dfki.de/en/web/news/prof-claudia-schmidtke-strengthens-ai-research-in-gender-and-womens-health-at-the-dfki-lab-luebeck

https://www.dfki.de/en/web/news/thomas-eisenbarth-supports-the-dfki-laboratory-luebeck-as-an-affiliated-professor

Press contact:

Swantje Schmidt

C&M Communications & Media Lübeck/Bremen, DFKI

Swantje.Schmidt@dfki.de
Phone: +49 421 17845 4121