Whether it’s smart diagnostics, digital therapies, or integrated care – digital health is currently transforming the healthcare sector. This shift is also taking on an ever greater significance in northern Germany, where the Hamburg metropolitan region is emerging as a key hub for digital health applications. Since January 2025, digital health has officially been established as the fourth strategic pillar of the Life Science Nord cluster, complementing the established areas of medtech, biotech, and pharma.

What is digital health?

Digital health refers to the use of digital technologies in healthcare to improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. This includes innovations such as telemedicine, health apps, artificial intelligence in medicine, and data-driven approaches to patient care. These technologies enable more efficient, accessible, and personalized healthcare.

Digital health applications – known in Germany as DiGA (Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen) – are certified medical devices that can be prescribed by physicians. Health tech, on the other hand, encompasses the broader technological landscape in healthcare – including hardware, software, and medical devices.

Why digital health as the fourth pillar?

Life Science Nord established digital health as its fourth strategic pillar to strengthen the connection between the IT and healthcare sectors in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. The cluster is expanding to include tech startups, software developers, and AI companies – groups that weren’t previously part of its focus. According to project manager Fabio Balz, the greatest challenge lay in the complexity of the field, which led to the creation of six core segments (more on that here). “AI is evolving so rapidly that it was tough to separate substance from hype,” he says.

Initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, even though the diversity of players – from tech startups to clinics – brings differing expectations. Still, early results already show how the targeted networking of the IT and healthcare sectors is driving collaboration and innovation: “Hamburg’s metropolitan region is now Germany’s DiGA hotspot – a large share of certified digital health applications comes from companies based here.”

There’s generally a positive mood in the digital health space. While there’s still room for improvement, there’s a strong sense of momentum.

Fabio Balz, Projektmanager Life Science Nord

How is the digital health ecosystem structured?

The LSN cluster is actively advancing healthcare digitalization in northern Germany by building a future-ready ecosystem that connects and supports companies, research institutions, and healthcare providers – with the motto “locally rooted, globally effective.” By combining regional strengths, international expertise, and focused innovation, Life Science Nord and its partners are working to shape the future of healthcare in Germany. After all, it’s only just beginning to take shape: Statista Market Insights forecasts that Germany’s digital health market will reach €5.04 billion in 2025 and climb to €6.53 billion by 2029 – compared to just €125 million in 2023.

According to LSN member Bornholdt Lee, the Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein region offers ideal conditions for building a digital health ecosystem. The area combines medical excellence with technological innovation and actively supports healthcare digitalization through initiatives like DiGA projects and smart hospital programs. Clinics such as the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) foster cutting-edge research, while universities with strengths in medicine, computer science, and design supply top-tier talent.

The ecosystem is already expanding steadily, including established DiGA providers like GAIA AG. Pharma company Pohl-Boskamp has also launched three of its own DiGAs. The network is further enriched by start-ups and global players like Sidekick Health, TCC, and Tiplu.

The following sections take a closer look at these companies and their innovations in DiGA and health tech.

Digital health applications

A DiGA is a certified medical device whose therapeutic benefit is primarily delivered through a digital core function. It is used by patients – alone or in cooperation with healthcare providers – to diagnose, monitor, treat, or alleviate diseases or disabilities.

Bornholdt Lee: Staying ahead of the curve

Bornholdt Lee supports clients and startups in developing digital health applications, giving the company a clear view into the fastest-growing areas. For example, in the field of ADHD, both a mid-sized pharmaceutical firm (Medice) and a global player (Takeda) have launched their own DiGAs for the first time. There are now apps for children designed to treat abdominal or knee pain, recently added to the official DiGA registry.

“Other areas gaining significance from our perspective include oncology support tools and women’s health applications,” says CEO Hosun Lee. New concepts for endometriosis and cycle-related conditions are also in the pipeline. “The goal is to improve the quality of life for those affected and to enhance care in both outpatient and inpatient settings over the long term.”

Digital tools for people with diabetes or obesity are advancing at a particularly fast pace.. These apps support patients on injectable weight-loss medications by offering medication tracking, side-effect management, and behavioral coaching. According to Lee, this provides real value: “It allows us to combine the high efficacy of these drugs with long-term behavior change.”

Another key driver is remote monitoring for patients with multiple chronic conditions – such as heart disease and diabetes. Thanks to recent regulatory changes, more complex digital tools can now be fast-tracked for approval. These systems work by having patients wear monitoring devices (e.g., smartwatches) that continuously track metrics like heart rate and blood sugar, sending the data automatically to physicians. This allows issues to be identified earlier without requiring frequent office visits.

Additionally, the first digital care applications (DiPA) are expected to launch between 2025 and 2026. These apps aim to support rising care demands by simplifying daily caregiving tasks with features like medication reminders and digital documentation tools – helping to close critical care gaps in home environments.

Itchy Monsters: Playful eczema care

Digital health apps are becoming more relevant in Germany – particularly for chronic conditions – according to MonsterShack. But many apps struggle to integrate into daily family life or ensure consistent therapy adherence. Without official approval from the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), MonsterShack has developed a digital health app that helps children with eczema maintain regular skincare routines through playful features – including a diary, AI evaluation, and AR-based gamification.

The idea came straight from clinical experience: “Again and again, we saw how difficult it was for children to stick to daily skincare – and how much strain that put on entire families,” recalls CEO Daniel Voigt. “We wanted to reframe daily care routines not as a chore, but as an exciting adventure.”

