New EKFZ funded
Interdisciplinary Innovation Projects

Four new project teams began their research in the fields of emergency medicine, psychotherapy, endoscopy and surgical oncology.

We promote pioneering interdisciplinary research projects

With this funding at the interface between medicine and technology, we set scientific and structural standards. The aim is to shorten the period from the initial idea to the first prototype.

Since 2019, more than 30 innovation projects have been funded by the EKFZ. In January 2025, four new projects have started their research in the fields of emergency medicine, psychotherapy, endoscopy and surgical oncology.

OASIS

Overcoming Anxiety: Psychotherapy in Shared Virtual Reality with generative AI Systems

Allocation algorithm for optimized Regional Acute Stroke care

In Germany, approximately 270,000 people suffer a stroke each year. In acute stroke care, timely access to life-saving treatment is essential. In an emergency, patients need fast, guideline-based care, such as that provided by the University Hospital’s SOS-TeleNet telemedical stroke network. Providing comprehensive care in rural areas is a particular challenge. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to further improve the initial treatment of stroke patients. The ARAS project team aims to develop an algorithm to support emergency teams allocate acute stroke patients to hospitals.

“First aid teams in ambulances routinely have to decide on the correct allocation of patients; sometimes one hospital is closer, but the other offers specialized stroke therapies. In such situations, our algorithm could make a decision in seconds and direct the patient to the place where the best care is available. The algorithm takes into account available resources such as CT imaging or endovascular therapies, quality criteria and transport time,” says Dr. Jessica Barlinn, project leader and neurologist at Dresden University Hospital. In the long term, the ARAS algorithm has great potential for transfer to other regions and clinical scenarios, such as heart attacks or severe injuries.

Lightweight robotic tools for endoscopic surgery

The design and functional principle of gastrointestinal endoscopy have remained largely unchanged for decades. The primary reason for this stagnation is the use of mechanical bowden cables, which lack electronic control and therefore have significant limitations. Although there are already a few endoscopic robotic systems on the market, none of them have yet become established in everyday clinical practice. They are too expensive, cumbersome and do not really meet clinical needs.

To address these limitations, the project team aims to develop next-generation flexible robotic endoscopic tools with articulated joints based on Nitinol (NiTi) actuators. These tools will offer several key benefits, including digital control and integration in a cybermedical context, enhanced maneuverability in confined spaces and integrated physical sensor functions for haptic feedback. Additionally, these tools will enable training and skill transfer through simulation platforms, allowing surgeons to refine their skills in a controlled environment. The provision of additional data and an intuitive user interface should enable endoscopists to focus fully on the medical aspects of their intervention, enabling more precise, more efficient and novel endoscopic procedures. Our vision therefore has the potential to revolutionize endoscopic surgery and significantly improve patient outcome.

Making lymph node detection easier and more precise

Tumor cells present in lymph nodes are a major predictor of oncological outcome. Accordingly, lymph node detection and resection are mandatory and crucial in oncological surgery. However, given the low contrast in the visible spectrum between lymph nodes and the surrounding fatty tissue, finding lymph nodes can be challenging, both intraoperatively and during pathological work up of the dissected tissue. In addition to finding lymph nodes the intraoperative identification of lymphatic vessels as a risk structure is important to avoid post-operative complications.

Shortwave infrared (SWIR, 1000 to 2000 nm) imaging is a new technology for biomedical applications. It provides several advantages such as low light absorption by blood and tissue. The LYMPH-EYE project team aims to develop a simple, label-free optical system based on SWIR (shortwave infrared) technology to detect lymphatic tissue in oncological surgery.

Overcoming Anxiety: Psychotherapy in Shared Virtual Reality with generative AI Systems

Over the past 20 years, Virtual Reality has proven particularly useful in exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. It allows for countless repetitions of fear scenarios, and exposure scenarios that would be costly or potentially dangerous in real life. Among phobic patients, VR is well accepted and perceived as less frightening.

The project team is further developing their therapy platform, using a multi-user mixed reality (MUMR). Their system, ViewR, allows therapists and patients to interact in the same virtual environment, making exposure therapy more immersive and effective, and enabling a more natural communication and interaction. Additionally, the researchers plan to clinically validate their product by working with experts to test and refine the platform to ensure it meets medical standards, and prepare regulatory documentation for a clinical trial.