A research team from Erlangen has been awarded the German Future Prize 2023 for the development of a novel device for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented the prestigious award on Wednesday evening in Berlin to Stephan Biber, David M. Grodzki and Michael Uder. Biber and Grodzki work for Siemens Healthineers AG, Uder is director of the Radiology Institute at Erlangen University Hospital. The company and the university have been in the running for the Future Prize several times.
MRI machines have recently become increasingly larger and therefore more powerful in order to provide better images of the inside of the body for the diagnosis of joint damage, heart attacks or tumors, as stated on the Future Prize website. The team has now succeeded in taking high-resolution and medically meaningful images in significantly weaker magnetic fields. This means that the complexity, costs and heavy weight of the devices have been significantly reduced. This has no influence on the image quality.
The researchers use newly developed recording techniques and procedures using artificial intelligence (AI) to reconstruct images. This includes an image-based algorithm that ensures higher resolution, as well as an approach to directly reconstruct MRI images from the raw data, it said.
The first example of the new device was tested at the Radiological Institute of the University Hospital Erlangen. A new class of such MRI scanners is now installed in around 40 countries, for example in Brazil, India and Angola, the developers reported.
Bavaria’s Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU) spoke of a “medical revolution from Bavaria for the whole world”. “The team from Erlangen has developed a completely new type of MRI that gives billions of people in regions with limited financial resources and technical possibilities access to one of the most important medical examination procedures,” he said.
The German Future Prize is endowed with 250,000 euros and is an award for technology and innovation. Market readiness is a prerequisite for the price.
The winning team competed against two other teams: A team from Hamburg further developed space technology to avoid CO2. Researchers from Dortmund focused on improving the efficiency of gas burners, especially for industry.
