Interviews
We are excited to initiate a series of interviews to feature the CLAIMS partners, offering each of you the opportunity to showcase your perspective, motivations and contributions to the CLAIMS project.
Prof. Dana Horakova, MD, PhD
Short bio:
Professor Dana Horakova, MD, PhD, graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in 1992. Since 1999 she has been working at the MS Centre of the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague. In 2006 she completed a six-month internship at BNAC in Buffalo, USA. In 2010 she received her PhD degree with the thesis “Predictive markers for clinical development in MS patients”.
Dr. Horakova is a member of the immunology committee of the Czech Neurological Society and serves as an expert guarantor of the Czech national ReMuS registry. She was the Chair of the MSBase Scientific Leadership Group from 2014 to 2020 and is currently a member of the SLG and a member of the MSBase Board of Directors.
Her key research interests include – markers of disease activity and response to treatment (clinical and MRI, especially implementation and validation of quantitative volumetric MRI techniques in routine clinical practice) and the use of databases and registries in MS.
- Introduce your current position and affiliation; and can you provide an overview of your organization’s role within the CLAIMS project
I am a neurologist and I work in the largest MS centre in the Czech Republic. We provide comprehensive care to almost 4,000 patients. - What motivated you to participate in the CLAIMS project and what specific expertise or contributions do you bring to the consortium?
I have a long-standing interest in the implementation of quantitative MRI in clinical practice and the use of data in registries. In my centre we have a uniform system of examining patients on the same MR machine in a uniform protocol and we enter all data in a structured way into the database system. We plan to provide these MR scans together with clinical data to the CLAIMS project. At the same time, we would like to start collecting Patient Reported Outcomes. Here I believe that Icompanion application can help in this data collection. - What impact do you hope the CLAIMS project will have on the field of Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care?
I believe that processing MR data with advanced software techniques in conjunction with clinical data and the use of AI technologies can help in defining new MS phenotypes and in physician decision making. - Lastly, is there any additional message or insight you would like to share with our audience regarding your organization’s involvement in the CLAIMS project or your overall commitment to advancing Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care?
MS is a very complex, serious neurological disease. To properly assess disease activity, we need comprehensive data that must be reliable, and the clinician must receive it in real time, optimally at a single point of contact.
Annemie Ribbens, PhD, MSc
Annemie Ribbens, PhD, MSc
Short bio:
Annemie Ribbens, PhD, MSc. is Vice President Science, Evidence and Clinical Trials at icometrix. Since early on, she found her passion in leveraging mathematical models to better understand neurological disorders.
She holds a master degree in Applied Mathematics and a PhD in electrical engingeering from the University of Leuven, whereafter she continued her work as a postdoctoral fellow in collaboration with University College London.
In 2014, Dr. Ribbens joined icometrix, an innovative company that aims to bring AI solutions for neurology towards clinical routine. She started here as a senior researcher where she co-developed the algorithm that forms the base of the current CE/FDA cleared icobrain portfolio for brain MRI quantification in clinical routine. Afterwards, she became research manager and subsequently VP Clinical Trials at icometrix.
In her current role as VP Science, Evidence and Clinical trials, she manages all scientific research operations at the company. As such, she focuses on generating evidence for the clinical, technical and health economic benefits of the icometrix’ portfolio. Additionally, she leverages the icometrix portfolio for phase I-IV clinical trials and strategic partnerships with top pharmaceutical companies to improve the safety and efficacy evaluation of novel drugs.
Together with her multi-disciplinary team of engineers, biomedical scientists and clinicians, she aims to drive the field of neurology forward in adopting AI solutions to improve patient care management and patient outcomes.
- Introduce your current position and affiliation; and can you provide an overview of your organization’s role within the CLAIMS project
My position is Vice President Science, Evidence and Clinical Trials at icometrix. icometrix is the co-project-lead of CLAIMS, in collaboration with Charite. Apart from project coordination, icometrix is leading the development of the data-driven precision medicine platform. Additionally, icometrix contributes to the clinical evaluation studies in terms of study design, monitoring and analysis. - What motivated you to participate in the CLAIMS project and what specific expertise or contributions do you bring to the consortium?
At icometrix, we strongly believe that patient outcomes can be improved when clinicians receive accurate and objective information to make treatment decisions. Digital AI solutions, such as AI-based MRI quantification, have proven to provide more sensitive and detailed assessments of disease progression.
The icometrix’ vision strongly aligns with the vision of the CLAIMS initiative, where such digital solutions will be further extended into a complete data-driven precision medicine platform and evaluated in clinical routine of top institutes to assess the potential impact on patient care pathways.
icometrix has unique expertise as they have built 9 regulatory cleared AI solutions and have rolled out these solutions in both clinical practice as well as in clinical trials with top pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, icometrix is working towards a full adoption in the healthcare system of such solutions, which also includes a focus on reimbursement. In this context, a CPT code for quantitative image analysis was issued last year by the American Medical Association (AMA) after icometrix’ successful application, which is active and reimbursed in the US as of January 1st, 2024. - What impact do you hope the CLAIMS project will have on the field of Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care?
I believe that CLAIMS can be a key driver in shifting the paradigm towards personalized treatment optimization in Multiple Sclerosis by using digital solutions.
