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Locally applied magnetic fields could replace local anesthetics in certain cases / 749,000 euros in funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation for interdisciplinary project

Preventing the transmission of pain with electromagnetic fields: Scientists at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg and the University of Freiburg are pursuing this approach in a research project that will receive 749,000 euros in funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation as part of the CZS Wildcard Program starting in February. In the MINI project, short for Magnetically Induced NeuroInhibition, scientists from various disciplines are investigating the effectiveness of magnetic fields in the kilohertz range for blocking nerve conduction. This method could enable fast, non-invasive and reversible pain relief without the risks of local anesthetic injections.

In the interdisciplinary project, scientists from the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care (Dr. Jakob Hufschmidt, postdoc and Prof. Dr. Nils Schallner, senior consultant) and the Department of Medical Physics of the Department of Radiology (Dr. Sebastian Littin, head of the MR Technologies working group) and the University of Freiburg's Institute of Microsystems Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering (Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz, head of the Chair of Biomedical Microtechnology).

"The targeted inhibition of individual nerve pathways via magnetic fields has the potential to change anesthesiology in the long term," says Schallner, Senior Physician in charge of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "The ability to precisely inhibit pain perception without medication or invasive interventions could significantly improve the quality of life of many patients."

"We know that magnetic fields in the kilohertz range are generally suitable for inhibiting nerve signals. The task now is to make this inhibition as safe, gentle and precise as possible," says Stieglitz, head of the Chair of Biomedical Microtechnology at the Institute of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg.

"Or," adds Dr.Sebastian Littin, working group leader of the Department of Medical Physics at the Department of Radiology, "to specifically prevent inhibition when it is not desired in other applications."

Carl Zeiss Foundation

The Carl Zeiss Foundation has set itself the goal of creating scope for scientific breakthroughs. As a partner of excellent science, it supports basic research as well as application-oriented research and teaching in the STEM disciplines (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology). Founded in 1889 by the physicist and mathematician Ernst Abbe, the Carl Zeiss Foundation is one of the oldest and largest private science-promoting foundations in Germany. The "CZS Wildcard" program aims to support research ideas from the fields of medicine, natural sciences, technology and computer science at a very early stage of development.