Theranostics

Theranostics, the combination of therapeutics and diagnostics in a medical system is becoming increasingly important for complex, multifunctional medical products. The registration of specific vital parameters and their multivariate analysis and evaluation in a multidimensional feature space form the diagnostic basis for the respectively necessary therapeutic measures. Their efficacy is often further optimized in a closed loop. The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering has all the necessary key technologies and resources to develop, produce and test such innovative systems including the required miniaturized sensors and actuators up to the licensing stage. This includes, in particular, clean room, measurement labs, electronics and software labs, precision-mechanics workshop and biotechnological labs, right up to S3 labs as well as the integration into health information systems including the necessary device technology and highly qualified staff. There is also extensive know-how of the aspects that have to be taken into account at the development stage for the future licensing as a medical product with the corresponding regulatory affairs including risk management and all the necessary documentation.

In view of the growing significance of theranostic systems for medical patient care and their high innovation potential, in summer 2015 all of the competences at the Fraunhofer IBMT in this area were bundled in a single business area "Theranostics". This means that the existing synergies can be harnessed to an even greater extent than up to now on an interdepartmental and inter-working group basis and joint project groups for the handling of natinal and international research projects can be built. With the bundling of the expertise of the whole institute and the clear representation of the individual profiles in the business area, the collaboration with external scientific partners and industrial companies has been optimized further. The realization of R&D projects takes place in successive phases including scientific-technical advice, feasibility study, prototype development and optimization of manufacturing technologies.

The Fraunhofer lead project "Theranostic Implants" and the innovation cluster INTAKT, funded by the BMBF, are important concerns of the business unit. The project, coordinated by the Fraunhofer IBMT, serves to develop, manufacture, characterize and preclinically evaluate a new generation of active networked implants. The aim is to develop an universal basic technology in order to generate a large number of medical applications. The bundling of the excellence of the 17 partners from research, clinic and industry, the realization of the entire implementation chain in the consortium and the consideration of ethical, legal and social implications are prerequisites for the successful development of the innovative systems. .