Modern science is helping medicine

Professor Schütz, why is this association necessary? Would there be no successful exchange between hospitals and research institutions without it?

Philipp Schütz: Collaborations have existed before, of course. But unlike hospitals in Bern, Basel and Zurich, for example, those in Aargau lack their own university, where close exchange is practically a given. The association connects us more closely with the region’s research institutes, such as PSI. The idea is to build a bridge “from bench to bedside”, meaning from the lab bench to the patient’s bedside. Working together, we can develop new methods far more effectively.

The association has established the ForME programme. What is that about?

The programme primarily gives young doctors time to conduct research. They apply for a project they would like to carry out together with a team, for example, from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, and are given one day per week off from their hospital duties. This time off is funded from project resources.

How does this lead to greater knowledge transfer?

The doctors gain practical experience with what modern science has to offer for solving medical problems. Conversely, researchers learn about the clinical needs they should be addressing. Together, they arrive at solutions more quickly. Often, new ideas arise in conversation – over coffee, for instance – even ideas beyond the project that weren’t previously considered because the other perspective was missing.

The second round of ForME projects is already under way. Can you tell us about one of the previous collaborations?

One example is the project of my colleague Tician Schnitzler, a radiologist at the Aarau Cantonal Hospital. Together with PSI Modern science is helping medicine experts, he is developing an AI-based method for interpreting lung X-rays. Artificial intelligence holds enormous potential for diagnostics, which unfortunately has barely been tapped in practice so far. Specifically, this project is about the early diagnosis of bronchiectasis – abnormal dilation of the bronchi, which causes chronic suppuration and pneumonia. It occurs primarily in older people with pre-existing lung conditions. The project aims to train the AI tool with documented case histories so that it can recognise, from an X-ray image, when something is amiss – much earlier than we doctors can.

Which research areas at PSI are particularly relevant from a medical perspective?

PSI is not only very strong in developing new diagnostic methods, but also in therapy. The Center for Proton Therapy, for example, enables very precise cancer treatments. PSI’s nuclear medicine and radiopharmacy departments are also world-class. This expertise is being drawn on in another ForME project by my colleague Sabin-George Pop from the Baden Cantonal Hospital. Together with PSI experts, he is developing AI tools to optimise radioligand therapy for prostate cancer, which primarily affects older men.

Have you also done a lot of research yourself?

Yes, my focus is on personalised nutritional therapy. As people age, many suffer from multiple conditions, loss of appetite and weight loss. My team and I are investigating how this can be counteracted through individualised nutritional therapy – from protein-rich foods and oral nutritional drinks with specific amino acids to intravenous administration of nutrients when necessary. Nutrition can effectively slow physical decline in old age. We are doing research into the pathophysiological causes of malnutrition and searching for biomarkers for its early detection – a field that still holds considerable potential.