Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVISInstitute News
The guests are welcomed in the foyer of Fraunhofer MEVIS by the institute director Horst Hahn and the staff.
Demonstration of the new tabletop MRI devices
Thomas Forstmann, Irene Strebl, Kathrin Moosdorf, Prof. Horst Hahn, Dr. Lars Henning
On September 25, 2024, Institute Director Prof. Horst Hahn and employees of Fraunhofer MEVIS welcomed Kathrin Moosdorf, Senator for Environment, Climate and Science of the State of Bremen, her State Councilor Irene Strebl, and the Head of the Department for Science Planning and Research Funding Dr. Lars Henning. In a presentation accompanied by video and sound, Horst Hahn explained what the institute’s activities aim for – which is nothing less than optimizing computer support and AI systems in such a way that they serve as the key to a more precise, affordable and sustainable healthcare.
The subsequent discussion in a smaller group focused on the evolvement of the almost 30-year-old institute with current research in early detection and clinical practice, its spin-offs as well as the significance of regional networking, diversity, and the societal benefits MEVIS research thrives for.
During a tour of the building, Ms. Moosdorf and her colleagues were able to gain an impression of the collaborative working environment and insights into some of the scientific work. The tour began with the high-performance computing cluster, which was established with state and European funds and without which sophisticated AI projects at the institute would hardly be conceivable. Another technical highlight were the tabletop MRI devices presented by Lukas Schenk. These are similar in function to the large MRI devices used for medical and research purposes. Their comparably low acquisition costs make them ideal for teaching and methodological research and – equipped with the in-house software platform gammaSTAR – they allow for greatly simplified programming and standardization of sophisticated MRI sequences that control such devices during image acquisition. In a concluding experimental talk, Dr. Anna Rörich vividly demonstrated to the guests how specialists and medicine benefit from automation, for example in the precise measurement of abnormal tissue in an MRI or CT image: Here, machines are now more precise and efficient than humans.
The visit, which lasted just under three hours, was characterized by a lively and engaging dialogue, offering enough conversational matter for continuation on other occasions.
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