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Using minimally invasive endoscopes to look into deeper regions of the human brain
18.01.2021
With minimally invasive endoscrpes from Leibniz IPHT it will be possible in zhe future to see into deeper regions of the human brain.
An innovative technology, a highly motivated team and a field of application that needs new solutions: Hair-thin endoscopes from Leibniz IPHT will advance brain research in the future. Dr. Sergey Turtaev, Dr. Hana Čižmárova, Dr. Jiri Hofbrucker and Patrick Westermann are working on this topic under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Tomáš Čižmár: The interdisciplinary team is preparing their spin-off DeepEn from the Research Department Fiber Research and Technology. The project is supported with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Actions' EXIST research transfer program.
The brain as the most complex organ of the human body is still far from being researched in its entirety. Conventional methods used in in-vivo brain imaging cause tissue damage that severely limits research on internal brain regions.
The DeepEn team aims to make hair-thin holographic endoscopes available to neuroscientists, which can provide insights into areas of the brain that have not yet been accessible. This should make it possible to investigate the causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer’s, or strokes even better.
Well positioned for transfer
"The timing is just right: the technology is ripe for transfer, and there is currently a worldwide trend to diagnose and treat diseases minimally invasively with light," says Tomáš Čižmár, leader of the Holographic Endoscopy Group and mentor of the team. DeepEn’s goal is to stabilize and miniaturize the experimental setup so that in the end there will be an easy-to-use brain imaging workstation for neuroscience on the table – the NeuroDeep. "I'm driven by going beyond proof of concept in research and translating scientific knowledge into application," reveals Sergey Turtaev, leader and technology expert of the start-up project.
DeepEn's technological approach is based on a multimodal fiber – the narrowest known channel that can transmit image information. A fiber normally cannot transmit an image from one side to the other, as in conventional endoscopes. When light moves through an optical fiber, it doesn't come out on the other side in the same shape but is completely distorted. The Holographic Endoscopy Working Group team has researched a method for transmitting images in spite of this: "Using modern holographic modulators and intelligent algorithms, we manage to turn this hair-thin glass structure into a high-resolution imaging instrument," explains Sergey Turtaev.
"The key advantage is that the frontal area of such a fiber is more than a magnitude order smaller than that of conventional endoscopes. Our fiber endoscope has the subcellular resolution of modern multiphoton microscopes, and can penetrate deeply into brain tissue without causing much damage."
For Hana Čižmárova the NeuroDeep's user-friendliness is the main focus. She is a physician, and her hands-on experience in geriatrics has taught her what symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases can look like. "Now I'm working on the other end and can contribute to being able to better research these diseases," she says. To do this,
she works closely with research partners at the Institute of Scientific Instruments in Brno, Czech Republic. Her main task is currently to gather needs and feedback from potential users of the system. In the future she will work on the protocol, the design of the user interface and the training plan for the implementation of the NeuroDeep.
Market research, competitive analysis, estimation of market potential: Patrick Westermann took the lead in creating the business plan for the start-up. He completed his master's degree in management in Belgium and Spain in the summer of 2021, and now is responsible for the business management at DeepEn. He is in charge of organizational issues, rethinks work packages, prioritizes tasks, establishes contacts and talks to development partners and first potential customers at neuroscience institutes. "This is a real vision of the future: that later on our fiber endoscopes will be able to advance research and make human lives better, or even save them," says the young entrepreneur.
First success- ful steps in building up the start-up
There have been
many highlights
in the start-up
phase so far. First
and foremost, the
DeepEn team was
completed by Jiri
Hofbrucker, who
contributes addi
tional expertise
with his background in physics
and his passion for
engineering. He is
now working with Sergey Turtaev in the lab to configure a fully functional test system. "We are refining the test setup in close coordination with our research partners and future users. Initially, we plan to make the design very flexible in order to be able to respond to new suggestions at any time," explains Jiri Hofbrucker. "The possibilities offered by our endoscopes are new to the target group. Therefore, many feedback loops are necessary to accurately determine the needs of researchers in neuroscience laboratories," adds Hana Čižmárova.
From lab to market in 26 months – that is the goal of the interdisciplinary team. They can take recourse to a lot of experience from both internal and external sources. "With Leibniz IPHT, we have an excellent infrastructure and environment to push on our project. We received a lot of support from our scientific coordinator, Ivonne Bieber, the PR team and the colleagues from the personnel office," emphasizes Sergey Turtaev. Externally, the Leibniz Association's Start-up Support assisted by providing advice and support from the very beginning. At the kick-off meeting of the EXIST program organized by project sponsor Julich, the team exchanged ideas with other EXIST start-up scholarship holders in Berlin. They were also able to learn a great deal from their business coach, a consultant with over 20 years’ experience in the microscopy and bio imaging industry.
Another highlight was the workshop with research partners in Brno, which the DeepEn team attended together. "Presenting ourselves there made us grow closer even more," reports Patrick Westermann. He is pleased that many important steps have already been completed. The lab has been equipped, parts for the test setup are ordered, an office set up and a logo have been designed for DeepEn. "We are a good team and our competencies complement each other per fectly. I'm confident we can meet the challenge of bringing our advanced technology to the market."
Great potential for hair-thin holographic endoscopes
Once the NeuroDeep has gained acceptance in neuroscience, he DeepEn team plans to target
the market for diagnostics and therapy in human medicine as the next stage. There, it can also enable in-situ imaging, for example during surgeries or for faster diagnosis.
“In the future theholographic endoscope could be become a fitting device for delivering novel photonics-based methods such as photoablation and optical biopsy to specific body regions,” explains Tomáš Čižmár.