Enhancing human perception of the imperceptible - 28/08/2025

AI-driven imaging expands possibilities in surgery

Doctors frequently experience a restricted view of the surgical field, particularly during endoscopic procedures. A novel technique developed by Prof. Dr. Lena Maier-Hein's team at the DKFZ in Heidelberg integrates spectral imaging with AI-driven data analysis. This innovation facilitates accurate tissue differentiation and delivers real-time insights into organ function.

Robotics in medicine - 15/02/2024

Copied from the pangolin: innovative flexible miniature robot for minimally invasive applications

Wireless miniature robots that can penetrate hard-to-reach areas of the body for the purpose of medical treatment are currently still a vision of the future. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have now constructed the first flexible prototype modelled on the pangolin, which can generate heat and stop bleeding, kill tumour cells or release "cargo" in the model system.

Structured management of health data - 14/08/2025

Data governance in the healthcare sector

The healthcare sector generates an increasing volume of data, yet much of it remains underutilised or inadequately secured. Implementing robust data governance - a structured framework for collecting, managing and protecting data - could unlock this untapped potential and lay the foundation for improved patient care.

Coughing, phlegm, and shortness of breath can be early signs of COPC. In COPD, the airways are permanently narrowed, making it harder to breathe. The most significant risk factor is long-term smoking. The CHRONOS study conducted by the Department of Pneumology at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg provides evidence that changes in the lungs can already be detected before a standard pulmonary function test confirms the airway narrowing.

AI-supported image recognition accelerates identification of zebrafish mutants - 16/07/2025

EmbryoNet AI automatically identifies developmental disorders

In complex organisms, embryonic development is tightly regulated by intricate signalling pathways. When these pathways are disrupted, they can lead to characteristic developmental defects that are not easy to detect with the naked eye. Developmental biologist Prof. Dr. Patrick Müller from the University of Konstanz has developed EmbryoNet, an AI-powered software tool that uses image analysis to reliably identify such developmental disorders.

Controllable microcatheters - 20/02/2025

Robot-assisted control of surgical instruments using magnetic resonance imaging

Catheter-based examinations and surgical procedures are severely limited by the restricted controllability of conventional instruments and harmful radiation exposure to both patients and medical staff caused by prolonged exposure to radiation during fluoroscopy. EndoSurge, a Stuttgart-based start-up, has developed innovative robotic microcatheters that can be precisely controlled using the magnetic field of an MRI device.

Baden-Württemberg AI Alliance - 08/04/2025

Achieving widespread use of AI

Artificial intelligence presents both opportunities and risks. The Baden-Württemberg AI Alliance is dedicated to fostering collaboration among AI stakeholders to ensure that AI solutions deliver tangible benefits to citizens and businesses across the state. The alliance will also place greater emphasis on advancing AI applications within the healthcare sector.

Detecting drug resistance of tumour cells - 25/05/2023

AI-assisted diagnostics declares war on lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and has a particularly high mortality rate. A significant challenge in treating this disease lies in the resistance of lung tumours to conventional drug therapies, rendering chemotherapy ineffective. There is hope on the horizon as a team of experts from Baden-Württemberg has joined forces to develop an innovative AI-supported test procedure that paves the way for individualised therapy approaches.

Vicinity Bio: Optimisation of cancer diagnostics - 27/11/2024

Comprehensive histological diagnostics through high-dimensional imaging and artificial intelligence

Microscopic examination of tissue samples is essential, particularly in tumour diagnostics. The Tübingen-based company Vicinity Bio leverages cutting-edge imaging technologies combined with machine learning to generate comprehensive datasets of individual cells from tissue sections. This approach not only helps identify more targeted therapies but also enhances our understanding of cellular functions and processes within tissues and tumours.

Project SMARTGAIT - 13/09/2023

Safe and cost-effective analysis of neurological gait disorders with AI

Stroke, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis often resulting in gait disorders in those affected. Gait analyses play a crucial role in the successful evaluation and therapy of such disorders. Current measurement methods are costly and time-consuming. The SMARTGAIT project is therefore developing an innovative AI-based system aimed at performing meaningful gait analyses with the help of simple smartphone video recordings.

