Professor Sandra Ortega-Martorell and PhD student Nosa Aikodon, from Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), will take part in ESC Congress 2026, taking place in Munich from 28 to 31 August. 

Organised by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the congress brings together cardiovascular specialists, researchers and healthcare professionals from around the world to share the latest scientific developments and discuss emerging approaches to cardiovascular care. 

Deep Learning for Critical Care 

Nosa Aikodon will present the abstract “FIRST-ICU: A Deep Learning Framework for Multi-Intervention Prediction and Risk Stratification in Critical Care with Cross-Continental External Validation.” 

The study was developed by Nosa Aikodon, Professor Sandra Ortega-Martorell and Professor Ivan Olier from Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU); Brian W. Johnston and Dr Ingeborg D. Welters from Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT); and Professor Gregory Y. H. Lip from the University of Liverpool (UoL). The research explores the use of deep learning to predict multiple clinical interventions and support patient risk stratification in critical care.  

AI, Digital Twins and Heart–Brain Interactions 

Professor Sandra Ortega-Martorell will also participate as an invited speaker in the session “Novel and emerging factors in heart-brain interactions: the known knowns and known unknowns,” under the topic of Prevention. 

The session will take place on 31 August 2026, from 08:15 to 09:45. Her talk, entitled “AI/machine learning and digital twins for personalised ischaemic stroke and atrial fibrillation management,” will explore how advanced computational methods can contribute to more personalised approaches to prevention and care. 

Advancing Personalised Cardiovascular Care 

The participation of TARGET researchers at ESC Congress 2026 will provide an important opportunity to share project related research, exchange knowledge with the international cardiovascular community and contribute to discussions on the future of data-driven and personalised healthcare. 

Their participation also reinforces TARGET’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and to advancing more predictive, preventive and personalised approaches to cardiovascular and stroke care. 

For further information about the ESC Congress 2026, click here.