With long waiting lists, significant journey times, an ever-shrinking number of doctor’s practices and the aging population, medical care services in sparsely populated regions are under mounting pressure. As part of its Neighborhood Diagnostics project, the Fraunhofer Center for Digital Diagnostics ZDD® is working to develop a digital ecosystem for delivering patient treatment close to where they live in order to ensure that people in rural areas can access high-quality medical care despite the shortage of doctors. One of the digital ecosystem’s key features are its decentralized health stations, which are tailored to local needs and feature fully automated labs that will ensure medical tests and diagnoses can be provided round the clock. The project will be on display at the joint Fraunhofer booth (Hall 3, Booth E74) at the MEDICA trade show in Düsseldorf from November 13 to 16, 2023.