Prof. Hirt (left) talking to the surgeons.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
"Four large surgeon's hands and two small nostrils - that can be a problem," says Professor Hirt, summing up the situation during the demonstration of minimally invasive frontal sinus surgery. After all, the surgical team has to feed the endoscope, camera, light, suction and drill all the way to the base of the skull to perform delicate procedures there, frequently over several hours. "Fewer cables" was just one of the wishes of the surgeons, who - as always - demonstrated the medical needs on an anatomical specimen.
The second operation, led by Professor Arnulf Stenzl, Medical Director of the Department of Urology and Director of the Inter-University Center for Medical Technologies Stuttgart-Tübingen (IZST) at the Universities of Tübingen and Stuttgart, used a prostatectomy to illustrate the difficulty of getting the right view during open surgery: "In this pelvic floor operation, only the surgeon sees the details - the team ultimately has to imagine the situation based on his/her description," bemoans Stenzl.
Using the example of a prostatectomy, Prof. Stenzl (centre) shows the difficulty of getting the right insight with an open surgical approach.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
Given that operations can last hours and utilise numerous instruments that must be held as steadily as possible in unnatural positions, Professor Hirt asked whether robots could in future perform the surgical procedures. "It will certainly take years to achieve completely autonomous surgery. And, like a pilot, a surgeon must always be able to land a plane - or operate on a patient - without any robot assistance," stresses Professor Stenzl. "But help from robots is already a way of conserving valuable medical resources."
Digitalisation has brought radical technological changes to the sector, confirms Dr. Steffen Hüttner from the Verein zur Förderung der Biotechnologie und Medizintechnik e. V. (Society for the Promotion of Biotechnology and Medical Technology). "Whether augmented reality, virtual reality or artificial intelligence, the technology is frequently already
there, but the challenge is to get used to it."
Live broadcast of the surgery in the Clinical Anatomy in Tübingen.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
Although the more than 160 participants - primarily developers from the medtech sector - were "only" online for this event, they were able to discuss ideas for instruments or methods directly with the medical practitioners in a live chat. After more than 60 minutes, Dr. Eichenberg thanked everyone for taking part in the successful premiere of the online workshop: "Incisions and insights is a truly live event. Today we were able to provide an insight in this exceptional format, but we'd be delighted if we could once again join the surgeons in person at the operating table here in June. At the same time, we"re offering new communication channels to keep the life sciences industry in the STERN BioRegion dynamic even under pandemic conditions."
The workshop series is organised by the Inter-University Center for Medical Technologies Stuttgart-Tübingen (IZST) at the Universities of Tübingen and Stuttgart, BioRegio STERN Management GmbH and the Verein zur Förderung der Biotechnologie und Medizintechnik e. V. (Society for the Promotion of Biotechnology and Medical Technology). The next "Incisions and insights" workshop will take place on 30 June 2021, if possible back on site at the Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis in Tübingen.
from the left: Senior physician Dr. Bastian Amend, Dr. Steffen Hüttner, Society for the Promotion of Biotechnology and Medical Technology. Professor Arnulf Stenzl, Medical Director of the Department of Urology and Director of the Inter-University Center for Medical Technologies Stuttgart-Tübingen (IZST), at the Universities of Tübingen and Stuttgart, Dr. Klaus Eichenberg and Anja Reutter, BioRegio STERN Management GmbH, Prof. Bernhard Hirt, Medical Director of the Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
The situation during a minimally invasive frontal sinus operation.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
Prof. Hirt (left) and Dr. Hüttner in conversation.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
Anja Reutter and Dr. Klaus Eichenberg while chatting live with participants and doctors.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
Anja Reutter and Dr. Klaus Eichenberg in the Green Screen Studio of the Clinical Anatomy in Tübingen.
/ Source: Michael Latz/BioRegio STERN Management GmbH
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