Prof. Röhrle was awarded a prestigeous ERC Advanced Grant

May 5, 2022

Prof. Oliver Röhrle has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant by the European Research Council. He receives over the next 5 years almost 3.5 million euros. An ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious research awards worldwide. In his project "qMOTION" (Simulation-enhanced Highdensity Magneto-myographic Quantum Sensor Systems for Decoding Neuromuscular Control During), Prof. Röhrle wants to use comercially available quantum technologies to decode neuromuscular control during movement.

Muscles not only get living things in motion, but they can also be an interface between the brain and the environment. As such, they offer a glimpse into the brain, for example, in order to study how muscles are activated. If we were able to decode these neuromuscular signals, this would open up completely new possibilities in medical diagnostics and treatment as well as new methods for training and rehabilitation. However, this requires completely new approaches. 

“We need, for example, new technologies that simultaneously capture information about recruitment patterns and the functional state of the muscle,” Prof. Oliver Röhrle explains, who is the Director of the Institute for Modeling and Simulation of Biomechanical Systems as well as Principal Investigator in the Cluster of Excellence “Data-Integrated Simulation Science” (SimTech) at the University of Stuttgart. “This is the exact vision of qMOTION - which is about decoding, precisely and non-invasively, the neural activation of skeletal muscles using quantum sensors and data-driven simulation approaches.”

So far, the human neuromuscular system has been studied by measuring and processing the electric potential of the muscle. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the signal is “distorted” due to the electrical properties of the body, and it is difficult to identify and separate the up to 1000 sources of potential. Magnetic fields, by contrast, can penetrate biological tissue without changing their shape. To measure the magnetic field, however, highly sensitive magnetometers are required. These will be available for the first time thanks to the new quantum sensor technologies. Röhrle is convinced that “qMOTION is paving the way for a completely new field of research”. 

In qMOTION, the researchers will be using magnetometers that are commercially available. Preliminary studies show that measuring the magnetic field is a promising option, especially when a so-called high-density magnetomyographic (HD-MMG) measuring system is available, i.e. a measuring system consisting of a grid-like array of up to 100 sensors. (see figures c and d)

The main objective of qMOTION is setting up a HD-MMG measuring system for the decoding of neuromuscular activity during movement. This is possible only because the HD-MMG data is also suitable for the development of novel functional imaging methods. Röhrle’s interdisciplinary curriculum vitae, with his research in the fields of applied mathematics and biomechanics, is an excellent basis for the project. In addition, the University of Stuttgart provides an ideal environment for this innovative research due to the SimTech Cluster of Excellence and the Cluster4Future “Quantum Sensors of the Future” (QSens).

About the ERC Advanced Grants

The projects and grants of the European Research Council are divided into categories: ERC Starting Grants, ERC Consolidator Grants, ERC Advanced Grants and ERC Synergy Grants. ERC Advanced Grants are among the most prestigious research awards worldwide and are aimed at established researchers with an outstanding academic performance. With Prof. Bächtiger and Prof. Röhrle, 12 ongoing ERC grants are now based at the University of Stuttgart, five of them are Advanced Grants.

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