Revolutionary technology: new development for observing the brain!

Revolutionary technology: new development for observing the brain!

Professor Caroline Murawski, holder of the professorship for biomedical sensorics at the Technical University of Dresden (TUD), will give her inaugural lecture on June 19, 2025. The lecture entitled “Organic Semiconductors for a Brighter Future of Brain Research” begins at 4:40 p.m. in the Fritz-Foerster-Bau, Mommsenstrasse 6, in Dresden. The event, which includes both lecture and discussion, will be held in English.

Murawski, who was appointed professor at TUD in 2024, researches light-based neuronal stimulation and detection. These technologies are realized using organic miniature LEDs and photodetectors. Their goal is to gain new insights into how the brain works and to develop treatments for neurological diseases. Her interdisciplinary work combines disciplines such as electrical engineering, biomedicine, physics and chemistry.

Research and innovation

A particularly fascinating element of her research are the optoelectronic components that she uses for neuronal stimulation and detection. Optogenetics plays a central role here, making it possible to control neurons with light and observe their activities. Murawski’s impressive career also includes leading a young research group at the Kurt Schwabe Institute for Measurement and Sensor Technology Meinsberg e.V., where she worked for six years.

A significant advance in neuroscience research is also being made possible by a new imaging technology developed by a European research team from Germany, the Czech Republic and Belgium. Under the name NEUROGATE, a holographic endoscope with a hair-thin optical fiber is manufactured that can visualize the neuronal processes in living organisms with high precision. The project is funded with 2.5 million euros by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and offers the potential to better research neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.

Technical details and challenges

The innovative technology of the holographic endoscope enables long-term observation of neuronal circuits in deep brain regions and can be used in freely moving organisms. While Murawski focuses on developing organic electronics to stimulate and record neuronal activity, NEUROGATE technology is a valuable addition to state-of-the-art imaging techniques. Prof. Dr. Tomáš Čižmár, an active member of this research team, highlights that the technology has been under development since 2017 and has a great future in the field of biomedical applications.

Also mentioned in connection with Murawski's work is a new sample processing technology that allows CMOS designs to be created in a 130 nm process. The use of micromachining lasers and flexible circuit boards to collect data from neuronal stimulation experiments shows how closely the fields of neuroscience and materials research are linked. These advances are expected to revolutionize data collection in neuroscience by significantly increasing the effectiveness and scope of application of electrophysiological recordings.

Professor Murawski's lecture will not only offer insights into her groundbreaking research, but also the opportunity to network with other scientists and interested parties in a subsequent get-together. The importance of these interdisciplinary research approaches is becoming increasingly clear as they lay the foundations for future therapies and technologies in the field of neuroscience.

For more information about Professor Murawski and her research, [TU Dresden] reports that she has pursued an impressive career in the field of biomedical sensing. For the latest developments in neuroscience and the technologies that support them, take a look at [nature.com], and the innovative imaging technology is also described in more detail on [Leibniz-IPHT].