New Imaging Techniques in Cancer Surgery: Helmholtz High Impact Award for Oliver Bruns and Ellen Sletten
Ferdi Schüth, Jury Chair, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research; Otmar D. Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association; Ellen Sletten (UCLA); Oliver Bruns (NCT/UCC and DKFZ); and Volker Meyer-Guckel, Secretary General of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft. Photo: Helmholtz/Phil Dera
Biochemist Oliver Bruns (NCT/UCC Dresden) and chemist Ellen Sletten (UCLA) have been awarded the Helmholtz High Impact Award 2024 by the Helmholtz Association and the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft for their research on a new medical imaging technology in the shortwave infrared range. The method they have developed has the potential to significantly improve the surgical removal of tumors. At the award ceremony held in Berlin on September 17, the two scientists were presented with the €50,000 prize for their interdisciplinary research.
The biggest challenge in optical imaging for humans is penetrating tissue. Current medical imaging techniques reach their limits in deeper tissue layers. This means that, for example, in cancer treatment, tumor remnants or individual cancer cells at tumor margins and in lymph nodes are not detectable. For their newly developed method, which combines shortwave infrared light with special fluorescent dyes and cutting-edge camera technology to make these tumor cells visible, Prof. Ellen Sletten and Prof. Oliver Bruns have now been awarded the Helmholtz High Impact Award 2024.
"By using infrared light in imaging, we can distinguish different types of tissue based on their water content," explains Oliver Bruns about the method, known as SWIR imaging. In combination with special fluorescent dyes, it becomes possible to specifically highlight certain tissues and structures, such as tumors or blood vessels. This is what the scientists are currently working on. "The development of new contrast agents allows surgeons to better identify tumors during surgery. Our contrast agents illuminate the edge of the tumor, making it easier to remove only cancerous tissue while preserving as much healthy tissue as possible," adds Ellen Sletten.
The goal is to bring the technology into clinical use as quickly as possible. The integration of Ellen Sletten's and Oliver Bruns' research at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC) provides ideal conditions for this. The joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Medical Faculty of TU Dresden, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, and the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is dedicated to improving cancer therapy for patients using the latest technologies. "We are currently conducting clinical trials in Dresden and Stanford in collaboration with medical professionals to demonstrate the benefits for patients," says Bruns.
Oliver Bruns has led the Department of Functional Imaging in Surgical Oncology at NCT/UCC Dresden since 2022. He holds a professorship funded by DKFZ at the Medical Faculty of TU Dresden. Prior to that, he worked at the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus in Munich, where much of the now-awarded research was carried out. Ellen Sletten is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and is one of the most renowned chemists at her university. She is particularly well known for her research on shortwave infrared dyes.
Ellen Sletten and Oliver Bruns are thrilled by the recognition of their years of research: "We have been working together on this project for a decade. It’s fantastic to see how much we have already achieved," says Ellen Sletten.
"The research of Prof. Bruns and Prof. Sletten will revolutionize imaging in surgery in the coming years," says Esther Troost, Dean of the Medical Faculty. "It is fantastic that the team led by Prof. Bruns, which has been working on this technology for years, will bring great benefits to both research and clinical practice," adds Prof. Michael Albrecht, Medical Director of University Hospital Dresden.
Recently, Oliver Bruns and Ellen Sletten received a $2.2 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to further advance this highly innovative technology, thanks to their outstanding research at the intersection of biology, chemistry, engineering, and medicine.
More on the work of Prof. Oliver Bruns: Detecting the Smallest Cancer Cells in the Operating Room.
Film by the Helmholtz Association on the Helmholtz High Impact Award