All about Medical Treatment in Germany
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Observing metastasis in real-time
Even years after the successful treatment of a lung-, breast- or skin-cancer tumor metastases suddenly begin to grown in the brain. They are extremely dangerous since they cannot be removed, and growth can only be delayed at best. With an advanced microscopy technique, researchers of the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) Munich have followed the different stages of metastases formation in real time. In the course of their work, they also found the processes that lead to a "dead end" for the cancer cells, meaning that no metastases form. The scientists believe that their results, which are published in Nature Medicine (online, 20 December 2009), serve as promising candidates for future treatment techniques. More
Heart surgery: clear vision through blood
With the new Angiocam an old dream of cardiovascular surgeons will come true, namely to see through blood with sufficiently high resolution. Using an infrared laser for illumination, the new endoscopic vision system allows surgeons to directly view vessel walls and cardiac structures from the inside. The novel technical concept of Angiocam Infrared Vision Systems, a company founded by the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronics Systems, will promote progress in minimally invasive surgery. It is aiming at guiding cardiac operations such as mitral valve repair, closure of septal defects, or endovascular stenting of the severely diseased thoracic aorta, as well as procedures in interventional cardiology. The Angiocam is currently tested in clinical studies and said to be introduced later this year.
New imaging technology for surgery
A new imaging technology allows surgeons to perform operations more safely and with greater situational awareness. The technology of Munich-based company SurgicEye will first be applied to surgical procedures related to breast cancer. According to SurgicEye, freehand SPECT provides minimally invasive access to the lymph node and offers 3D data directly during surgery. This is said to promise shorter operation time, smaller scars, and less trauma/morbidity. Freehand SPECT is currently introduced in two clinics in Germany and Italy.
Help for HIV patients
Unfortunately, HIV patients in developing countries have much less of a chance to get adequate treatment than patients in developed nations. This is partly due to the lack of an established medical infrastructure. With the help of portable technology from German company Partec this might change, however. In order to treat HIV successfully the illness must be monitored closely. To do that the number of so called CD4 cells needs to be counted in the patient’s blood about four times a year. This can be done with Partec’s CyFlow Counter. It can check more than 100,000 cells in less than one minute. Also, the price for such a blood test is well below other methods. That is why many governmental as well as non-governmental health organizations use the counter. In 2008 more than 2.5 million tests were done.
Ion and proton therapy in Germany
In addition to the recently opened Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center (HIT), two other centers in Germany (in Marburg and in Kiel) will be offering combined proton and carbon ion treatment in the next three years. Another center in Munich, the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center (RPTC) began radiation treatment with protons in March 2009. The Westdeutsche Protonentherapiezentrum in Essen will follow in 2010. Recent progress in the area of ion and proton therapy in Germany and medical treatment in general is the result of key players working closely together. For the HIT project, for example, four prestigious institutes have been involved since the planning stage: the Department of Radiation Oncology at Heidelberg University Hospital, the GSI Helmholtzzentrum for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, and the Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. Moreover, HIT was implemented as a cooperation project between the Department of Radiation Oncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and Siemens, which was responsible for the installation of the radiation units.
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