Healthcare industry

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.

MEDICA and COMPAMED continue to develop in an extremely vital manner. The world's leading medical trade fair and the international No. 1 for the medical technology supply sector once again impressively underscored their positive results from the previous year with strong numbers – despite continuing adverse conditions. A significant increase in bookings on the part of the exhibiting companies was followed after four days by a marked increase…

Although just cute little creatures at first glance, the microscopic geckos and octopuses fabricated by 3D laser printing in the molecular engineering labs at Heidelberg University could open up new opportunities in fields such as microrobotics or biomedicine. The printed microstructures are made from novel materials – known as smart polymers – whose size and mechanical properties can be tuned on demand and with high precision.

Robot arm for greater accuracy - 08/06/2022

guidoo: robotic assistance for fast and precise biopsies

Needle-based procedures through the skin, such as biopsies of internal organs, not only require a great deal of skill and experience, but they also take time. Fraunhofer IPA Mannheim, together with BEC GmbH from Pfullingen, is developing a robotic surgical assistance system that supports the correct positioning and angulation of a needle with the help of a guide sleeve. This significantly speeds up the procedure while maintaining precision.

Microrobots have the potential to revolutionize medicine. Researchers at the Max Planck ETH Centre for Learning Systems have now developed an imaging technique that for the first time recognises cell-sized microrobots individually and at high resolution in a living organism. This is an important step towards precise control of the robots and their clinical translation.

5G-OR is one of the 4 winning projects jointly selected by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action in Germany and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Relaunch in France for the call “Technical developments and application ecosystems for 5G private networks”. The joint Franco-German 5G-OR project takes up the challenge in the healthcare domain.

Dr. Stefan Schiller and Dr. Matthias Huber from the University of Freiburg’s livMatS Cluster of Excellence have succeeded in developing a muscle solely on the basis of natural proteins. The autonomous contractions of the material, which the researchers presented in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems, can be controlled with the help of pH and temperature changes.

Prof. Dr. Harald Gießen from the Institute of Physics (4) as well as Prof. Dr. Alois Herkommer and Dr. Simon Thiele from the Institute of Applied Optics at the University of Stuttgart received the Gips Schüle Research Award 2021 on October 19, 2021. The researchers were awarded the prize, which is valued at EUR 50,000.

At a virtual event on Tuesday, the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems presented the broad scope of research its units will cover in the field of modern AI.

Europe’s largest AI research consortium attracts interest from some of the world’s most successful venture capital firms.

Innovations in the field of endoscopy - 08/06/2020

Gastroscopies with pill cameras

A pill camera to examine the gastrointestinal tract that can be swallowed without major difficulty, controlled intuitively from the outside and deliver images in real time - why would any doctor or patient say no? To non-experts, it sounds more like science fiction but such a device is actually already in development: since 2019, Tübingen-based Ovesco Endoscopy AG and three partners have been working together on this in a project called nuEndo.

Five new companies from the Stuttgart/Tübingen region in southwestern Germany have joined the Cyber Valley Start-Up Network. The innovative technologies and products of AmbiGate, Cytolytics, Mojin Robotics, plus10 and Tactai aim to achieve ground-breaking improvements in the fields of public health, manufacturing, and customer service. These start-ups join ten other companies that are already part of the Cyber Valley Start-Up Network.

The NMI Reutlingen is currently tackling a major problem associated with antibody tests for the detection of COVID-19: false positive test results.

Article - 19/09/2019

Magnetised algae as microrobots for medical and environmental purposes

Algae, for most of us, is something that lives in water courses that we occasionally find unpleasant. However, that is to do them a wrong. These extremely versatile and frugal organisms might in future prove to be extremely important. Scientists at the University of Stuttgart are investigating how algae can be used as microrobots in biomedicine and environmental remediation.

Article - 28/03/2019

Supporting the human use of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is no longer a vision of the future, but is already in our midst: whether it is parking aids or search engines, we use the technology quite naturally in many areas of daily life. It promises new, unlimited opportunities, but also poses risks. Experts from the Integrata Foundation in Tübingen work on ethical issues and the human use of IT for improving the life of as many people as possible.

Article - 21/02/2019

Using neuromedical artificial intelligence responsibly

Brain-computer interfaces are the latest developments in the neurotechnology field. They are used to record brain activity, which is then decoded with artificial intelligence techniques and converted into control signals for robots or computers. While this brings hope to severely paralysed people, it also implies risks due to the interest of companies like Google and Facebook in this type of data.

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement has received capital commitments of over €90 million in its fifth fund's first closing. The fifth generation of SHS funds is also focused on the life sciences and medical technology sector, and thus on the growing global healthcare market with innovative and strong players, especially in Germany and Switzerland.

Article - 06/06/2018

Robots for assisting with care and treatment in nursing homes and hospitals

Robotic systems have great potential in the healthcare sector. For example, intelligent care aids, such as robotic technologies, extended care trolleys and lifters make life easier for nursing home and hospital staff. Mobile robots that assist with transport tasks or guiding people can help patients become more independent.

TolerogenixX GmbH has developed a patented and clinically tested cell therapy technique for individualised immunosuppression in transplant patients. The technique enables the targeted disabling of undesired reactions caused by the immune system’s defences. As a seed stage investor, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) will finance this innovative technique and the preparations for Phase II of the clinical trial, which begins in spring 2018. Further…

Medical technology - 14/03/2016

The operating room of the future: minimally invasive and future-oriented intervention techniques

Being able to diagnose and treat tumour patients in just a few hours is just one of the many promising goals of the Fraunhofer Project Group for Automation in Medicine and Biotechnology (PAMB). The overall goal of the Intervention and Therapy research group is to take innovative technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions from laboratory development to prototype production for use in clinical trials.

Press release - 09/12/2015

New financing conditions from High-Tech Gründerfonds

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is raising its seed investment to €600k and lowering interest rates by 4%. This is in response to changing requirements in the start-up and venture capital scene, as well as current interest rate trends. The package of measures will be effective from January 1, 2016.

Medical technology is indispensible for human health and contributes a great deal to improving the quality of our lives. The field of medical technology covers many areas. These range from simple disposable products and consumables such as dressing materials and other clinical supplies, to IT-related telemedicine, homecare and eHealth systems as well as high-technology and innovative robotics, imaging, diagnostics and life-support systems. 842…

Article - 10/03/2014

INCIDE – IT solutions in the life sciences

The use of modern research methods in the natural sciences generates increasing amounts of data, which can often only be analysed using special software. The INCIDE research centre at the University of Konstanz provides data processing services that facilitate the development and adaptation of software programmes for use in the life sciences. The INCIDE scientists work in close collaboration with life scientists. In future, this successful…

Article - 02/09/2013

Sectio chirurgica: live and interactive anatomy

Telemedical teaching is taking off: Tübingen’s Sectio chirurgica (TSC) is already used by around 25% of all medical students in German-speaking countries. TSC transmits surgical interventions and procedures performed by renowned surgeons into auditoriums and via Internet live stream.

Article - 19/08/2013

Brain mapping – ‘eavesdropping’ on the brain

Although numerous scientists have spent decades exploring the brain and many things are already known the brain is still considered one of the greatest mysteries of science. While structural elements such as cell and axon distribution can only be mapped post mortem motor and sensory functions can only be studied in vivo i.e. using living organisms. Dr. Tonio Ball and his colleagues at the BrainLinks-BrainTools cluster of excellence at the…