PERSIST, led by Gradiant, wins award in the #EuropaXunta 2025 competition

Award in the category ‘#EuropaXunta é máis Intelixente, Competitiva e Dixital’ (Europe is smarter, more competitive and more digital) for its social and educational impact.

The initiative, funded by the EU with more than 5 million euros, applied AI and Big Data to improve care for cancer survivors.

The European PERSIST research project, led by the Gradiant technology centre, has been recognised as the winner in the category ‘#EuropaXunta é máis Intelixente, Competitiva e Dixital’ (Europe is smarter, more competitive and more digital) in the second edition of the Xunta de Galicia’s Communication and Visibility Competition, organised as part of the #EuropaXunta initiative. The award, presented today in Santiago de Compostela, recognises the communication and dissemination work of projects financed with European funds that have a tangible impact on society. 

With more than 5 million euros in funding from the Horizon 2020 programme, PERSIST has developed tools based on artificial intelligence and big data to improve care for cancer survivors. For more than three years, Gradiant has led a consortium of 13 entities from 10 European countries, including the Galician Health Service (Sergas), to create a platform that combines clinical decision support systems and remote patient monitoring.

Technology that improves patients’ quality of life

“PERSIST has demonstrated how technology can be used to improve health, helping healthcare professionals to personalise monitoring and improve the quality of life of patients who have overcome cancer,” said Shaila Calvo, head of eHealth at Gradiant, after receiving the award.

The project, which ended in 2023, conducted clinical trials in four European hospitals, including the CHUO in Ourense, with the participation of 160 patients and 32 healthcare professionals. One of its main innovations was the development of an Artificial Intelligence model capable of automatically detecting circulating tumour cells in blood samples, a breakthrough that makes it possible to anticipate relapses or metastases in patients with a history of cancer.

In addition to its clinical impact, PERSIST has been recognised for its communicative and informative approach, highlighting European collaboration and Galician leadership in international biomedical research. The initiative of the Regional Government of Galicia, through the Directorate-General for European Funds, highlights the importance of this type of initiative, which brings projects such as this one closer to the public, showing how European funds contribute to social and health welfare.

“This award recognises the commitment of the entire PERSIST team to responsible research, transparency and social communication of knowledge”,said Luis Pérez Freire, Gradiant’s executive director. “From Galicia, we have coordinated a project that not only contributes to scientific advances, but also brings hope and quality of life to thousands of patients”. 

Technology with a real impact on society

Gradiant is currently continuing its work in the field of digital health and artificial intelligence applied to medicine, participating in European initiatives such as ICAREWOUNDS, focused on the smart monitoring of chronic wounds; FLUTE, aimed at federating clinical data through interoperable data spaces; and KIUR, which promotes the application of AI for clinical assistance and decision-making in wound care, through the Ignicia programme of the Regional Government of Galicia.

With this award, PERSIST reaffirms its value as a European benchmark in healthcare innovation, and Gradiant consolidates its leadership in the development of technological solutions that put science at the service of people.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 875406