AI for Precision Health, Nutrition & Behaviour Lab ⎯ Nijmegen (Completed)

A collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, Radboud University and Radboudumc, working hand-in-hand with OnePlanet Research Center and 9 leading industry and societal partners.

AI for Precision Health, Nutrition & Behaviour Lab ⎯ Nijmegen (Completed)

Geert Grooteplein Zuid 10, 6525 GA Nijmegen + Houtlaan 4, 6525 XZ

About the lab

The AI for Precision Health, Nutrition, & Behaviour Lab is dedicated to bridging the gap between technical AI research and healthy human behavior, precision health, and nutrition.

The lab’s mission and vision are to increase the validity of health, dietary, and behavioral data using sensors, machine learning, and smart algorithms to build the fundamental knowledge base, technological tools, and human capacities necessary to transition to a new generation of automated population health methodologies. This transition replaces traditional, unreliable questionnaire-based self-reporting with tailored, innovative AI algorithms that facilitate immediate, personalized feedback to coach individuals toward healthier behaviours.

The impact of the lab lies in accelerating a comprehensive sociotechnical transition in preventative lifestyle medicine, achieved by validating breakthroughs directly in live settings alongside industrial and societal partners, fostering young scientific entrepreneurship, and embedding socially aware and responsible AI frameworks to build trust across the digital health ecosystem.

Research projects

Digital motor progression biomarkers – Focuses on determining if and how real-life passive monitoring using a wrist-worn sensor can be used to track motor symptom progression in Parkinson’s disease.

Digital non-motor progression biomarkers – Focuses on determining if and how real-life monitoring via PPG and other sensor signals can be used to track non-motor progression (such as autonomic or stress-related symptoms) in Parkinson’s disease.

Subtype-specific disease prediction – Focuses on using the newly developed digital progression biomarkers to study their relationship with clinical and pathophysiological subtypes to predict individual disease progression.

AI-based video analysis – Focuses on using computer vision and video AI to estimate the severity of motor symptoms and support the differential diagnosis of movement disorders.

Trust & user acceptability – Focuses on identifying and addressing the ethical, societal, and clinical conditions necessary to justify patient, caregiver, and clinician trust in remote monitoring tools.

Publications

AI for Precision Health, Nutrition & Behaviour Lab

2026

Basar, E.; Balaji, D.; He, L.; Haselager, P.

Autonomy-supporting chatbots: Endorsing volitional behavior change Journal Article

In: Ethics and Information Technology, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 11, 2026.

BibTeX

2025

He, L.; Basar, E.; Wiers, R. W.; Antheunis, M. L.; Krahmer, E.

Chatting your way to quitting: A longitudinal exploration of smokers' interaction with a cessation chatbot Journal Article

In: Internet Interventions, vol. 39, pp. 100806, 2025.

BibTeX

Basar, E.; Sun, X.; Hendrickx, I.; Wit, J.; Bosse, T.; de Bruijn, G. J.; Bosch, J. A.; Krahmer, E.

How well can large language models reflect? A human evaluation of LLM-generated reflections for motivational interviewing dialogues Proceedings Article

In: Proceedings of the 31st international conference on computational linguistics, pp. 1964–1982, 2025.

BibTeX

2024

Basar, E.; Hendrickx, I.; Krahmer, E.; Bruijn, G. J.; Bosse, T.

To what extent are large language models capable of generating substantial reflections for motivational interviewing counseling chatbots? A human evaluation Proceedings Article

In: Proceedings of the 1st Human-Centered Large Language Modeling Workshop, pp. 41–52, 2024.

BibTeX

He, L.; Basar, E.; Krahmer, E.; Wiers, R.; Antheunis, M.

Effectiveness and user experience of a smoking cessation chatbot: mixed methods study comparing motivational interviewing and confrontational counseling Journal Article

In: Journal of medical Internet research, vol. 26, pp. e53134, 2024.

BibTeX

He, L.; Braggaar, A.; Basar, E.; Krahmer, E.; Antheunis, M.; Wiers, R.

Exploring user engagement through an interaction lens: what textual cues can tell us about human-chatbot interactions Proceedings Article

In: Proceedings of the 6th ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces, pp. 1–14, 2024.

BibTeX

2023

Basar, E.; Balaji, D.; He, L.; Hendrickx, I.; Krahmer, E.; Bruijn, G. J.; Bosse, T.

HyLECA: a framework for developing hybrid long-term engaging controlled conversational agents Proceedings Article

In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on conversational user interfaces, pp. 1–5, 2023.

BibTeX

2022

He, L.; Basar, E.; Wiers, R. W.; Antheunis, M. L.; Krahmer, E.

Can chatbots help to motivate smoking cessation? A study on the effectiveness of motivational interviewing on engagement and therapeutic alliance Journal Article

In: BMC Public Health, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 726, 2022.

BibTeX

Basar, E.; Hendrickx, I.; Krahmer, E.; Bruijn, G. J.; Bosse, T.

Hints of independence in a pre-scripted world: On controlled usage of open-domain language models for chatbots in highly sensitive domains Proceedings Article

In: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, pp. 401–407, 2022.

BibTeX

People

Partners

Artinis Medical Systems is an innovative Dutch company active in the field of medical research equipment and quality assurance equipment.

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ConnectedCare is an eHealth design agency based in Nijmegen. With a background in design research, they use technology to facilitate behavior change and care collaboration.

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‍Flow.ai is tech company specialized in conversational AI. It offers software and services to create solutions such as chatbots to automate customer service.

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‍Imec is a research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technology. Imec is known for leveraging world-class infrastructures and local and global ecosystems of diverse partners across a multitude of industries.

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‍Reckitt/ Mead Johnson Nutrition is part of Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a global leader and innovator in the areas of personalized nutrition, wellness, hygiene, and digital health.

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‍Noldus Information Technology is a company that provides integrated systems including software, hardware, and services.

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‍OnePlanet Research Center is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the R&D center for nano- and digital technology Imec, Radboud University, Radboudumc and Wageningen University and Research.

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‍Orikami is a Dutch MedTech organization that specializes in applied data science and in the development and implementation of digital biomarkers to enable personalized healthcare for people with chronic diseases.

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‍Radboud University (RU) is a general university in The Netherlands, active in almost all scientific fields, and one of the leading universities worldwide.

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‍Salut provides personalized feedback based on data from smart devices and someone’s own goals to give people insight into their health and to support health behaviours.

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‍Soa Aids Nederland helps the public and professionals prevent, detect and treat HIV and other STIs.

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‍Wageningen University & Research is the highest ranked University in the Netherlands and one of the leading international universities in the field of healthy food and living environment.

Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) is a leading Dutch teaching hospital and academic research institution dedicated to patient care, education, and pioneering medical research, with a strong focus on prevention and innovative digital health solutions.