About BrainChild

BrainChild is a national initiative focused on building a secure, interoperable platform that accelerates progress in pediatric cancer by connecting clinical care, research, and technology. By unlocking the full potential of data, BrainChild aims to improve diagnostics, enable precision medicine, and support the development of more effective, less harmful treatments for children with cancer.

Our purpose 

Transforming pediatric cancer through data 

For pediatric oncology patients, data is collected at nearly every point along the cancer journey — from diagnosis and treatment to long-term follow-up. But this data is often fragmented, stored in separate and incompatible systems. It is therefore rarely used to its full potential. BrainChild exists to change that. 

Our goal is to enable faster scientific breakthroughs, better clinical decision-making, and more individualized care by making high-quality data securely available across institutions and disciplines. 

What makes BrainChild unique 

A scalable, secure, and collaborative approach 

We are building a platform that can bring together diverse datasets — including clinical records, genomic profiles, imaging, and more — in a standardized and interoperable format. The solution is designed to evolve, and is based on international standards for health data interoperability. It’s developed through close collaboration with healthcare providers, researchers, data experts, and technology partners. 

Built for the future of research and care

From one-time studies to sustainable infrastructure 

Traditional research environments are often limited to single studies or institutions. BrainChild lays the foundation for a sustainable ecosystem — where high-quality data can be used and reused, safely and efficiently, across projects, time, and institutions. 

This approach benefits not only researchers and clinicians, but also patients and their families, by enabling new forms of collaboration, AI-assisted analysis, and faster access to scientific insights. 

Where we are now

From proof-of-concept to scaled implementation 

In 2024, we completed a proof-of-concept involving clinical and genomic and transcriptomic data from 500 pediatric cancer patients across six Swedish centers. The platform includes AI-powered tools for data harmonization, validation, and exploratory analysis. 

Starting in 2025, we will begin scaling this infrastructure to include additional data types, metadata, biobank sample information directly from the included data sources, and broader institutional participation — with the aim to deliver a usable, prioritized dataset by 2026.