In the NextGen project, the Multimodal Integration Object (MMIO) is a key innovation that enables the integration of complex health datasets—clinical, imaging, wearable, phenotypic, and genomic—into a single, semantically rich, and interoperable data object, essential for personalised cardiovascular medicine.

An MMIO is built on structured schemas that link data to transformation events, policies, and agreements. It ensures immutability, traceability, and integrity through append-only logs and cryptographic identifiers. This design allows MMIOs to be shared across systems without moving the underlying data, while preserving authenticity and governance rules.

Each MMIO is tailored to a specific research or clinical question, bundling only the relevant data types. For example, a “Cardiovascular Risk Prediction MMIO” might combine imaging, genomics, and data from wearables. AI/ML transformation layers and jurisdiction-specific compliance rules are embedded directly into the object.

MMIOs are portable and containerised, offering a standard interface across varied infrastructures. They are compatible with major EU health initiatives such as the 1+ Million Genomes (1+MG) and the European Health Data Space (EHDS), supporting cross-border, interoperable research.

The MMIO Creator tool assembles each object by binding schemas, rules, events, and agreements into a self-contained digital entity, linked to both stakeholders and underlying assets. This enables secure, reusable, and compliant data sharing within the ecosystem.

It enables:

✅Conversion of multimodal data formats into a harmonised, AI/ML-ready form

✅Application of site-specific governance and regulatory requirements

✅Embedded authentication, audit, and integrity functionalityBy integrating these capabilities, NextGen allows for true portability of multimodal, multiomic research, ensuring secure, auditable, and compliant sharing across borders, independent of location or underlying data composition.

Ultimately, MMIOs support core NextGen goals: enabling trustworthy AI, ensuring data interoperability, and advancing sovereign, decentralised health data infrastructures. They offer a repeatable, regulation-aware model for integrating multimodal data, anchoring NextGen’s vision for personalised, data-driven medicine.