- Telekom solution in cooperation with the University Hospital Bonn
- Integration of heterogeneous data streams into role-based dashboard
- AI-supported forecasts and recommendations for action
- Technically transferable to other critical infrastructure
Cyberattacks, system failures or undiscovered vulnerabilities – in highly networked organizations such as healthcare, these disruptions can have dramatic consequences. It is crucial to always keep track of things, in times of crisis and with foresight. Together, Telekom MMS and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have developed a prototypical real-time situation picture. This continuously monitors sensitive IT environments. Artificial intelligence not only supports the analysis but also makes it possible to predict undesirable developments – before they escalate. The aim of the cooperation is to use this solution productively in the future and thus strengthen the resilience of hospital operations in the long term. The solution can be transferred to other industries with critical infrastructure – such as energy and water supply or transport.
The situational awareness system was designed to merge data from previously separate systems – such as the hospital information system, asset management, monitoring and SIEM systems – into a central, visually prepared platform. This creates a comprehensive overview in the prototype, which is intended to support security of supply in regular operation as well as in the event of a crisis in later expansion stages.
More resilience for everyday hospital life
"The safety of our patients is our top priority. The situation picture helps us to remain capable of acting even in critical situations," emphasizes Dieter Padberg, Director of Information Technology at UKB. On this basis, specialist managers and decision-makers can react faster and in a more targeted manner, identify risks at an early stage and initiate measures. This not only increases the security of supply, but also strengthens the resilience of hospital operations, for example against cyber threats.
"Crises today are often determined more by a flood of information than by a lack of data. It is crucial to evaluate this in a targeted manner, to prioritize it and to be able to translate it into effective decisions and measures through recommendations for action. We want to help with that," says Ralf Pechmann, Managing Director of Telekom MMS.
Cyber attacks on hospitals are on the rise – sometimes with serious consequences for patient care. As a maximum care hospital, the UKB is also faced with the challenge of maintaining critical processes – such as operations and the preservation of vital functions for intensive care patients – even in the event of IT failures. AI plays a decisive role in effectively filtering out relevant data depending on the situation. In later expansion stages, the AI will also generate concrete recommendations for action, also taking into account the effectiveness and side effects of options for action.
The solution integrates heterogeneous data sources – from IT systems and medical devices to patient flows and workforce planning – into a clear dashboard. AI-supported forecasts help to identify bottlenecks at an early stage. In the event of malfunctions or security incidents, the system shows affected processes, suggests alternatives and provides concrete recommendations for action.
The situation picture can be used independently of the main systems and offers role-based user views – for example for hospital management, IT or nursing staff. This allows processes to be flexibly rescheduled and resources to be reallocated in a targeted manner. The technical basis is the Splunk platform, supplemented by an AI module for predicting system states. The concept for the user guidance, the user experience concept, was based on user stories and interviews with patients, doctors, nursing staff and relatives from everyday hospital life.
About the University Hospital Bonn
Around 550,000 treatments of patients take place at the UKB every year. It employs around 9,900 people. Total assets amount to EUR 1.8 billion. In addition to the 3,500 medical and dental students, more than 600 people are trained in numerous health professions every year. The UKB is number 1 among the university hospitals (UK) in North Rhine-Westphalia in the Focus Clinic List, was able to raise almost 100 million third-party funds for research, development and teaching in 2024 and has the second-highest Case Mix Index (case severity) of the university hospitals in Germany. For the fourth time in a row, the F.A.Z. Institute has awarded the UKB in the categories "Germany's Training Champions" and "Germany's Most Desirable Employers".
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