Snapshots

Berlin Institute for Health Research opened

Berlin, June 2013. The Berlin Institute for Health Research (BIG) – Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) was opened on the 18th June at a ceremony in Berlin. In BIG – BIH, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin- Buch, which belongs to the Helmholtz Association, and the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe, will concentrate their research work at one site. The aim is to strengthen the translation of research to the clinic. This is the first time that a holistic, systematic medical research approach will be pursued in Germany. For the development of BIG – BIH, the Federal and State governments together with the Helmholtz Association will fund MDC and Charité with around 300 million euros over the next 5 years. The founder of the Charité Foundation, Johanna Quandt, will support the BIG – BIH with an additional 40 million euros (source: MDC).

For more information please visit:

https://www.mdc-berlin.de/41180063/20130618-berliner_institut_f_r_gesundheitsforschung

(20.09.2013)

The very best from East and West: A Department of Dual Medicine^® is opened

Berlin, 21 August 2013. The Department of Dual Medicine^® at the Vivantes Humboldt Hospital in Reinickendorf, Berlin, will not only provide conventional medicine but also complementary therapies for all patients, including cancer patients. For this, conventional medicine is combined with methods of naturopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – a form which is, as yet, unique in Berlin.

The Dual Medicine^® combines eastern and western medical treatment and diagnostic methods. Traditional medicine is complemented by rudiments from European naturopathy, TCM and alternative therapies, provided that they have a proven scientific basis. It will include the use of procedures such as acupuncture and acupressure together with a wealth of herbal medicine.

The Department of Dual Medicine^® is attached to the Department of Surgery, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, under the direction of the head physician, Professor Dr. Ulrich Adam. At the opening he said: “Particularly patients with cancers of the esophagus, liver, pancreas and intestine will benefit from the interdisciplinary networking of our hospital. The range of our therapies is being constantly extended, and patients are also more and more interested in alternative methods. The introduction of Dual Medicine^® marks the addition of a further innovative facet both for ambulatory and stationary care”.

Hyperthermia is, for example, used as a therapy enhancer in chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Such passive fever treatment is applied either to individual parts of the body through so-called “loco-regional hyperthermia” or as whole-body hyperthermia. The application depends on whether only one joint, or a tumor, or the entire immune system of the body is to be treated – as is the case, for example, in fibromyalgia or borreliosis.

The benefits of Dual Medicine^® will initially be offered to privately insured and self-paying patients as the integrative therapy services are not as yet included in the general health insurance catalog. However for individual medical issues these services are also being increasingly reimbursed by the statutory health insurance.

The Dual Medicine^® is a member of the German Society for Hyperthermia (DGHT e.V.), the Society for Biological Tumor Resistance, the German Medical Society for Acupuncture (DÄGfA e.V.) and the International Hormone Society (IHS) (source: Vivantes).

More information can be found at:

http://www.vivantes.de/huk/news-details/news/das-beste-aus-ost-und-west-abteilung-fuer-duale-medizinR-eroeffnet/

(20.09.2013)

The first German plasma pen has been introduced into clinical use – Joint innovation of INP Greifswald, Charité Berlin and University Hospital Greifswald

Plasma medicine is going to infiltrate everyday clinical practice in Germany. The first German plasma pen has been approved as a medical device for the treatment of infectious skin diseases and for the improvement of wound healing. This innovation is the result of a co-operation between Greifswald scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald) together with the Charité Berlin and the University Hospital Greifswald.

Plasma ball (© Bobbi Jones Jones @ PublicDomainPictures.net).

The so-called “kin-pen MED” was presented in June at the Hauptstadtkongress “Medicine and Health 2013” in Berlin. The easy-to-handle plasma pen is about the size of a fountain pen and is connected to a plasma power source. The plasma pen can be used by the physician in a similar way to a laser.

Prof. Jürgen Lademann, dermatologist and researcher at the Charité in Berlin, where the clinical approval study was conducted, paid tribute to the first successful medical tests with the plasma pen. The results showed, that the “new technology has great prospects”, that go above and beyond the healing process. Lademann emphasized the fact that in order for plasma medicine to achieve international success, it is necessary to pool experience and developments with the technology from all over Germany. To serve this purpose, the National Centre for Plasma Medicine was founded in Berlin on 03.06.2013 (source: INP).

For more information please visit:

http://www.inp-greifswald.de/web3.nsf/index?OpenPage&Eintrag=F8640DA0CF9CA80EC12573C6002C7BA1

and

http://www.plasma-medizin.de

(20.09.2013)

Photonics Cluster launches new website and new newsletter “optiMST”

Berlin, 13 August 2013. The new website of the Photonics Cluster Berlin-Brandenburg has been officially launched and will provide information about the cluster “Photonics” and its fields of activity: laser technology, light technology, optics for communications and sensing, optical analysis, biomedical and ophthalmic optics, and microsystems technology.

In addition to news, events, publications and cooperation offers from the optics and microsystems technology sector, brief profiles of regional stakeholders and partners will be presented amongst them the German-Polish cooperation project PHOENIX.

At the same time, the first edition of the new newsletter from the Berlin’s capital region was launched in August under the name “optiMST – Cluster Newsletter for optical technologies and microsystems technology in Berlin-Brandenburg”. The optiMST newsletter will provide information on a monthly basis about current developments, projects and activities within the cluster as well as event details, information about funding programs and competitions. It also offers cooperation proposals.

The Photonics Cluster website and the “optiMST” are joint projects of the cluster partners OpTecBB, Berlin Partner GmbH, TSB Innovationsagentur Berlin GmbH and ZAB Brandenburg Economic Development Board (source: TSB Technologiestiftung).

For more information please visit:

http://www.optik-bb.de

(20.09.2013)

Berlin Partner for Economics and Technology: Promotion of business and technology in Berlin will be under one roof

As of September 2013, the Berlin Partner for Economics and Technology GmbH will be the central contact for all matters relating to economic and technological development in Berlin.

The merger of the two main business and technology transfer institutions in Berlin, TSB and Berlin Partner, will not only work to promote existing highly technological and innovative companies in Berlin but also to encourage national and international technological companies to change their location to Berlin.

The companies will be given help with settlement and expansion as part of the comprehensive service offered. (Source: Press Office of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research).

See also:

http://www.berlin-partner.de

(20.09.2013)

Fiagon GmbH honored with the Start-up prize

The Start-up prize 2013 in the category “Future technology” goes to Fiagon GmbH. The CEOs of the medical technology company, Dirk Mucha and Timo Krüger, accepted the coveted award at a ceremony in early April. The KfW Banking Group and the magazine SUPERillu, from the publisher house Hubert Burda, award the Start-up prize annually in four categories. Fiagon was awarded the prize for the development of a unique clinical navigation system that supports surgeons during surgical procedures in highly sensitive areas of the body, thereby making the day-to-day work of physicians easier.

Dr. Timo Krüger and Dr. Dirk Mucha (left to right), CEOs of Fiagon GmbH – Finalist in the category “New entrant” (Photo: Bärbel Schmidt).

Tiny coils at the ends of the surgical instruments enable a safe orientation during surgery as they are detected by an electromagnetic system, and transmit the position of the surgical instrument in real-time on to a monitor.

This gives the surgeon millimeter orientation and enables him/her to work precisely on the internal organs of the patient. Fiagon took an already partially developed technology and developed and optimized it further to this end product. Care has been taken to ensure that the system remains affordable even so that it can also be used by physicians in smaller hospitals.

As the turnover of Fiagon is already higher than was initially expected, the company is already planning its next steps namely that navigation technology will play a greater role in the future in the field of spinal surgery. Similarly, steps are being taken to establish the product on the international market, particularly in the United States.

In just 3 years Fiagon GmbH has developed and successfully marketed an intelligent technological product of the future. This rapid growth has shown the company, which was sponsored by the ILB and others, to be a worthy recipient of the Start-up Award. Fiagon has already started research for further medical innovations for the future (source: Pressemeldungen.com).

See also:

http://www.fiagon.de

(20.09.2013)

“Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” 2013/14 – Ideas for the City

Berlin, 27 August 2013. The Laser- und Medizin-Technologie GmbH Berlin (LMTB) are amongst the 100 winners of the nationwide competition “Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” 2013/14.

The competition honors pioneering impetus for Germany, this year for the first time with the theme “Ideas for the City”. Solutions for life in the cities of the future were sought from all sectors and all regions of Germany.

