Keynote by Dipl.-Wi.-Inf. Weimann on Embodied Conversational Agents for Collecting Patient-Reported Data: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives on LLM-driven PROMs, March 6, 2026
Friday, 6 March 2026, 10:15 am CET, University of St. Gallen (HSG SQUARE, Arena) & ZOOM
About Thure Georg Weimann
Thure Georg Weimann is a research associate at the Digital Health Research Group at TU Dresden. He has a hybrid background in business informatics (Diploma) and medicine (5th year, at Leipzig University). His research focuses on the conceptualization, development, and evaluation of intelligent and conversational digital therapeutics, particularly their role as virtual coaches in complex chronic disease care. His work includes studies on the impact of agent design on patient perception and behavior, personalization using reinforcement learning, and the development of patient-facing interventions via low-/no-code platforms, including ongoing work on the use of large language models.
About the Lecture
Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), which capture patients’ subjective evaluations of their health status, are increasingly recognized as a vital component in informing clinical decision-making. Beyond routine in-person care, PROMs are extensively used in digital therapeutics, where they serve multiple purposes, including acting as clinical trial endpoints, tools for self-monitoring, and a foundation for personalized interventions. However, patient burden associated with completing PROM questionnaires continues to compromise data quality, particularly among individuals experiencing cognitive impairments and fatigue. In this talk, I discuss how the design of conversational agents, particularly embodied ones, can enhance patient engagement and improve data quality, and where such systems reach their limits, drawing on existing evidence and findings from a recent study in a neurological care context conducted by our team. Building on these insights, I outline implications and future directions toward Large Language Model-driven PROMs.
We are pleased to invite you to join this guest lecture, which is part of our CDHI Lecture Series Digital Health Forum. Registration is not required. Please be aware that we will be recording this guest lecture and will be making it available in our teaching library. If you have any questions, please contact Victoria Brügger (victoria.bruegger@unisg.ch) prior to the start of the guest lecture.
Prof. Dr. Tobias Kowatsch, Associate Professor for Digital Health Interventions, Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care, University of Zurich; Director, School of Medicine, University of St.Gallen (HSG); Scientific Director, Centre for Digital Health Interventions (CDHI), ETH Zurich & HSG; Principal Investigator, Future Health Technologies programme, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore
Prof. Dr. Elgar Fleisch, Professor of Information Management, ETH Zürich; Professor of Technology Management, University of St.Gallen; Advisory Board Member, CDHI, ETH Zürich & University of St.Gallen; Principal Investigator, Future Health Technologies programme, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore
Prof. Dr. Florian von Wangenheim, Professor of Technology Marketing, ETH Zurich & Advisory Board Member, CDHI; Principal Investigator, Future Health Technologies programme, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore
