Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano SystemsPress release
From Bench to Bedside: Jointly Advancing Medical Innovations for Clinical Practice and for the Benefit of Patients
The rapid transfer of research findings into clinical applications is essential to ensuring that knowledge and technological innovations effectively improve patient care, enhance treatment quality, and have the power to extend the lives of patients. Today, in Europe, it takes more than ten years on average for an idea to develop into a market-ready medical technology product for use at the patient’s bedside. With a view to reducing the time-related barriers that hamper the translation of scientific insights into medical practice, shortening patient waiting times, and lowering costs for the healthcare system, effective strategies are needed to bring research and hospitals closer together. With this in mind, Fraunhofer ENAS and Klinikum Chemnitz are entering into a strategic partnership to create the conditions needed to translate research into clinical practice more efficiently. By pooling their respective strengths, they aim to more closely integrate research and development, consistently align them with patient needs, and transfer new knowledge directly into everyday clinical practice. The goal is to integrate results from the research laboratory directly into treatment processes and enable needs-based healthcare services. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by both partners and the new “Health Innovation Lab” of Fraunhofer ENAS mark important initial steps toward realizing this vision.
The path from innovative medical technology concepts to practical clinical application – where new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic approaches become available to physicians and patients – is long and often associated with high costs. Fraunhofer ENAS and Klinikum Chemnitz aim to streamline this time-consuming and resource-intensive translation process by undertaking it together and facilitating direct knowledge transfer.
Partnership with Added Value: Close Collaboration for Advances in Medical Technology
As a concrete step toward this goal, Fraunhofer ENAS and Klinikum Chemnitz have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that underscores their shared strategic direction and their commitment to close collaboration in the future.
The two partners are bringing research, technology development, and clinical application into closer alignment in order to advance forward-looking healthcare research for the benefit of patients and strengthen the transfer of knowledge from the laboratory into clinical practice. The aim is for research findings to be integrated more effectively into hospital routines and patient care, thereby contributing to the highest possible quality of care in everyday clinical practice.
“Health is a matter that concerns us all and is a shared responsibility. Research and clinical practice must therefore work hand in hand to enable a healthier future and improve patient care. Together, we are focusing on developing next-generation healthcare solutions that are directly aligned with the needs of medical professionals and, above all, patients. Close clinical integration, including collaboration with medical specialists, allows us to incorporate user feedback directly into our research and the development of innovations. The resulting diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are practice-oriented, needs-based, and sustainable. Beyond this, our partnership also provides important momentum for further developing Chemnitz as a healthcare location and strengthening its role as a leading center for health and medical technology research that brings together science, industry, and healthcare,” explains Dr. Mario Baum, Head of the “Health Systems” Department at Fraunhofer ENAS and initiator of the MoU, as he outlines the motivation behind the collaboration.
Prof. Dr. Martin Wolz, Medical Director at Klinikum Chemnitz, adds: “Close collaboration within the immediate clinical setting enhances research activities and the innovation process, thereby increasing the likelihood that new technologies can be successfully integrated.”
Reliable Diagnostics and Effective Therapies: Technological Breakthroughs to Meet Medical Needs
The collaboration between the two partners places particular emphasis on four clinical fields –visceral surgery (abdominal surgery), radiology, neurosurgery, and pathology – while also encompassing other key medical areas at Klinikum Chemnitz.
“With our image-assisted procedures, AI-based algorithms, and integrable sensors, we provide essential technological building blocks for modern healthcare services. From clinical disease diagnostics to therapy decision-making and monitoring, our components and system solutions support medical professionals in their daily clinical work. They make disease detection more reliable, minimally invasive procedures gentler still, and treatments more effective,” Dr. Mario Baum explains.
The collaboration begins with work on a novel sensor technology for use in radiology. This technology will support the stabilization of mobile and portable X-ray systems in particular, thereby preventing motion artifacts during imaging. This will enable radiation exposure to be reduced to a minimum for patients while maintaining high image quality.
Tomorrow’s Professionals: Building the Foundation for the Future of Healthcare
In addition, Fraunhofer ENAS and Klinikum Chemnitz are committed to supporting the education and professional development of emerging talent in the medical, technical, and medical technology fields. As part of the “MEDiC” model degree program in human medicine offered by the Faculty of Medicine at Dresden University of Technology in cooperation with Klinikum Chemnitz, the two partners will, for example, jointly supervise student theses, help qualify the next generation of professionals, and actively contribute to teaching.
These and other strategic partnerships among regional stakeholders in research and academia will contribute to the training of urgently needed young professionals, the continued development of the emerging Chemnitz Health Campus, the strengthening of the healthcare region of Southwest Saxony, and the long-term safeguarding of future patient care.
Short Distances: Fraunhofer ENAS Opens “Health Innovation Lab” at Klinikum Chemnitz
To bring the two partners closer together not only in terms of their specialist fields and technologies but also physically, Fraunhofer ENAS has had a presence at Klinikum Chemnitz through its “Health Innovation Lab” since January 2026. The new premises provide Fraunhofer researchers with valuable opportunities for health-oriented research and technology development in close proximity to users.
“Located directly at the point of use of our technologies, our Innovation Lab at Klinikum Chemnitz provides an optimal environment for working with users to explore new medical, scientific, and technological questions, conduct research on unconventional approaches on site, experimentally test healthcare innovations, and intensify collaborative exchange with physicians and medical experts. In doing so, we are taking a major step toward our long-term goal of improving progress, development, and transfer, and enhancing patients’ quality of life,” says Dr. Mario Baum.
If you are interested in collaborating with us in the field of smart healthcare solutions, please feel free to contact us.
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