COMFORTage General Assembly 2025
From 19 to 21 November 2025, the COMFORTage consortium met for a three-day General Assembly (GA). The event brought together technical teams, pilot partners and ethics specialists. It aimed to align progress, refine tools and strengthen collaboration. As a result, these three days offered a clear view of the project’s advances and next steps.
Day 1 – Technical Progress and System Integration (19/11/2025)
The first day focused on the technical foundations of COMFORTage. Partners reviewed the system architecture and assessed the progress made in component integration. This step is key, as it supports the upcoming deployments across all 13 pilots.
Afterwards, the consortium discussed the Opt-In tools and their role in ensuring transparent data flows. The session continued with updates on data pipelines, which are now being combined with blockchain to improve security and harmonisation.
Later, the group examined the alignment of data flows across work packages. This alignment is essential to maintain coherence and interoperability.
The day also included a short interactive survey on Explainable AI (XAI). This activity helped gather direct feedback from the partners involved in development and evaluation.
Finally, a technical coordination session summarised challenges, achievements and immediate actions. In short, the first day set a strong and productive tone for the entire event.
Day 2 – Pilot Collaboration, Co-Creation and Tool Demonstrations (20/11/2025)
The second day shifted the attention to the pilots. It began with updates on co-creation and social learning. Partners shared how patient engagement is shaping each pilot and influencing implementation strategies. This exchange helped reinforce a common understanding across the consortium.
Next, the ethics team presented the latest ethics monitoring results. Their analysis gave all partners a clearer view of the ethical considerations that guide the pilots.
A practical session followed on RedCap and its use in collecting structured data. Pilot teams discussed how the platform supports hospital information and questionnaire management, and they also highlighted a few technical challenges.
Technical partners then presented live demonstrations of key COMFORTage tools. These included the Patient Digital Twin, the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) and the Opt-In portals. Thanks to these demonstrations, pilot representatives could test the tools directly and provide relevant feedback.
Overall, the second day strengthened collaboration and improved alignment between pilots and technical teams.
Day 3 – Dissemination, Ethics and Responsible Innovation (21/11/2025)
The third day focused on visibility, ethics and quality. It started with a roundtable comparing approaches across pilots. Partners discussed Opt-In processes, data usage, questionnaires and the virtual biobank. This exchange helped identify shared datasets and potential inter-pilot studies.
The day continued with several workshops. One addressed the dissemination strategy, while another focused on inclusive language in ageing. A third session examined how to maintain the quality of deliverables.
The consortium then held a comprehensive ethics workshop. The first part covered informed consent, data collection and data sharing. The second part addressed the use of AI in line with the AI Act, highlighting legal and technical responsibilities.
In the final session, partners aligned on assessments linked to tasks T7.2, T7.4 and T7.5. This alignment ensures consistency as the project moves into a more evaluative phase.
The day closed the three-day event with a strong emphasis on responsible and transparent innovation.
Conclusion
Across these three days, COMFORTage partners advanced on several fronts. They improved technical integration, aligned pilot activities, strengthened ethical practices and refined the project’s communication strategy. Thanks to this collaborative work, COMFORTage continues to progress towards creating trustworthy and person-centred digital tools for older adults living with frailty and dementia.