Participation in an intensive Biomedical AI Bootcamp by exquAIro can have tangible impact in clinical practice and on careers. Oncologist and surgeon Sven Mieog of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) is a clear example: after completing the bootcamp, he received a prestigious Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) grant for research on liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer.
“The bootcamp really helped me strengthen my research proposal and make AI applications more concrete for the clinic,” says Mieog. “I learned how to clearly define a problem and convincingly present a solution, skills that were essential in securing this grant.”
Focus Green
Mieog’s project, FOCUS GREEN: Dual-dye Fluorescence-guided Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases Using SGM-101 and Indocyanine GREEN, aims to improve the precision of liver surgery using fluorescent dyes and artificial intelligence (AI).
“It’s crucial that we remove all metastases during surgery without unnecessarily damaging healthy tissue,” Mieog explains. “That can be quite challenging in patients who have already undergone chemotherapy or previous treatments.”
More precise surgery through dual-dye technique
The study uses two fluorescent tracers: one that concentrates around the metastases and another that marks the tumor cells themselves. This dual-dye technique enables surgeons to operate more precisely and reduces the risk of leaving tumor tissue behind.
A pilot study with ten patients at LUMC showed promising results, both technically and in terms of patient satisfaction. Thanks to the KWF grant, the team can now conduct a follow-up study with 29 additional patients, spread across LUMC, Amsterdam UMC and Erasmus MC in Rotterdam.
AI assistance during surgery
AI plays a key role in the project. Intraoperative images are linked to preoperative CT and MRI scans and pathology data, allowing an AI system to support surgeons in identifying metastases during surgery. “The goal is for AI to help us interpret the fluorescent signals in real time and provide a more complete picture of the tumor location,” says Mieog.
The project is being carried out by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, radiologists and pathologists, including Dr. Rutger-Jan Swijnenburg (Amsterdam UMC), Dr. Dirk Grünhagen (Erasmus MC), Dr. Jouke Dijkstra (LUMC), Prof. Alexander Vahrmeijer (LUMC) and Dr. Stijn Crobach (LUMC).
Impact beyond research grants
The study will start on January 1, 2026, and run for 2.5 years. In addition to KWF funding, the project has also been prioritized within the Alpe d’HuZes program, which provides additional visibility and support. “Without grants like this, such research would not be possible,” says Mieog.
The impact of the bootcamp, however, extends beyond this single grant. “The bootcamp not only strengthened my technical understanding, but also helped me learn how to build teams and collaborate across disciplines,” says Mieog. “New collaborations are also emerging beyond my own LUMC, for example the joint research I am now setting up with Matthijs Berends, medical microbiologist-epidemiologist at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), whom I met during the bootcamp. Without these kinds of grants and without the insights I gained in the bootcamp, this kind of research would not be possible,” he concludes. “They allow us to develop new technologies that directly benefit patients.”