The Itchy Monsters app was born out of real-life struggles and the desire to ease the burden for children and families. “We’ve chosen a novel approach: low-threshold, emotional, motivating – but still medically sound. When healthy habits are genuinely fun, they’re easier to maintain long term.”

According to Voigt, BfArM certification as a DiGA is a potential option down the line. “Right now, however, we’re focusing on broader access through partnerships with health insurers, pharmacies, and dermatological cosmetic brands – so we can reach as many families as possible early and without a prescription.”

Health tech

Health tech refers to technological solutions and digital innovations used to improve health, medical care, and prevention – such as apps, telemedicine, AI, or connected medical devices.

slashwhy: User-centered solutions

slashwhy develops custom software solutions tailored to specific client needs – rather than offering off-the-shelf products. “We don’t build one-size-fits-all software. We create solutions that integrate into existing systems,” says Konrad Fenderich, Business Manager HealthTech.

In the German healthcare system, slashwhy focuses on three key challenges: isolated IT systems with poor data exchange, high administrative burdens due to bureaucracy, and digital tools with poor usability. These issues disrupt everyday care and hinder efficient workflows. That’s why the company is focused on connecting systems, simplifying processes, and placing greater emphasis on the user experience.

“Our goal is not digitalization for its own sake – we want to provide real relief for everyday healthcare operations,” explains Fenderich. For example, the company collaborated with the Berlin Medical Association to develop and launch a new portal for accrediting medical education events. The focus was on usability, accessibility, and a stable, maintainable, and scalable technical foundation.

Despite slow progress in digitalization across the healthcare sector, Fenderich believes significant advances are on the horizon – particularly in telemedicine, AI applications, and data-driven care. At the same time, regulatory demands are growing, as is the importance of interconnected platform solutions. “We don’t just want to support digital developments technically – we want to shape them in practical and results-driven ways,” he adds. That’s why slashwhy always takes an interdisciplinary approach to implementation, with a strong focus on usability, reliability, and adaptability.

Mindpeak: AI that detects cancer

Another major player in health tech is Mindpeak. The company has developed AI software that analyzes digital images of tissue samples and automatically identifies tumor cells. The software then categorizes the cells into diagnostically relevant groups. “This allows AI to take over time-consuming routine tasks that pathologists previously had to do manually,” explains Felix Faber, founder and CEO.

This not only shortens the time to diagnosis but also makes results more objective and reliable – increasing the chances of earlier, more targeted treatment. “Our goal is to use our AI to gain deeper insights into the specific characteristics of different tumor types, enabling even more personalized therapies in the future. We’re laying the groundwork for treating cancer in increasingly targeted ways and offering patients customized treatment plans.”

This raises the question of how AI and physicians will collaborate in the future. “AI won’t replace physicians – it will augment their expertise. While the AI has ‘seen’ millions of cases and can spot even the rarest patterns, it’s still the medical team’s job to interpret the findings in the context of the patient and make the best therapeutic decision,” Faber says.

He believes that this kind of collaboration will soon become standard practice: AI delivers data-driven precision, while physicians contribute knowledge, experience, and holistic judgment. “Together, they can not only diagnose cancer more quickly and accurately, but also deepen our understanding – and keep pushing the boundaries of personalized treatment.”

TIMO telematics infrastructure: Testing before rollout

For the past two years, the TIMO TI model region, coordinated by the ÄrzteNetz Hamburg e.V., has been testing new telematics infrastructure applications in Hamburg and the surrounding area on behalf of gematik – the national agency for digital medicine. The goal is to evaluate how new digital health tools function in everyday care settings before nationwide rollout.

“This approach lets us refine and optimize solutions before they’re rolled out across Germany,” explains project manager Markus Habetha. The model regions connect stakeholders and consolidate insights through gematik. “They provide a platform for pilot testing, where project and industry partners can evaluate telematics solutions hands-on – in dental practices, pharmacies, clinics, and other care settings.”

The model regions provide a protected environment for direct exchange between all stakeholders, making an important contribution to improving the quality of digital applications and processes – such as the introduction of e-prescriptions. The potential of digitalization in healthcare is also evident in services like the KIM communication platform and the electronic patient record (ePA) with its integrated medication list.

That said, hurdles remain, as Habetha notes: “Challenges arise when digital solutions are developed or rolled out without fully considering user needs.” What matters most is that digital tools provide real value in daily care routines and genuinely improve workflows for users.

What else northern Germany has to offer

Since May, Life Science Nord has introduced a new strategy for 2030 under the motto “Networking – Informing – Positioning.” The plan aims to further develop the industrial health sector in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. The strategy was developed over six months in a collaborative process involving around 300 member organizations and focuses on biotechnology, medical technology, pharma, and digital health.

Researchers from the University of Lübeck and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein are working with expandAI GmbH on an AI-powered technology to measure blood sugar non-invasively using off-the-shelf smartwatches. The three-year research project, CGF-visual, is supported by the Federal Ministry of Research, Space, and Technology with funding of roughly €763,000 and is expected to deliver a low-cost alternative to traditional glucose sensors by early 2028 – making personalized health strategies more accessible.

Life Science Nord member University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) was named a “Digital Champion” for the fifth year in a row in the public hospital category, once again earning top marks in the “Digital Champions 2025” study. The award honors UKSH’s consistent digital strategy, which includes AI-assisted OR workflow management, digital chatbots, cloud solutions, and automated systems for patient care.

Text: Lea Holzamer

Featured image: Yuliia – stock.adobe.com