News
Cooperation for better medical imaging
14.03.2022 / The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and will cooperate in the field of medical imaging in the future. A cooperation agreement was signed on Friday, 11 March 2022 at the Research Campus in Berlin-Buch.
The STIMULATE research campus of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OVGU) and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) from Berlin want to cooperate in the future. On this behalf, a contract was signed in Berlin on 11 March 2022. The Rector of OVGU, Professor Jens Strackeljan, said after the signing: “I am very pleased that the agreed close cooperation of the MDC with the STIMULATE research campus of our university will establish a strong medical technology axis between Berlin and Magdeburg.”
“The research profiles of our two institutions are suitable for generating synergy effects and mutually optimizing resources and competencies,” added MDC Administrative Director Professor Heike Graßmann. Both institutions want to jointly develop medical technology, especially in diagnostic and interventional imaging.
The partners see the more intensive scientific cooperation as a long-term task. In addition to research, translation and teaching, both contract partners named the promotion of young scientists as an important concern.
Joint symposia and summer schools
Specifically, the aim is to use third-party funding to establish a platform for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) together with academic and industrial partners from both sides. This aims to define the future of the technology. In addition, the two institutions want to organize joint symposia and summer schools and set up an incubator for start-ups.
The MDC and the OVGU are already involved in the “Artificial Intelligence in Digital Health (AIDHeal)” network together with Berlin and Potsdam universities. “Artificial intelligence is a technology driver for modern medical imaging. That is why we link developers and users in the AIDHeal network to increase the international visibility and competitiveness of 'Digital Healthcare, made in Germany',” said Professor Thoralf Niendorf, who heads the Experimental Ultra-High Field MR group at the MDC.
“The complementary expertise of both locations, the excellent basic research of the MDC and the transfer-oriented research combined with the start-ups that have already emerged at the STIMULATE research campus, are key to the continuous translation of solutions into society," said the spokesperson of the Magdeburg research campus, Professor Georg Rose. Medical imaging and translational application are the focus, although socio-political issues are also to be considered, which methodologically require increased interdisciplinarity.
The MDC is one of the internationally leading biomedical research centers. With the STIMULATE research campus, OVGU inhibits one of the most important international centers for image-guided minimally invasive interventions. Both institutions possess excellent expertise in imaging.
Further information
- Experimental Ultrahigh-Field MR
- Research campus STIMULATE
- How can artificial intelligence advance healthcare?
Photo:
Signing the contract (from top to bottom): Prof. Thoralf Niendorf (MDC), Prof. Dr. Georg Rose (Spokesperson of the STIMULATE Research Campus and Chair of Medical Telematics and Medical Technology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg), Prof. Heike Graßmann, Administrative Director (MDC) and Prof. Dr. -Ing. Jens Strackeljan (Rector of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg).
Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg was founded in 1993. With nine faculties and almost 14,000 students in about 100 degree programs, it is a university center for teaching and research in Saxony-Anhalt. As a profile university with clearly defined contours, the University of Magdeburg has defined its research foci in engineering, natural sciences and medicine. In addition, it sees mathematics and economics, social sciences and humanities as indispensable disciplines for a modern university in the information society. A good 26 percent of all students are from abroad. Around 2,500 graduates leave the university every year after successfully completing their studies, around 200 of them as licensed doctors. www.ovgu.de
With the research campus STIMULATE (Solution Centre for Image Guided Local Therapies), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, together with Siemens Healthineers and STIMULATE Verein, is pursuing the research and development of image-guided minimally invasive methods. The public-private partnership, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is thus contributing to better combating widespread age-related diseases in the fields of oncology, neurology and vascular diseases. www.forschungscampus-stimulate.de
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) is one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutions. Max Delbrück, a Berlin native, was a Nobel laureate and one of the founders of molecular biology. At the MDC’s locations in Berlin-Buch and Mitte, researchers from some 60 countries analyze the human system – investigating the biological foundations of life from its most elementary building blocks to systems-wide mechanisms. By understanding what regulates or disrupts the dynamic equilibrium in a cell, an organ, or the entire body, we can prevent diseases, diagnose them earlier, and stop their progression with tailored therapies. Patients should benefit as soon as possible from basic research discoveries. The MDC therefore supports spin-off creation and participates in collaborative networks. It works in close partnership with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in the jointly run Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité, and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). Founded in 1992, the MDC today employs 1,600 people and is funded 90 percent by the German federal government and 10 percent by the State of Berlin. www.mdc-berlin.de
Source: Press Release MDCCooperation for better medical imaging