Mobile therapy monitoring for chronic heart failure (source: Jan Toelsner / LMTB).

In the future, patients suffering from chronic heart failure will benefit from a new development from the LMTB. A sensor measures the water content of the skin and sends the data online to the attending physician. An increase in the values indicates that the cardiac output is insufficient which could make an intervention necessary. Thanks to telemonitoring patients in rural areas could be remotely monitored at home instead of in hospital.

Throughout Germany, some 1000 research institutions, companies and associations submitted their pioneering projects on the topic “Ideas for the City”. Supported by an advisory board, an independent panel of 18 judges chose the 100 winners in the categories of economy, culture, science, environment, education and society. From October 2013, the whole of Germany can take part in an online vote to select the most popular “Chosen Landmark of Ideas” (source: Land of Ideas Management GmbH).

For more information please visit:

http://www.land-der-ideen.de/ausgezeichnete-orte/preistraeger/mobile-therapiekontrolle-bei-chronischer-herzinsuffizienz

(20.09.2013)

8th Call for submissions for the Berthold Leibinger Innovation Prize – Deadline for applications and nominations is 31 December 2013

Developers and researchers can once more submit their innovations in the field of applied laser technology for the Berthold Leibinger Innovation Prize. The registration deadline is 31 December 2013; this also applies to proposals from third parties. The prize of the Berthold-Leibinger Foundation has been awarded since 2000 for innovations using lasers as well as those for the production of laser light. The call for applications is made every 2 years and is worldwide.

At the award ceremony on 26 September 2014 the winner of the first prize will receive the sum of 30,000 euros. The second and third prizes are valued at 20,000 euros and 10,000 euros, respectively. A further 30,000 euros will be awarded to the winner of the Berthold Leibinger Future Prize for outstanding laser research that the jury will select on the basis of secret proposals that have been put forward.

In addition to the winners, the achievements of all the nominees will be considered during jury deliberations. They will all be invited by the Foundation to Ditzingen in April 2014 and will have the opportunity to personally convince the judges of the quality of their innovation.

Participation is open to individuals and project teams who have completed a publicly accessible, outstanding development for applied laser technology. Applications may be submitted in the German or English language either electronically or by mail (source: Berthold Leibinger Stiftung GmbH).

For more information about the call for submissions for the Berthold Leibinger Innovation Prize in 2014, please see:

http://www.leibinger-stiftung.de

(20.09.2013)

New XCAVATOR™ fiber with excellent ablation properties for urological indications

Jena, 6 September 2013. In a current press release, the biolitec AG promotes the newly developed fiber XCAVATOR™ for optimized treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Men over 50 are often affected by BPH and suffer from symptoms such as a diminished urinary stream or prolonged voiding time.

The XCAVATOR™ has been specifically developed as the first laser TURP procedure and can be used in combination with the Ceralas^® HPD laser system series.

A special feature, according to the manufacturer, is the highly advanced design of the glass cap (patent pending) which allows the vaporization and resection of the prostate tissue with subsequent histological examination for the exclusion of prostate cancer. This makes the unique glass cap of the XCAVATOR™ fiber the first choice for the treatment of prostate glands >80 g.

Combined with the Ceralas^® HPD laser (980 nm, 180 W), high removal rates of 3–4 g/min can be achieved. The XCAVATOR™ fiber can also be used with the new HPD Ceralas^® dual-laser, the first urology laser in the world with two parallel wavelengths, 1470 nm and 980 nm, for the treatment of BPH.

The biolitec AG is one of the leading companies in the field of laser treatment and the only provider that offers all relevant core competencies – photosensitizers, lasers and optical fibers – in the field of photodynamic therapy. In addition to the laser treatment of cancer with Foscan^®, the biolitec AG is involved in the research and marketing of minimally invasive, gentle laser treatments.

See also:

http://www.biolitec.de/xcavator.html?&L=0

(20.09.2013)

Duma passes compromise amendments to Academy of Sciences reform bill

Moscow, 5 July 2013. The State Duma has given its approval to the controversial bill to reform the Russian science sector, altering the draft following numerous protests and the personal intervention from President Putin.

The bill was passed in the second reading with 344 votes for, none against and one abstention. The Communist Party Faction left the State Duma session as a protest against the bill and did not take part in the vote.

