German Experts Present Medical Imaging Advances at RSNA '13

CHICAGO, Nov. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany is a leader in the international medical technology community thanks to the scientific and technological excellence of its universities, research institutes and enterprises. As part of its "Germany - Partner for Medical Technology" campaign, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will feature the latest medical imaging innovations at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 99th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting Dec. 1-6 in Chicago at booth #2965 A-H, South Building, Hall A.

Research presented at the meeting will include:

• Xbox has a place in the operating room: Technology built on the Xbox Kinect lets surgeons pull up medical images, switch to a different image or zoom in on an image, all without touching a thing, making it useful even when they are scrubbed for surgery. Developed by Dr. Christian Schaller with Metrilus, this new time-of-flight 3D camera gesture navigation gives surgeons control without having to actually touch anything.
• Faster stroke diagnosis; better treatment: Doctors can quickly and precisely image the entire brain and its blood flow to determine whether a stroke is being caused by an aneurysm or a blockage – and potentially treat the patient in the same room – using a new multimodal functional imaging system that enables "one-stop stroke management." Prof. Joachim Hornegger, vice president for research at the Central Medical Technology Institute of the Friedrich Alexander University, and Prof. Arnd Dorfler, head of the Neuroradiology Department at Erlangen University Hospital, developed the technology to speed up stroke diagnosis and treatment with the goal of helping to reduce brain damage and save lives.
• Visualized tumor tracking over time enables easier assessment; quicker action: New software can analyze all of the many images taken of a patient's tumor during the course of treatment and quickly show how it is responding. By tracking the tumor and speeding up analysis, doctors can assess response to treatment and change therapy if needed. The first and only software of its kind, mint Lesion analyzes all MR, CT and other imaging and test data, reporting findings in a single record. The program, developed by Dr. Matthias Baumhauer with Mint Medical, can be used to track groups of patients as well as individuals, making it useful for clinical trials, by providing more objective data. The American College of Radiology's ACR Image Metrix and Stanford University are using the technology for data collection.
• Highly sensitive + specific molecular imaging for early disease detection: A new technique called hyper-CEST for MRI can capture highly specific images in less than two minutes and detect cellular changes in human tissue far too small to be visible using standard MRI. This advance, developed by Dr. Leif Schroder of the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), holds promise for earlier diagnosis of diseases such as pancreatic cancer, which typically are not detected until they are in advanced stages. The technology uses harmless xenon gas and produces images that would require 1,100 years to make using traditional methods.
• Video game controller enables remote control exploration of organs, tumors: Using an off-the-shelf game controller, radiologists can easily and quickly navigate through 3D images of a tumor or beating heart from any angle or any direction using technology developed by Prof. Michael Teistler of the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences. Used by physicians in the United States, including Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, the software generates special 3D or 4D versions of CT or MR images, which the radiologist can manipulate and explore by twisting and turning the game controller – instead of a mouse, touchpad or keyboard – providing more flexibility and enabling more viewing options. Teistler's system received "magna cum laude" honors in the "Informatics Education Exhibits" category at RSNA 2012 because of its application in enabling medical students to practice navigating through ultrasound images.
• Low-dose, high-resolution 3D CT system allows more accurate breast cancer diagnosis: A new 3D breast CT system provides more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer – particularly in women with dense breasts – with lower radiation than mammography. The system, developed by Prof. Willi A. Kalender at the Institute of Medical Physics at Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen-Nurnberg, can detect even tiny, pencil-dot-sized tumors and other abnormalities in the breast more clearly than digital mammography and breast tomosynthesis. It is also more comfortable than mammography because it doesn't require compression of the breasts.

These advances were made possible through BMBF and its scientific "clusters:" international, multidisciplinary groups of organizations and researchers who specialize in specific areas of medical technology bringing together international experts to drive medical imaging innovation. The clusters being featured at this meeting include 3-D Imaging in Medicine, Quantitative Imaging in Oncology (QUINO) and BioNanoMedTech. Also presenting their research and development highlights on behalf of BMBF will be the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences (Flensburg); the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (Berlin); STIMULATE – the Solution Center of Image Guided Local Therapies (Magdeburg); the Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing; MEVIS (Bremen); and "MeVis Medical Solutions" (Bremen).

For more information on BMBF, the campaign and the research presented at RSNA 2013, visit: www.research-in-germany.de.    

SOURCE German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF)