Switzerland launches PreDiabeTx project to curb type‑2 diabetes with AI and digital tools

Around half a million people in Switzerland are living with type‑2 diabetes, a disease that drives high healthcare costs and serious complications such as heart attacks and strokes. In response, the Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse) has funded the Flagship project PreDiabeTx, led by the research institute Empa. The multidisciplinary consortium brings together seven research institutions and eleven implementation partners—including health insurers, hospitals, public authorities and food‑industry companies—to develop AI‑driven digital sensors, personalised data‑based support and sustainable business models for prevention.

The project targets three major hurdles: low long‑term participation in preventive measures, the lack of viable business models for insurers and providers, and insufficient use of health data for personalised interventions. Empa researcher Thijs Defraeye notes, “Diabetes generates high healthcare costs in Switzerland,” while colleague Simon Annaheim adds that “prevention is difficult to measure and quantify, but we aim to create solutions that can be implemented at scale.”