Addressing Growing Demands in Radiology
The newly established Plain Medical, based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, has emerged from a long-standing collaboration between the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS (Germany) and Radboud University Medical Center (Radboud UMC, the Netherlands). The company officially began operations in summer 2025 with a mission to accelerate diagnostic workflows through intelligent automation.
As the number of CT examinations in Europe continues to rise—up from 37 million to 100 million in the past 25 years—hospitals face a growing shortage of qualified radiologists. Plain Medical’s AI solutions aim to reduce this workload by automating time-intensive tasks such as tumor measurement, segmentation, and report generation, allowing radiologists to focus on clinical decision-making.
AI Platform for Comprehensive Image Analysis
Plain Medical takes a comprehensive approach to image interpretation, analyzing all relevant anatomical structures rather than isolated organs or lesions. Its GenAI platform, Plain Report, segments more than 150 thoracic and abdominal structures in CT scans, compares them with prior studies, quantifies changes, and generates editable radiology reports within a single interface.
“Our goal is to establish Plain Medical as a leading player in the global market for AI in medical imaging,” said Professor Bram van Ginneken, CEO of Plain Medical and professor at Radboud UMC.
In developing its AI models, the company uses CuraMate, Fraunhofer MEVIS’s interactive software for image annotation, segmentation and quantification, which has been applied in national research networks such as NUM-RACOON.
Collaboration and Clinical Integration
Plain Medical benefits from the strategic partnership between Fraunhofer MEVIS and Radboud UMC, combining Fraunhofer’s AI expertise with Radboud’s extensive clinical data.
“With the spin-off, our goal is to accelerate the translation of AI developments into finished products significantly and make them available for routine clinical use,” said Professor Horst Hahn, Director of Fraunhofer MEVIS, who co-conceived and supported the spin-off from the very beginning. “We see Plain Medical as a catalyst that removes the brakes currently slowing progress.”
Professor Mathias Prokop, long-time head of Radiology at Radboud UMC and Deputy Chair of the Fraunhofer MEVIS Advisory Board, supports the company as a strategic advisor. Hahn emphasized the importance of this collaboration: “At Fraunhofer MEVIS, we focus intensively on developing interactive, AI-based methods that must also be trained. Together, we aim to jointly refine these methods and translate them into clinical practice. Radboud UMC contributes essential ‘ingredients’ to this effort through its clinical expertise and comprehensive data.”
Other founding members include Alexandra Jürgens, Head of Business Development at Fraunhofer MEVIS and COO of Plain Medical; Dr. Kiran Venkadesh, CTO from Radboud UMC; and Dr. Matthieu Rutten, CMO and radiologist at Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis.
Supported by Fraunhofer Venture
Fraunhofer Venture, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s unit for technology transfer through spin-offs, played a key role in establishing the company, providing financial and operational support and participating in its first funding round.
