AI4Health.Cro 2026: Artificial Intelligence in the Fight Against Diabetes

The third annual AI4Health.Cro conference and innovation competition was held at the National and University Library (NSK) in Zagreb. This project successfully connects healthcare, technology, science, and entrepreneurship through the development of practical AI solutions. As a partner, the CroAI association once again supported the connection of the startup community with the project and strengthened the visibility of the entire healthtech ecosystem.

Record Interest and the Theme "AI in the Service of Diabetes"

This year's edition attracted record interest with 150 participants divided into 44 teams, making it the most competitive so far. After the initial selection, 24 teams continued to develop their prototypes using real, anonymized health data in a controlled environment and under high data protection standards, with the support of the Croatian Health Data Centre (HZJZ) project.

The main theme of the competition was the early identification of therapy non-adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes, which is one of the key challenges in managing this chronic disease.

The Winning Solution: Predictive Analytics and an AI Voice Assistant

First place and a prize of €7,000 went to team Insulogic, which brings together experts from clinical practice, medical data analysis, and software development (Hrvoje Hrvoj, Josip Alpeza, Viktor Ivanić, Adrian Sallabi, and Chiara Krtak).

Their platform consists of two key components:

• Predictive Model: Analyzes as many as 74 parameters from the patient's medical history. Interestingly, behavioral patterns (such as the regularity of picking up prescriptions and the intervals between medical visits) proved to be stronger risk indicators than clinical parameters alone.

• AI Voice Application: An automated assistant that contacts patients by phone in Croatian, reminds them of their therapy, checks for side effects, and sends a summary of the conversation to the doctor via an administrative dashboard.

The goal of the solution is not to replace the doctor, but to reduce their administrative burden and provide them with real-time insight into patients who need additional support.

Top Teams and Ecosystem Value

Second place and a prize of €5,000 was won by team Di je betes? (Mark Jelinić, Adrian Grbac Lacković, Petar Jukić, Donna Keran, and Marin Protulipac), while third place and €3,000 went to team SAMO4DM2 (Ivica Škvorc, Lana Škvorc, Željko Sučić, and Siniša Sambol).

The jury evaluated the teams based on technical quality, but also on the real value of the solution for doctors and patients in everyday practice.

"The teams showed that they do not think only about technology, but also about how their solutions can help doctors and patients in real-life circumstances. That is the purpose of AI4Health.Cro innovation competitions," emphasized Anja Barešić, PhD, coordinator of the AI4Health.Cro project and Head of the Laboratory for Computational Biology and Translational Medicine at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. She added that AI4Health.Cro has so far delivered services worth €1.9 million, showing a huge demand for support in digital healthcare development.

Strong Industry Support

The competition was organized in partnership with pharmaceutical leaders—AstraZeneca (premium partner) and Novo Nordisk Croatia (standard partner). Industry representatives, including Mariko Shimizu (Director of Novo Nordisk Croatia), emphasized the importance of connecting medical innovation with digital tools that help in better control of chronic diseases and the reduction of complications.

This competition showed an important turning point in the domestic market: artificial intelligence in healthcare is no longer an abstract promise, but is turning into practical tools built around the real needs of patients and doctors. Congratulations to all teams, organizers, and partners on another successful edition!