The original bill has been submitted to the Lower House by the government and was approved in the first reading on July 3, despite numerous protests from academics, the science community and students. The first draft ordered three major Russian academies to be merged into one with a single managing body and also that the right to manage the academic budget and property should be transferred to a special government agency.

It was the property management section that worried the Russian science community. Opponents of the bill said bureaucrats could not understand the scientists’ needs and the changes would lead to decline, if not complete failure of the national science sector.

The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Vladimir Fortov, held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin earlier this week asking him to postpone the reform and to let him implement his own plan of changes. Putin replied that the bill had been already submitted to the Lower House and could not be reversed and that it was better to start making corrections than stall in one place.

However, the President prepared a set of amendments and sent them to the State Duma before the second reading was held, the Duma approved them and the new version of the bill looks much less radical.

The three academies will now merge without liquidation of their separate governing bodies. The RAS remains a state company funded from the budget and will continue to conduct science project management. The budget and property management, however, will be transferred to the new agency, but this agency will be headed by the president of RAS (source: rt.com).

The full article can be found at:

http://rt.com/politics/russian-academy-reform-compromise-701/

(20.09.2013)

See also:

Razin SV, Vassetzky YS. Russian science: academy reform needs a reality check. Nature 2013;499(7458):284.

Beam me up, Scotty! – Milestones in teleportation

Two important advances in quantum physics were published on 15 August 2013 in the latest edition of the journal Nature: For the first time, the German, Andreas Wallraff, and his team at ETH Zurich demonstrated, that quantum teleportation in a solid body is possible. The Japanese, Akira Furusawa, and his staff in Tokyo, reported that they were able to dramatically increase the yield in optical teleportation process.

For the last 20 years, researchers worldwide have been trying to build a quantum computer with orbiting particles in liquids, with atoms in laser traps, or with ions in electromagnetic cages. All these experimental set-ups are extremely sensitive. Therefore, many scientists suspect that a practical quantum computer must be based on solids, e.g., chips.

Great advances have now been made in this direction by the Swiss team; in their experiment they used transmitter and receiver units made up of small superconducting circuits on a 7×7 mm chip. The units were brought through controlled pulses of microwaves to an entangled state. This allowed the researchers to teleport information over a distance of about 6 mm, i.e., from one corner of the chip to the opposite corner.

This distance appears to be very small but it would be sufficient to facilitate efficient error control within computing processes. “We now aim to bridge greater distances”, said Wallraff. “Thereby we could beam information from one chip to another, or we may even sometime be able to beam information from one computer rack to another.”

Much greater distances can be overcome with optical light particles, i.e., photons, that one can teleport between transmitter and receiver. A year ago, Austrian researchers succeeded in beaming information over more than 100 km between the islands of La Palma and Tenerife. However, such teleportations are always subject to great uncertainty. For physical reasons it is only possible in a quarter or half of the cases, to transmit correctly.

Akira Furusawa at the University of Tokyo has now made considerable progress with this problem. He used not only single photons for teleportation, as has been the case hitherto, but combined single photons with impulses of many photons. Using this hybrid method, has enabled him to significantly reduce the uncertainties experienced in previous experiments. According to the researchers “This technology could simplify the development of large optical quantum networks” (source: Berliner Zeitung).

The full article can be found at:

http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/wissen/teleportation-in-kleinen-schritten-zum-beamen,10808894,24021346.html

(20.09.2013)

See also:

1. Steffen L, Salathe Y, Oppliger M, Kurpiers P, Baur M, Lang C, Eichler C, Puebla-Hellmann G, Fedorov A, Wallraff A. Deterministic quantum teleportation with feed-forward in a solid state system. Nature 2013;500(7462):319–22.

2. Takeda S, Mizuta T, Fuwa M, van Loock P, Furusawa A. Deterministic quantum teleportation of photonic quantum bits by a hybrid technique. Nature 2013;500(7462):315–8.

3. Ma XS, Herbst T, Scheidl T, Wang D, Kropatschek S, Naylor W, Wittmann B, Mech A, Kofler J, Anisimova E, Makarov V, Jennewein T, Ursin R, Zeilinger A. Quantum teleportation over 143 kilometres using active feed-forward. Nature 2012;489(7415):269–73.