Opening Perspective Talks

Abstract. A journey through the history of artificial intelligence in medicine. We'll explore its origins, understand the revolutions that have shaped it, and look forward to the critical opportunities and profound challenges that await the next generation of researchers.

Speaker. Luigi Portinale, Computer Science Institute, DiSIT, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy - PhD in Computer Science (Universities of Torino and Milano) in 1994. Full professor of Computer Science at the University of Piemonte Orientale (UPO), lecturing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Member of AIxIA (Italian Association for AI), AAAI (Association for the Advancement of AI) and SIBIM (Italian Society for Biomedical Informatics). Member of ELLIS (Euopean Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems). Director of the AI@UPO (Interdeparmental Research Center on AI) and coordinator of the Living Lab on AI (UPO). Founder and CTO of Inferendo srl (spin-off of UPO), innovative start-up focusing on visual search and recommender systems. Deputy coordinator of the National PhD on Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare and Life Sciences. Active research in AI since late 80s with focus on intelligent decision support, causal and probabilistic reasoning, case-based reasoning. Recent interests involves traditional machine learning as well as deep learning with particular attention to healthcare and biomedical applications.

Abstract. Healthcare data is often described as the fuel of innovation - but those who work with it every day know that this “fuel” is fragmented, delayed, incomplete, or locked behind organizational and regulatory barriers. In this talk, we will explore the practical challenges and real-world constraints encountered in healthcare data management, especially from the perspective of those who need to use data for decision-making, operational governance, or industrial collaboration. We will examine the types of data typically available, the legal and technical limitations, and the cultural and organizational gaps that stand in the way of effective use. Drawing on real experiences and use cases, we’ll discuss how data can be turned into actionable insights - despite the imperfections - and how dashboards and data governance tools can support value-based decision-making in healthcare systems. The aim is to shift the conversation from idealized data-driven models to what can truly be achieved in practice.

Speaker. Elisa Ervas, Head of Clinical Data Governance, Deda Next, Italy - A terrestrial being with more than twenty years of experience in healthcare data management, she describes herself as a health data lover. Since 2025 she has been Head of Clinical Data Governance at Deda Next. She was a partner at Innovo, a company specialized in business analytics for healthcare, where she worked as a consultant and strategic partner for healthcare organizations, supporting them in understanding and leveraging data for decision-making. She has gained a 360° view of the healthcare ICT supply chain, with deep knowledge of processes, applications, and issues related to data quality. She teaches “Methods and Technologies for Information Processing” and “Technological Innovations and Digital Health” at the “A. Gemelli” Faculty of Medicine and Surgery - Turin campus.