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Clinical-experimental research

Clinical-experimental research of the Department of Palliative Medicine

Clinical-experimental research in the Department of Palliative Medicine addresses innovative approaches to optimise the treatment of palliative patients.

One of the research foci is technology in palliative care. This focus is represented by the PallMeT working group. PallMeT stands for Palliative Medicine Technology and researches medical technology innovations for the sustainable improvement of care for palliative patients.

One example is the use of radar waves. PallMeT is researching, among other things, bioradarinterferometry: a procedure that enables the contactless and stress-free recording of microscopic movements of the body surface through various materials (bed cover, mattress, clothing) at a distance of several metres. Bioradarinterferometry was developed on the ground of six-port radar technology and uses the principle of superposition of waves (interferometry). PallMeT uses a machine learning approach to extract the medically meaningful ones from the superposition of many movements. For example, we have succeeded in deriving the pulse wave and the vibrations caused by heart sounds from the body surface of healthy volunteers and patients. Currently, ten of the twelve beds in the palliative care ward are equipped with bioradar systems and allow the contactless and stress-free recording of heartbeat and respiration after the patient has been informed and given consent. See projects GUARDIAN, guardiANS, BrainEpP.

Another example is the use of digital technology and in particular artificial intelligence to facilitate and support the recording of symptoms, workflows in palliative care units and the prediction of disease progression. See projects PALLADiUM, PalSens.

Staff of the clinical-experimental research of the Department of Palliative Medicine:
Markus Callenbach; Laura Hameyer, Dr. Maria Heckel, Dr. Anke Malessa, Nina Neumann, Dr. Tobias Steigleder

Task Force:

Projects: