Since the creation of its Artificial Intelligence Center in December 2023, the Centre Baclesse continues to develop its potential with the inauguration of its Workstation on Thursday March 6, 2025. Comprising several powerful computing stations designed for technical or scientific applications, it will accelerate Research & Development and training in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide tomorrow's new solutions for optimizing the care of cancer patients.
"The inauguration of this AI Workstation marks a crucial step for the Center in its commitment to integrating the most advanced technologies in the service of healthcare. Artificial intelligence in precision medicine offers immense potential for improving the care of cancer patients. Thanks to this new infrastructure, we can provide our researchers and healthcare professionals with the tools they need to develop solutions tailored to patients' real needs, while strictly respecting their data. This initiative will not only enable us to accelerate our research work, but also to train the next generation of experts in AI applied to healthcare, in order to meet tomorrow's medical challenges," says Pr Roman ROUZIER, General Manager of the Centre Baclesse.
Autonomous algorithm development for high-quality, secure medical research
In order not to be dependent on external solutions that do not systematically meet patient data quality and security criteria, but also in a quest for scientific excellence, Baclesse has chosen to equip itself with operational, high-performance equipment for AI research work.
This Workstation will enable teams to develop their own AI algorithms. This requires training models. This requires large volumes of data and powerful computing stations. These computing stations are expensive, but indispensable to the development of these algorithms. With this in mind, the Normandy Region financed a computing station via the "Booster IA" call for projects.
The Centre Baclesse has invested in several of these computing stations and in a new room, an "IA Workstation", where these developments can take place.
This new Workstation is used not only by students on their Master 2 courses in computer science, but also by PhD students working on their science and medicine theses on AI applied to healthcare.
Training tomorrow's experts
To ensure that tomorrow's AI experts are trained in the field of healthcare, and that healthcare professionals are also trained in the field of AI, Aurélien CORROYER-DULMONT, head of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) department and medical imaging researcher-engineer at the Centre Baclesse, is teaching courses on the application of AI in the fields of medical imaging and oncology.
"The creation of this AI Workstation represents a unique opportunity to train tomorrow's experts in both artificial intelligence and healthcare. By integrating practical courses on the application of AI to real data, we offer students and healthcare professionals an environment conducive to learning and innovation. The aim is to provide them not only with solid technical skills, but also with an in-depth understanding of medical issues, so that they can actively contribute to the evolution of healthcare thanks to AI," emphasizes Aurélien CORROYER-DULMONT.
Initially, these theoretical courses will be dedicated to students in the second year of the Master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Health at theUniversité de Caen Normandie. Then, from September 2025, healthcare professionals preparing a DU (Diplôme Universitaire) "AI et donnée" with a "healthcare" module will also be able to take specific courses on AI in healthcare. The forthcoming opening of this DU is already generating a great deal of interest.
"The Centre Baclesse is resolutely committed to the digital shift in healthcare, and this project is a perfect illustration of this. By integrating the most advanced technologies into our medical-scientific projects, we are giving our teams the means to innovate, develop customized algorithms and contribute to the evolution of oncology treatments", adds Michael CANOVAS, Deputy General Manager of the Centre Baclesse.
The inauguration of its AI Workstation, an initiative combining technological performance and interdisciplinary collaboration, sets the stage for major new advances in patient care and the application of AI in healthcare.
