University Clinic of Cologne
The University Hospital of Cologne (UHC) is one of the largest academic hospitals of Germany and covers all medical fields. Currently, UHC has about than 12000 employees and still growing with investments into new buildings and equipment. UHC is one of the few German comprehensive cancer centers with pancreatic cancer being one of its focus areas. The department of radiology at UHC decided in 2015 to invest into MR-HIFU for treatment of uterine fibroids as well as bone metastasis and furthermore, to extend the application ranage of HIFU towards new oncological applications. As a consequence, Prof. Dr. Holger Grüll received an appointment as full time professor, before at the Eindhoven University of Technology, to lead at the MR-HIFU group. The work performed at UHC within the framework of IPaCT created much awareness of that technology at UHC and also at the pancreatic cancer center of Cologne leading to joint activities. One outcome of IPaCT is the laboratory for translational MR-HIFU research which was established at UHC and allows large animal studies. Furthermore, a startup company of UHC, Soluxx GmbH, engaged into prototyping of MR-HIFU equipment and adjacent tools, for example gel pads, positioning devices that will be needed for future human applications. UHC is now applying for funding to perform a clinical phase 1 study for ablation and hyperthermia in pancreatic cancer, translating the results into clinical use.