Diagnose to Escape: How innovative formats make clinical decision support tangible
29 July 2026
By Ben Beier
From 9 to 13 June 2026, Hamburg became a meeting point for the international emergency medicine community. At the 25th International Conference on Emergency Medicineopens in new tab/window (ICEM) and the 21st DGINA Annual Meeting, healthcare professionals came together at in Hamburg to exchange ideas, discuss clinical challenges and explore new approaches to emergency care. Elsevier was present with a booth and an interactive format: ESCAPEdx | Back to the 80s – Diagnose to Escape!
At the heart of the activation was a simple question: How can clinical decision support be not only explained, but experienced in practice?
This is especially relevant in emergency medicine, where decisions often need to be made under pressure. Symptoms must be assessed, information has to be evaluated quickly, and clinical clues need to be connected as a team. ESCAPEdx translated this dynamic into an immersive escape room experience, combining clinical knowledge, teamwork and the use of digital solutions such as ClinicalKey AI.
Back to the 80s: diagnosis under pressure
The setting transported participants back to 1987. In an emergency department in São Paulo, several patients arrive with unusual and rapidly evolving symptoms. At the same time, news of a radiation incident is spreading through the city, creating uncertainty and panic. The teams have to review patient histories, identify relevant clues and determine which pieces of information truly point toward the diagnosis and which ones are there to mislead them.
What may sound like a classic escape room scenario followed a clear clinical logic. Participants had to interpret information, recognise patterns and work together under time pressure. ClinicalKey AI was not presented as an abstract product demo, but embedded into a diagnostic context: as a digital support tool designed to help clinicians access, check and interpret clinical information more efficiently.
Learning through application
The strength of the format was that it went beyond a traditional product demonstration. ESCAPEdx made clinical decision support tangible. Instead of passively listening, participants became part of the scenario: they had to communicate, test hypotheses, weigh up evidence and work as a team to reach a solution.
In doing so, the format reflected key aspects of emergency medicine. In real clinical settings, information is rarely complete. Decisions are made in moments of uncertainty, in collaboration with colleagues and often within very limited time. An interactive format such as ESCAPEdx can mirror this reality while showing how digital tools can support clinicians at the right moment.
This creates a different kind of access to clinical technology. The focus is not only on what a solution can do, but on how it can support a real decision-making process. Participants experienced how ClinicalKey AI can fit into a diagnostic workflow, not as a replacement for clinical expertise, but as a tool that helps make relevant information more accessible.
Engagement beyond the booth
The response to ESCAPEdx showed how strongly non-traditional formats can drive interest and engagement. More than 300 people took part in the escape room over two days. In total, the activation generated more than 400 interactions, including conversations at the Elsevier booth and around the escape room. Participants came from 17 countries, underlining the international reach of the format.
ESCAPEdx also created visibility beyond the congress venue. Content around the escape room was shared on social media, including impressions from the room, short videos from participants and content created together with a medical influencer. This extended the impact of the activation beyond the physical event and helped bring the experience to a wider audience.
One of the most valuable effects was the natural conversation it created. Participants who came out of the escape room had not only seen ClinicalKey AI; they had used it in a clinically inspired scenario. This made follow-up conversations more concrete. The discussion was no longer only about product features, but about how clinical decision support can work in practice.
Innovation needs experience
ESCAPEdx at ICEM 2026 showed that innovative formats in healthcare can do more than attract attention. They can make clinical content more tangible, encourage teamwork and translate complex digital solutions into a practical context.
This is particularly important for AI-supported clinical decision support. Trust is not built through a presentation or product description alone. It develops when users can experience how a tool works in a realistic setting, what value it can provide and how it supports clinical thinking.
The escape room brought together playful elements and clinical relevance: diagnosis, communication, time pressure, information assessment and digital support all became part of one shared experience. In this way, ClinicalKey AI was not only introduced, but experienced as part of a clinical decision-making process.
For Elsevier, ESCAPEdx was a strong example of how medical innovation can be communicated differently at congresses: interactively, practically and with genuine engagement. Sometimes, it is not enough to talk about clinical decision support. You have to experience it.
We have now created an online version of ESCAPEdx. Test your diagnostic skills and experience the challenge yourself.
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