The medical technology industry welcomes the new European Commission's priority focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Our industry sees enormous potential of AI to make healthcare better and safer, improve access and outcomes, empower patients and citizens with information, and make healthcare delivery more efficient.
There are several challenges that impede the deployment of AI in healthcare. These include a fragmented data landscape that makes access to or sharing of data difficult, a lack of interoperability, and a shortage of incentives for data sharing. Legal, technical and social challenges present additional obstacles for the sharing and aggregation of data.
The healthcare industry faces challenges due to constantly changing conditions, including demographic transitions and the advancements we have achieved until now in health science and the healthcare industry. Life expectancy has increased, and we live longer with chronic diseases (Anderson & Hussey, 2000; Bongaart et al., 2015). This requires the healthcare industry to focus on an increasingly older population with a more complex disease burden than healthcare previously dealt with. As a direct consequence of the demographic shift, non-communicable and chronic diseases are becoming more prevalent, straining all health systems (Harris, 2019). 
On 24 March 2021, Regulation (EU) 2021/522 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 was adopted as part of the Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period. That Regulation established a Programme for the Union's action in the field of health
('the EU4Health Programme').
This study presents an overview of the development, adoption and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and applications in the healthcare sector across all Member States. The main aim of this study was to support the European Commission in identifying and addressing any issues that might be hindering the wider adoption of AI technologies in the healthcare sector. The study will help the Commission to take action to achieve its long-term goal on the effective implementation of AI in the healthcare sector, based around common legislation and policy framework. 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of algorithms encoded in technology to learn from data so that they can perform automated tasks without every step in the process having to be programmed explicitly by a human. WHO recognizes that AI holds great promise for the practice of public health and medicine. WHO also recognizes that, to fully reap the benefits of AI, ethical challenges for health care systems, practitioners and beneficiaries of medical and public health services must be addressed. Many of the ethical concerns described in this report predate the advent of AI, although AI itself presents a number of novel concerns. 
The Programme should be a means of promoting actions in areas where there is a Union added value that can be demonstrated. Such actions should include, inter alia, strengthening the exchange of best practices between Member States, supporting networks for the sharing of knowledge or for mutual learning, addressing cross-border threats to health so as to reduce the risks of such threats and to mitigate their consequences, addressing certain issues relating to the internal market in relation to which the Union can achieve Union-wide high-quality solutions, thereby unlocking the potential of innovation in health, and improving efficiency by avoiding the duplication of activities and optimising the use of financial resources. 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a fast evolving family of technologies that can bring a wide array of economic and societal benefits across the entire spectrum of industries and social activities. By improving prediction, optimising operations and resource allocation, and personalising service delivery, the use of artificial intelligence can support socially and environmentally beneficial outcomes and provide key competitive advantages to companies and the European economy. Such action is especially needed in high-impact sectors, including climate change, environment and health, the public sector, finance, mobility, home affairs and agriculture. However, the same elements and techniques that power the socio-economic benefits of