Research at the BMTI-Institute

The TU Ilmenau has a long and successful tradition in the field of Biomedical Engineering. The Institute of Electromedical and Radiological Engineering was established already in 1953. It was the first institute in Europe to introduce an on-campus education program of Biomedical Engineering (BMT) at university level.
Today, about 45 members of staff research and teach at the institute.The institute offers a Bachelor and Master degree program in Biomedical Engineering, as well as a comprehensive PhD program. Key aspects of research are in the field of medical technology for ophthalmology, investigation of active and passive bioelectromagnetic phenomena, medical informatics, and biosignal processing.

Key areas of research

TU Ilmenau

Measurement and stimulation technology

Michael Reichel

Ophthalmic Technology

Michael Reichel

Data analysis, modelling and inverse methods

TU-Ilmenau

Medical Imaging and Radiological Technology

TU Ilmenau

Measurement and stimulation technology

  • Research and development in the field of measurement technology for the detection of bioelectromagnetic fields and potentials
  • Determination and analysis of conductivity distributions in biological specimens
  • Validation and standardisation work relating to bioelectromagnetic methods
  • Research and development in the field of bioelectromagnetic stimulation
  • Applications in the fields of EEG/MEG, ECG/MEG, EMG, physiological monitoring and magnetic markers

Ophthalmic Technology

  • Microcirculation diagnostics / retinal vascular analysis in animal models
  • Development of methods and signal processing algorithms for fundus imaging, microcirculation diagnostics and retinal vascular analysis
  • Examination of the retina using optical coherence tomography
  • Visualisation of retinal metabolism using autofluorescence lifetime imaging
  • Development of simulation techniques for the visual system
  • Bioelectromagnetic investigations of the visual system using magneto- and electroencephalography
  • Design of optical systems (geometric optics, wave optics aspects), measurement of optical and photometric parameters
  • Methods for the objective early diagnosis of visual function and colour vision disorders
  • Development of methods for the early detection of glaucoma
  • Calibration-free gaze tracking and 3D geometry

Data analysis, modelling and inverse methods

  • Modelling and simulation of bioelectrical and biomagnetic phenomena (Boundary Element Method, Multiple Multipole Method, Finite Element Method)
  • Decomposition methods for multidimensional data (wavelets, matching pursuit, PARAFAC, ICA, multipole decompositions, multi-dipole decompositions)
  • Deterministic and stochastic optimisation methods for biomedical applications
  • Oscillation analysis and phase estimation methods for investigating information transfer in biomedical applications
  • Medical image processing 
  • Applications in the fields of EEG/MEG, ECG/MKG, EMG, physiological monitoring, TMS, NIRS and magnetic markers
Michael Reichel

Medical Information Systems

  • Procedural model for process-based knowledge engineering
  • Module library for domain-specific process modelling
  • Quality assurance tools for the fields of surgery and intensive care medicine
  • Process example
  • Ward information system
  • Guideline server
  • Software system for monitoring the quality of treatment for traumatic brain injury
  • Intelligent systems for intensive care management