Imaging in research and clinics

Researchers and clinicians specialized in imaging met end of October at the CPC/ILBD in Munich Großhadern. The workshop was organized by Dr. Gerald Burgstaller, head of the Imaging Core Unit at CPC-M/ILBD in Munich as well as by Prof. Dr. Julien Dinkel  and Dr. Alexandra Kraus from the LMU Hospital in Großhadern.
Thanks to a constantly advancing technology, there is a particularly great progress in the field of imaging. This was demonstrated vividly by the researchers and physicians attending the event.

Amongst others, Dr. Markus Rehberg from CPC-M/ILBD presented intravital microscopy - a method, which can be used to follow dynamic developments, such as inflammations in living tissues and cells. Recent activities in the research group of Dr. Otmar Schmid were also impressive: with the help of a custom made spraying device, he brings aerosols into the finest branches of the lungs - and can clearly show their homogenesou distribution in 3D and fluorescent colors. This method is intended to control and improve the effectiveness of inhaled drugs in lung diseases.

A particularly tricky question had to be answered by Prof. Julien Dinkel from the Institute of Clinical Radiology at the LMU Hospital: how do we examine the lungs of small children with wheezing breath - but without using any contrast medium, without anesthesia and without being forced to lie absolutely still? The choice fell on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method, which now has to be adapted step by step to these special requirements in order to obtain meaningful and high-quality images.  

On the second day of the meeting, intensive workshops and group meetings with a limited number of participants took place. For example, Dr. Gerald Burgstaller and his team demonstrated the fascinating possibilities of detailed 4D light sheet microscopy, including a trip into virtual reality (VR): a special headset as well as modern software makes it possible to "slip into" tissue or cells in 3D and look at them from the inside. Prof. Julien Dinkel from the Clinic and Polyclinic of Radiology at the LMU, in turn, introduced the participants to the topic of "Artificial Intelligence in Radiology". In medical research, the booming AI technology is used to automatically classify and analyze thousands of images for diagnostic purposes within a very short time.