RACOON at NUM: Ralf Heyder on the next steps in collaborative image data research
At the RACOON Research Days in Tübingen, Ralf Heyder, Head of the NUM Coordination Office, spoke with technical partner Mint Medical about the current state and future prospects of the research infrastructure. The interview is available as a video and in written form.
In early October 2026, representatives of the Network of University Medicine (NUM), researchers and IT teams from the NUM platform for imaging data (RACOON), as well as technical partners, met in Tübingen. The agenda for the RACOON Research Days focused on the current status of the project and the next steps. On the sidelines of the event, Ralf Heyder, Head of the Coordination Office at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, spoke with Mint Medical about RACOON’s role within the NUM.
A research infrastructure for imaging data
RACOON is one of 13 research infrastructures (FIS) within the NUM. It collates radiological image data, such as MRI and CT scans, from the 37 University Medicine sites and makes it available to researchers. “What makes RACOON special is that it is the first platform of its kind in Germany and, to the best of our knowledge, unique worldwide, because 37 legally independent hospitals are voluntarily sharing their data here,” says Heyder.
Scaling up and integrating further specialist areas
After six years, the shared infrastructure is now firmly established. Heyder sees the next task as “turning a few successful research projects – which have already been implemented within the NUM as proof of concept – into many more”. Furthermore, RACOON is set to expand beyond radiology. With the addition of radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and pathology, further specialist fields are to be incorporated, thereby creating an interdisciplinary platform for imaging data research in Germany.
Video interview and written transcript
The full interview has been published on the website of Mint Medical, RACOON’s technical partner:
read the interview
You can find the video interview below this text.