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Co-Me member Matthias Peterhans from the Institute for Surgical
Technology and Biomechanics at the University of Bern was awarded the
2009 Ypsomed Innovation
Prize. He was recognized for his participation in the development
of a navigation system that enables surgeons to more accurately
perform liver surgeries. The system measures the position of surgical
instruments and records them on a three-dimensional map of an organ
and its vascular system. This concept, similar to a GPS navigational
system, improves the spatial orientation of the surgeon, resulting in
a more accurate execution of the planned treatment steps and a
reduced risk of damaging the surrounding healthy tissue.
The system is clinically tested at the University Hospital
Bern. Preliminary results show that this technology allows surgeons to
perform previously not possible surgical treatments on patients with
incurable liver tumors. The technical development work is done in
collaboration with the VRAI
Group from the EPF Lausanne and is co-financed through the NCCR
Co-Me. The team of Matthias Peterhans and Professor Stefan Weber is
currently developing the navigation system further into a medical
product. This technology will be commercially available through the
start up company CAScination
GmbH.
The second prize was awarded to Guoyan Zheng who also works at the
Institute for Surgical Technology and Biomechanics at the University
of Bern. He was recognized for his work in developing a new type of
technology, which makes the replacement of the acetabulum in the hip
more economical.
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