14 discussion-friendly seniors visited our demo-OR on January 16, and had decision support systems explained by the scientists. The interested audience asked many critical questions about the ambivalence of artificial intelligence, the responsibility of the clinicians, debates concerning patient’s maturity and the economization of the health care system.

With the last Newsletter in 2018, the ICCAS Team wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a very good start into a healthy and successful new year 2019. Enjoy reading!

Newsletter

In November 2018, Prof. Andreas Melzer has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the German Society for Biomedical Engineering (DGBMT). There, he is active in the group ‘Clinical Application’.

On the occasion of the press conference on the treatment of pancreatic cancer with High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in Berlin, the television chanel ‘MDR Aktuell’ reported on HIFU applications in Central Germany. At the Leipzig University Hospital (UKL), HIFU is already being used to treat benign uterus tumours. The treatment of pancreatic tumours is planed to start next year.
SONO-RAY group leader Dr. Lisa Landgraf and her team is researching how HIFU can be used in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of malignant tumors in cooperation with the Center for Radiation Research in Oncology (OncoRay), Dresden.

TV-Beitrag

At the end of November, the Mittelstandskonferenz organized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) on the “KMU-innovativ” funding priority took place in Berlin. Representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises from various areas of information- and communication technology were invited to discuss and network. ICCAS presented togehter with the partners the COMPASS project in the sector “Human-Technology Interaction”. In this project, research is being carried out to improve the OR navigation. At the booth, an assistance system for stereo endoscopy in the ENT area was demonstrated.

On November 23, ICCAS welcomed Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection. The Commissioner followed an invitation from the EUMFH project consortium around Prof. Thomas Neumuth, which presented the first results of the concept development of a European emergency hospital. At the same time, he visited the ICCAS’s Intelligent Operating Room and a surgical robotics application.
In a statement, Stylianides emphasized the high importance of science for this project and for further developments in disaster relief. ICCAS is the only partner of a European university. It participates with the electronic patient record and the networking of the information technology.

Prof. Thomas Neumuth explains a robotics application from the surgical field to EU Commissioner Stylianides. | Photo: Swen Reichhold

Harm-Bastian Harms (Johanniter), Gino Claes (Belgian Public Health Emergency), EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides, Dean of Studies of MedF Prof. Jürgen Meixensberger, Prof. Thomas Neumuth (ICCAS) and Prorector Prof. Erich Schröger discuss the operation mode of the modular field hospital on a model. (f.l.t.r.) | Photo: Swen Reichhold

Alexander Oeser received the 1st prize in the Design Challenge Competition of the ‘Visual Analytics in Healthcare’ (VAHC) workshop, a satellite event of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA 2018) in San Francisco. There, he presented a novel system for assessing laboratory orders.

On 14.11.2018, the HSI Workshop on “Further Development of Hyperspectral Imaging in Medicine” took place in Leipzig under the direction of Prof. Ines Gockel (head of the Clinic for Visceral-, Transplantation-, Thoracic- and Vascular Surgery at Leipzig University Hospital) and Dr. Claire Chalopin (ICCAS). More than 30 international participants from research, clinic and industry attended presentations on the clinical application of hyperspectral imaging for tissue examination. This non-invasive, contactless and easy-to-use technique is of great interest for both, clinic and industry.
The participant’s feedback was very positive, current collaborations were strengthened and new collaborations arose. The next meeting will follow in Heidelberg in the first quarter of 2019.

At this year’s MEDICA, taking place from November 12 to 15, 2018 in Düsseldorf, Prof. Thomas Neumuth is represented with two contributions. On November 12, with a lecture on “Medical Technology and Artificial Intelligence [AI]” and on November 14, as an expert in a panel discussion on “Operating Theater 4.0 – The OR.NET Approach to Safe and Dynamic Device Networking”.

event link

At the 30th Conference of the international Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (iSMIT), which takes place in Seoul (Korea) from November 08 to 10, Prof. Andreas Melzer acts as congress organizer and member of the international scientific committee. He also gives an invited lecture on “Future Operating Room & Safety” and presents results of the SONO-RAY Group.