The 16th annual Outsourcing in Clinical Trials (OCT) Europe conference brought together pharmaceutical leaders, CROs, and clinical technology vendors in Barcelona for two days of conversations that made one thing clear: the clinical trial landscape is changing fast , and medical imaging is increasingly at the centre of it.
Our team was on the ground in Barcelona. Here is what we took away.
OCT Europe 2026 ran across three content streams: outsourcing and clinical operations, AI and innovation, and biotech strategy, reflecting an industry grappling with more complexity than ever. Regulatory shifts, geopolitical pressures, talent shortages, and the rapid rise of AI in clinical research were recurring threads throughout both days.
Speakers from across the pharma and CRO ecosystem addressed challenges that are very familiar to anyone working in clinical imaging: how to accelerate timelines without sacrificing quality, how to govern increasingly complex vendor relationships, and how to design trials that hold up under growing regulatory scrutiny.
One of the clearest signals from our conversations was this: CROs are no longer treating imaging as a problem that belongs exclusively to specialist vendors. The recurring need across multiple discussions was the same: "we don't necessarily own imaging infrastructure, but we need a reliable partner when imaging appears in sponsor studies."
This is a meaningful shift. Imaging is moving from a niche add-on to a standard consideration in outsourcing conversations, which means CROs need partners they can count on, not just platforms bolted on at the last minute.
If there was one operational challenge that came up more than any other, it was site connection. Getting images from sites into a central workflow quickly and without burdening local staff remains a real obstacle, one that directly affects study timelines and data quality.
The message from the field was consistent: reducing site burden, making uploads easier, and accelerating the flow of images to central review is not a nice-to-have. It is where studies are won or lost operationally.
Oncology has long been the default association for medical imaging in clinical trials. What stood out at OCT Europe 2026 was how far beyond oncology the conversations have moved.
We heard relevant discussions across respiratory, CNS, metabolic, cardiovascular, dermatology, women's health, and medical devices. Studies requiring high-definition CT, intracranial imaging, CT segmentation, and dermatology imaging support are all active — and the sponsors behind them need imaging infrastructure that can flex across indications, not just serve one disease area.
This came up repeatedly in conversations with clinical data and eClinical platform providers. As imaging becomes more central to trial design, vendors who have historically focused on data capture and management are confronting a key question: do we build imaging capability ourselves, acquire it, or partner with a specialist?
Imaging is a specialist layer, and it integrates best when it is built for that purpose, not retrofitted into a data platform. The growing trend toward partnerships rather than in-house builds reflects a more mature understanding of what good imaging infrastructure actually requires.
This was perhaps the most forward-looking theme of the conference. AI in clinical trials is no longer just about recruitment algorithms or protocol optimisation. Imaging vendors are increasingly expected to support validation workflows, reader access, structured outputs, and scalable data handling for AI and medtech studies.
Supporting AI validation is not a future capability, it is something sponsors and CROs are asking about now. Multi-reader workflows, audit trails, and the ability to handle structured imaging data at scale are becoming baseline expectations for any platform operating in this space.
Taken together, these five themes point in the same direction: imaging is becoming more central, more complex, and more integrated into the broader clinical operations conversation.
The bar for imaging partners is rising. Sponsors and CROs need platforms that reliably connect sites, support multiple indications, integrate with existing data workflows, and scale to meet the demands of AI-driven research, all while reducing burden rather than adding to it.
What is OCT Europe? OCT Europe (Outsourcing in Clinical Trials) is one of the leading annual conferences for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical professionals focused on clinical development and outsourcing strategy. The 2026 edition was its 16th annual instalment, held in Barcelona on May 6–7.
Was Collective Minds present at OCT Europe 2026? Yes — our team attended to connect with sponsors, CROs, and eClinical vendors, and to share how our platform supports clinical trial imaging workflows.
What is Collective Minds Research? Collective Minds Research is a cloud-based medical imaging platform built for clinical trials. It supports centralised image collection, quality control, multi-reader workflows, and AI validation — designed to reduce site burden and accelerate imaging endpoints.
Can Collective Minds work with our existing eClinical stack? Yes. Our platform is designed to integrate as a specialist imaging layer within broader clinical data workflows, supporting data export, structured outputs, and API connectivity.
How do I learn more or book a meeting? You can book a meeting with our team directly below or reach out via our website.
Collective Minds' platform is relied upon by institutions such as the British Institute of Radiology, Erasmus University, the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology, Karolinska Institutet, Region Skåne, Södersjukhuset, and Leiden University Medical Center. Our long-standing partnerships underscore the quality and reliability of our solutions.
Looking forward to seeing you at the next event!
Reviewed by Pilar Flores Gastellu on May 20, 2026