Press Releases

The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT signed letters of intent for future cooperation with Korea Conformity Laboratories KCL and KIST Europe on April 16, 2024 in Sulzbach, Saarland.

Memory impairment, orientation problems and speech difficulties can be signs of the onset of Alzheimer's dementia. This disease is not yet curable, but its progression can be slowed down with medication and supportive measures. The EU project "CombiDiag" is a doctoral network funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions of Horizon Europe, aiming to train ten doctoral students in the field of multimodal peripheral markers and their combinatorial use for the diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). A combinatorial diagnostic protocol may serve as a crucial tool for accurate screening and identification of patients in the earliest stages of AD, before irreversible damage and associated symptoms occur. The aim of the "CombiDiag" project is to develop disease-modifying measures and treatments. The Fraunhofer IBMT is contributing its expertise in the development of printed electrodes for biosensor applications and microfluidics to the project.

The EU project "ArtPlac" is a preclinical research project to develop an innovative technology for medical treatments in neonatal intensive care. The project involves an international research team of physicians and engineers, supported by an organization that represents the interests of premature and newborn babies and their families. The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT is contributing its expertise in the development of microfluidic systems and sensor development and integration to the project. The aim of the project is to develop a combined lung and kidney support device for connection to the umbilical vessels. The device enables a less invasive approach than the therapies currently in use. This new approach should reduce the risk and medical burden for the newborn.

For anyone who has lost a hand, a functional prosthetic hand is of enormous benefit when it comes to everyday activities. So researchers at Fraunhofer are working as part of an EU research project to improve control of prosthetic hands down to individual fingers. Instead of conventional electrodes that detect nerve impulses in muscle tissue in the arm, these rely on ultrasonic sensors. This means commands can be executed with far greater accuracy and sensitivity. In the next stage, researchers want to make the design bidirec-tional, with the brain also receiving sensory stimuli from the prosthesis.

In the EU project "AI4HealthSec", an international team of researchers aims to provide operators of health information infrastructures with innovative software tools to improve the detection and analysis of cyberattacks and threats and thus, to increase the security of health information infrastructures. For this purpose, the project will develop and validate the so-called AI4HealthSec platform. The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT is contributing its many years of expertise in the development of innovative health information systems and their validation to the project. It provides three of its systems as examples to test the AI4HealthSec platform.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT have been working with international partners to develop a technology platform to help relieve the symptoms of muscle tremors. Tiny biocompatible electrodes in the muscles, combined with external electrodes and controllers, form an intelligent network of sensors and actuators to detect muscle signals and provide electrical stimuli as needed. Together with exoskeletons, the technology could also help people with spinal cord injuries.