Offenes und mobiles MRT-System für die transperineale Prostatabiopsie (omoPro) - Teilvorhaben: Erforschung und Entwicklung eines Navigations- und Nadelführungssystems für MRT-geführte Prostatabiopsien

With around 63,400 new cases per year in Germany, prostate cancer is the most common malignant tumour disease in men. An important diagnostic method is transperineal biopsy, which enables comprehensive tissue sampling with a low risk of infection. However, the use of magnetic resonance imaging during this procedure has rarely been implemented to date. The reasons for this are the limited space available in conventional MRI systems, the high costs and the limited availability in terms of time and space, as these devices were not originally developed for intraoperative use.

The omoPro project at the Research Campus STIMULATE aims to make MRI-guided prostate biopsy more practical and widely available in everyday clinical practice. The plan is to develop a dedicated system that, for the first time, enables holistic optimisation of design and user-friendliness for interventional use. The use of innovative metasurface coils is intended to improve access to the patient while achieving optimal imaging along the needle path. In addition, a combination of navigation and needle guidance technologies is being researched that allows precise path planning with a registrable grid and real-time visualization of needle advancement using a camera-based tracking system. The clinical suitability of the developed prototype is being tested in close cooperation with medical partners. In this way, omoPro can make a significant contribution to the further development and dissemination of MRI-assisted diagnostics for prostate cancer.