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Photon-Counting consortium contributes to the digitalization of the medical sector in Baden-Württemberg

Advancing the digitalization of the medical sector, promoting the establishment of a digital innovation platform and improving clinical care - these are the declared goals of the joint project "Photon-Counting CT Consortium" (PC3) funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism. In the presence of Economics Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, the consortium consisting of the University Hospitals of Freiburg, Tübingen and Mannheim presented one of its three new, innovative "Photon-Counting" computer tomographs (CT) in Tübingen today. The network also includes the two partners Siemens Healthineers and the state agency BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH.

"Successfully mastering the digital transformation is one of the basic prerequisites for the competitiveness of Baden-Württemberg as a business location," says Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism. "We are convinced that the PC3 consortium will play a decisive role in maintaining the future viability of our federal state by means of the fully digitally mapped overall process, the creation of a digital ecosystem and the potential connection of industrial partners from the field of medical software development," Dr. Hoffmeister-Kraut continued.

Completely digital data acquisition and lower radiation dose

"In contrast to the CT technology used to date, the new technology is based on the direct conversion of X-ray photons into a primarily digital signal in the CT detector," explains Prof. Dr. Fabian Bamberg, Medical Director of the Department of Radiology and Interventional Radiology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg and coordinator of the consortium. "The fully digital data acquisition opens up completely new possibilities in patient care. In particular, the acquisition of large, highly complex data sets offers valuable approaches for the further development of diagnostics and therapy," continues Prof. Dr. Bamberg.

The direct digitization of biomedical information multiplies the information content of CT imaging in several dimensions, both in terms of the spatial resolution of the image data and with regard to complex tissue information. "This results in decisive advantages, for example in the significantly improved resolution of lung tissue, which will benefit the care of patients with COVID-19, among other things, or for a more precise characterization of tumors," says Prof. Dr. Konstantin Nikolaou, Medical Director of the Department of Radiology and Interventional Radiology at Tübingen University Hospital. "In addition, the radiation dose is many times lower than with conventional CT devices. This means that emergency examinations in children and adolescents, for example, can be carried out faster and more gently thanks to the new technology," continues Prof. Dr. Nikolaou.

Another important aspect of the joint project is the cross-location networking of the clinical and scientific infrastructure. "This will create a platform that enables the exchange of complex data between the sites. This can be used, for example, to develop new types of contrast agents," explains Prof. Dr. Stefan Schönberg, Director of the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University Medical Center Mannheim. "This newly created infrastructure is the basis for innovative forms of cooperation in university medicine in Baden-Württemberg and is the key to the application of artificial intelligence to medical data in the consortium," says Prof. Dr. Stefan Schönberg.

Background

The joint project "Photon-Counting CT Consortium: Establishing the next digital generation of computed tomography in Baden-Württemberg (PC3)" of the University Hospitals of Freiburg, Tübingen and Mannheim with their project partners Siemens Healthineers and BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH has been funded by the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg since April 2021 with a total of around five million euros over a period of around one and a half years. A photon counting computer tomograph has already been installed at each of the three sites.

The new photon counting technology, which was developed through extensive basic research by industry partner Siemens Healthineers, lays the foundation for the next CT generation. As a project partner, BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH is contributing to the process of establishing an "innovation space" around PC-CT technology and developing innovative development partnerships and collaborations with industry. This will create a unique, long-term ecosystem in Baden-Württemberg around PC-CT technology, which will support the healthcare industry in the areas of biomarkers and contrast agents, digitalization, medical bioinformatics and artificial intelligence (AI).

Media contact

Uniklinik Freiburg
Department of Radiology
Medical Director
Prof. Dr. Fabian Bamberg
Phone: 0761 270-38050
fabian.bamberg@uniklinik-freiburg.de

Faculty of Medicine Mannheim of Heidelberg University
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
Medical Director
Prof. Dr. Stefan Schönberg
Phone: 0621 383-2276
stefan.schoenberg@umm.de

University Hospital Tübingen
Department of Radiology and Interventional Radiology
Medical Director
Prof. Dr. Konstantin Nikolaou
Phone: 07071 29-82087
konstantin.nikolaou@med.uni-tuebingen.de