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Into the Future with Metrology - The Challenges of Medical Technology

Innovation Cluster for Health

Medical measurements have a long tradition at PTB, but they have an even greater future as the development towards quantitative and individualized medicine represents a great challenge for metrology. The measurements have to be accurate and reliable, and they have to create confidence. This is where PTB has its core competence. PTB ensures the traceability of many important measurement procedures required, for example, by the EU's In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive, but also by the German Medical Devices Act. With its measurement capabilities, PTB is the world leader in this field. According to the Measures and Verification Act, it is the only notified body in Germany to carry out type examinations of sound level meters. With its statutory mandate, PTB also plays an important role in dosimetry. Metrology is indispensable for one of the most important developments in medicine: the trend towards an increasing number of quantitative measurements. PTB is at the forefront of this research, for example, in the field of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Here, the aim is to make the measurements more and more reliable and comprehensible. In this extremely complex interdisciplinary field, intensive collaborations with suggestions and ideas coming from all participants are essential. Therefore, PTB wishes to further intensify its existing good contacts with physicians, hospitals and the medical technology industry. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us!

News (partly in German)

Patientin im MRT

Riesenchancen oder Hochrisiko – oder beides? Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) in der Medizin kann helfen, Menschenleben zu retten oder Geld im Gesundheitssystem zu sparen. Aber die sprichwörtliche Black Box, also der KI-Algorithmus, der schließlich eine Diagnose ausspuckt, macht vielen Menschen Angst. Deswegen forscht die PTB intensiv an Methoden, die die Qualität der eingesetzten Algorithmen oder der...

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Ein MRT-Bild auf der Intensivstation (ungvar/ Adobe Stock)

Ein Magnetresonanztomograf liefert ganz ohne Strahlenbelastung äußerst detailreiche Bilder etwa von Herz oder Hirn. Aber zurzeit sind die Geräte so teuer, dass nur Kliniken und große Spezialpraxen sie sich leisten können. In einem EU-Projekt entwickelt die PTB ein MRT-Gerät, das kleiner, leichter und wesentlich preiswerter ist. Es bietet dank Open-Source-Hard- und Software ganz neue Möglichkeiten...

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Test von KI-Erklärmethoden

Leistungsfähige KIs sind heute in der Lage, medizinische Bilddaten mit hoher Genauigkeit auszuwerten, etwa zur Differentialdiagnose verschiedener Anomalien im MRT – also für die Frage, welche von mehreren möglichen Krankheiten dann wohl wahrscheinlicher ist. Für den klinischen Einsatz stellt sich jedoch die Frage: Liefert die KI auch die richtige Begründung für ihre Entscheidung? PTB-Forschende...

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Auf einer Weltkarte sind viele Markierungen auf allen Kontinenten zu sehen. Besonders viele Markierungen sieht man in Nordamerika, Europa und Asien.

Es ist Segen und Fluch zugleich: Weit oben in der Stratosphäre schützt Ozon die Erde vor übermäßiger UV-Einstrahlung, aber weiter unten ist es eine Gefahr für die Gesundheit der Menschen und für das Klima. Es bildet sich, wenn Schadstoffe wie etwa Stickoxide in der Luft mit Sonnenlicht wechselwirken. In hohen Konzentrationen reizt Ozon bei Menschen die Atemwege. Für das Klima wirkt es als...

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More news

Medical research at PTB: PreventionMedical research at PTB: Prevention

Infrasound

Hearing well into your old age

From birth to old age, from ultrasound to infrasound, the correct measurement of sound plays a decisive role everywhere – and that includes PTB.

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Medical research at PTB: Diagnostics and TherapyMedical research at PTB: Diagnostics and Therapy

MEG measuring device

New sensors for biomagnetic signals
The value of the minute magnetic fields of the human heart and brain – and of the research that is going on there.

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Droplet Digital PCR

Laboratory values: valuable indicators for diseases 
These were crucial even before corona: What organic and inorganic biomarkers in the blood or serum can tell us.

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Torso phantom

MRI - Safety first!
Magnetic resonance imaging at high magnetic fields up to 7 teslas gives us perfect images, but it also has to be accompanied by good measurements. 

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Tissue-specific relaxation time

When the MRI scanner does the analyses on its ownt 
The change to quantitative measurements in magnetic resonance imaging is in full swing.

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Percentage of the different types of X-ray examinations

It's the dose that counts  
How high is the radiation exposure during X-rays? PTB is addressing this question in various different ways.

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calibration of dosemeters

Apply the right absorbed dose against the tumor 
Our goal: Fighting tumors while protecting the surrounding tissues. Precise measurements play a crucial role here.

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Medical research at PTB: Digitalization in the Health Care SystemMedical research at PTB: Digitalization in the Health Care System

PTB's AI Strategy
Artificial intelligence in medicine is booming. This also applies to PTB and is reflected by PTB’s new AI strategy.

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mammography

Model-based observer and machine learning for high-quality images 
The latest procedures using artificial intelligence to analyze images, such as those from mammography screening.

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ECG database

Matters close to the heart: Artificial Intelligence 
The world’s largest ECG database is from PTB and it helps to train methods of artificial intelligence.

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