The aICU research programme: Developing and evaluating AI-based decision support for intensive care

aICU is a clinically embedded research programme founded at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm South General Hospital that develops and evaluates AI-based decision support for intensive care.

About the aICU programme

Our work spans retrospective model development, external validation, human-centred design and evaluation, and prospective clinical studies. The programme is supported by large-scale longitudinal ICU data from multiple countries and close integration with the clinical environment in Stockholm. Our aim is to develop systems that are clinically relevant and reliable across patients and settings, and rigorously evaluate their safety and performance before they influence patient care.

The programme’s first major clinical application is decision support around mechanical ventilation and extubation, including dynamic prediction of ventilation duration and extubation failure. The methods, infrastructure and evaluation framework are designed to support research across other complex and time-sensitive decisions in intensive care.

Collaborations

The programme is led from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm South General Hospital and developed through active national and international research collaborations involving joint projects, supervision and research exchange across institutions.

The programme’s international collaborations began with the University of Cambridge, where we work closely with the ML@CL group led by Professors Neil Lawrence and Carl Henrik Ek in the Department of Computer Science and Technology. At the University of Edinburgh, we collaborate with the groups of Professor Ajitha Rajan in the School of Informatics and Professor Frauke Zeller at the Institute for Design Informatics. Alongside these collaborations, additional national and international partners contribute across individual projects. 

Funding and support

The aICU programme has received funding and support from Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset, the University of Cambridge Accelerate Programme for Scientific Discovery, the Region Stockholm Innovation Fund, Digital Futures, the Swedish Association for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (SFAI) through the Surgery and Intensive Care Research Fund, the Swedish Medical Society (SLS), the Olof Norlander Foundation, the Hirsch Foundation and the Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation.

News from aICU

Project members

Villiam V. Kildal

Villiam V. Kildal

Principal Investigator

Christian Cabrera-Jojoa

Visiting researcher, Associate Professor, University of Cambridge

Diana Robinson

Postdoctoral researcher

Radzim Sendyka

Visiting researcher, doctoral student, University of Cambridge

Malin Albert

Postdoctoral researcher
Carl Henrik Ek

Carl Henrik Ek

Visiting Professor

Fleur Conway

Visiting researcher, doctoral student, University of Edinburgh

Matilda Lindén

Affiliated to Research

Kajsa Svensson

Affiliated to Research
Content reviewer:
01-09-2026