For me this is reflected in three major aspects:
• Full integration of digital solutions and data-driven AI models in clinical routine
• Changing care pathways and clinical decision making towards a more data-driven, personalized approach
• Generating insights for the next generation of treatments by improving the understanding of the differences in disease courses and treatment response. - Lastly, is there any additional message or insight you would like to share with our audience regarding your organization’s involvement in the CLAIMS project or your overall commitment to advancing Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care?
I am extremely proud to collaborate with all the outstanding stakeholders in this consortium, including world-renowned clinical experts from leading centers across Europe, top pharmaceutical companies, and strong technical specialists. Additionally, the voice of the patient will be central to this program’s focus and will be amplified through our partnership with the European Charcot Foundation. It is only through the collective efforts of all stakeholders that we can truly transform the healthcare landscape and change outcomes for those living with Multiple Sclerosis.
Ella Kadas, PhD, MSc
Ella Kadas, PhD, MSc
Short bio:
Dr. Ella Maria Kadas is the CEO of Nocturne, a healthtech company focused on AI-driven solutions in retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. With a PhD in medical image analysis, she developed Nocturne’s core technology during her doctoral research. As a postdoctoral researcher at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in collaboration with the Free University of Berlin, she gained hands-on experience in leading multidisciplinary development teams and managing complex, multi-partner projects.
Her expertise spans AI development, intellectual property and licensing, CE certification, regulatory compliance, product management, and business development in the healthcare sector. Beyond her technical and strategic leadership, Dr. Kadas is actively involved in initiatives promoting ethical innovation, including Women in AI and the Spitzenverband Digitale Gesundheitsversorgung e.V., reflecting her commitment to inclusive and responsible AI in healthcare.
- Introduce your current position and affiliation; and can you provide an overview of your organization’s role within the CLAIMS project
My name is Dr. Ella M. Kadas, and I am the CEO of Nocturne GmbH. In addition to my executive responsibilities, I actively support the project management of Nocturne’s role within the CLAIMS project.
Nocturne is responsible for OCT image analysis, contributing advanced retinal parameters to support CLAIMS’ ambition of improving MS care through data-driven decision-making. Our CE-certified, AI-powered platform delivers high-quality, standardized OCT analysis across devices and clinical sites. It includes automated quality control, precise intraretinal segmentation, and our patented shape analysis algorithms—designed to overcome common challenges such as scanner variability and image artifacts.
Importantly, Nocturne’s shape-based measurments go beyond traditional thickness metrics. These features offer unique insights into disease processes that are not captured by conventional parameters. This added depth has the potential to support more accurate modeling of disease progression and treatment response.
Our OCT-derived features will feed directly into the development of AI models under Objective 2, enhancing patient-level prognosis and treatment prediction. Integrated alongside data from MRI, EP, sNfL, and digital health tools, we expect our metrics to strengthen the multimodal dataset that powers CLAIMS’ predictive models.
In alignment with Objective 3, our technology will be integrated into the CLAIMS companion diagnostic platform. By offering OCT-based insights in a standardized, clinically usable format, Nocturne contributes to the creation of a scalable, interoperable platform that supports real-world decision-making and advances personalized MS care. - What motivated you to participate in the CLAIMS project and what specific expertise or contributions do you bring to the consortium?
When we started developing the technology that now forms part of our product pipeline, we saw a strong opportunity to apply non-invasive, quick, and easy-to-use OCT imaging to support MS care. As with many chronic diseases, MS management benefits from more frequent assessments to capture disease dynamics, something that OCT can offer alongside complex modalities like MRI. In addition, providing patients with better insight into their disease empowers more informed discussions with their treating physicians and supports personalized care.
The CLAIMS project’s goal of integrating multimodal data into one platform aligns closely with this vision. By combining imaging, biomarkers, and digital health tools, the project creates a comprehensive dataset to support clinical decision-making tailored to each patient.
Nocturne contributes to CLAIMS with its CE-certified, AI-powered OCT analysis platform, offering advanced image quality control, automated segmentation, and shape-based biomarkers that provide additional insights beyond conventional metrics. These OCT features feed into the AI models developed within the project and will also be integrated into the CLAIMS companion diagnostic platform, supporting scalable and standardized MS care across clinical sites. - What impact do you hope the CLAIMS project will have on the field of Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care?
We hope that CLAIMS will contribute to a real shift toward more personalized, data-driven care in MS, where physicians can make better-informed decisions based on comprehensive, multimodal data tailored to each patient’s individual profile. By bringing together clinical data, imaging, biomarkers, and digital tools into one integrated platform, CLAIMS has the potential to improve disease monitoring, predict treatment responses more accurately, and support earlier interventions.
For patients, this means not only more targeted treatment options but also a better understanding of their disease progression and more active participation in managing their care. From a research perspective, the rich longitudinal datasets generated by CLAIMS may also open new avenues for understanding disease mechanisms, identifying subgroups of patients, and advancing therapeutic development. - Lastly, is there any additional message or insight you would like to share with our audience regarding your organization’s involvement in the CLAIMS project or your overall commitment to advancing Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care?
At Nocturne, we believe that close collaboration across disciplines and technologies is essential to make real progress in complex diseases like MS. The CLAIMS project is a great example of how different expertise can come together to create solutions that would not be possible in isolation. We are proud to contribute our technology and know-how to support more individualized care, and we remain committed to working alongside the consortium partners to advance both research and real-world care for people living with MS.