Automated pain recognition - 25/01/2023

Using artificial intelligence to improve pain management

Psychologists from Ulm and their cooperation partners have developed algorithms for automated pain recognition in order to be able to dose painkillers more precisely. The researchers are now looking for industrial partners to take their project to application.

Intelligent Diagnostics - 09/02/2022

AI for added value in digital melanoma diagnostics

Intelligent Diagnostics is an interdisciplinary project that brings together the latest technologies and research institutes to better support doctors in diagnosing skin cancer through innovative imaging and artificial intelligence.

Digitalisation - 04/08/2021

Eye check for all - quick and easy thanks to artificial intelligence

Many eye diseases are already easily treatable, if they are detected in time. But waiting months for an ophthalmologist’s appointment seems to be the norm - that is, if you can get to see a specialist at all. The Tübingen-based start-up eye2you wants to improve this situation: it has developed a mobile retinal examination device involving a smartphone and AI. It can be used by family doctors, diabetologists and nursing staff and thus help to…

microRNA as a prognostic biomarker - 13/01/2022

Heart attack diagnosis: fast and unambiguous thanks to artificial intelligence

People that arrive in emergency rooms with chest pain require swift action in order to rule out a heart attack or to initiate vital life-saving therapy. However, despite many advances, current tests are not yet optimal: they either take hours or produce false-positive results. Researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital are now using AI in an approach that takes microRNAs from a blood sample to specifically diagnose ‘acute coronary syndrome’.

Workplace of the future - 10/08/2021

Intelligent body support system for surgery staff

Operating room staff often spend hours in strenuous postures, which has a significant impact on concentration and quality of work. While operating room equipment is increasingly networked, state-of-the-art medical technology, conditions for operating room staff trail way behind. The start-up company Hellstern medical offers an effective solution for serious pain, fatigue and incorrect interventions.

Company profile: medicalvalues GmbH - 05/05/2022

medicalvalues – best possible diagnostics thanks to AI

The Karlsruhe-based start-up medicalvalues GmbH wants to use its platform to bring together different clinical data sets and thus enable comprehensive medical diagnostics. Artificial intelligence featuring innovative diagnostic algorithms is used to evaluate the data and generate new insights for laboratories and hospitals.

PixelBiotech GmbH - 27/07/2021

Searching for tracks with cytogenetics and AI

The startup Pixelbiotech combines fluorescence techniques with artificial intelligence to detect DNA and RNA in medical samples. HuluFISH is the name of the method, which allows for countless applications - from detecting viral infections, such as COVID-19 or African swine fever virus, to the quality control of gene and immunotherapeutic procedures in cancer medicine.

Dossier - 08/09/2026

AI and robotics are shaping the future of medicine

Artificial intelligence and robotics are playing an increasingly important role in healthcare, as in many other areas of life. They offer considerable potential to improve medical care, but require an ethically responsible approach.

Cells of the highly aggressive brain tumor glioblastoma exhibit predatory behavior: they exploit signaling between healthy neurons and internalize portions of their contact sites. Dr. Dr. Varun Venkataramani of the Heidelberg Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University, and his research team, will investigate how glioblastoma cells benefit from this process and whether it may represent a novel therapeutic target.

Three researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have each been awarded a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) this year. Daniel Kirschenbaum, Lena Kutscher, and Michael Scherer impressed the ERC with their innovative research approaches to fundamental questions in cancer medicine.

Research into quantum technology by four teams at Ulm University is being funded as part of the European QuantERA programme. This is more than at any other German university. The projects focus, for example, on more robust quantum computers and innovative medical diagnostic methods.

CAR T-cell therapies are used successfully to treat certain blood cancers. However, while some patients respond even to low-dose treatment, others derive no benefit. Researchers from the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) investigated the reasons behind these differences in a collaborative research project.

With funding from the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) Heisenberg Program, DKFZ researcher Aurélie Ernst aims to investigate how massive changes in the genome contribute to the development of cancer. Her research focuses on a phenomenon known as chromothripsis - a catastrophic event in the genome in which chromosomes break apart and are reassembled incorrectly.