Every business idea gets three minutes. Five budding start-ups are allowed to present themselves in Golm at the Potsdam Science Park's annual conference. They are competing for investors, supporters and new insights. Dr Laura Schaefer is also looking for them. She sits in the audience as eager as a spring. "I've wanted to take a look at this for a long time," she whispers. The habilitated sports physiologist is continuing the work in teaching and research that she began twelve years ago with her former professor Frank Bittmann. Three joint inventions are set to open up new avenues in diagnostics and therapy. "I'm not interested in making money," says Schaefer. "I actually want us to find a company with which we can bring our handheld to market maturity."
The device looks inconspicuous: black plastic housing, the size of a 250 ml cream jar, weighing 265 grams. One side is rounded like a saddle. "We really need a name for it," Schaefer muses as she switches on the tablet later for the demonstration. The device is intended to help diagnose the weakness in long-COVID patients, identify individualised treatment approaches and thus literally get people back on their feet. What sounds like a yellow press story is the result of decades of research, reports Frank Bittmann. The now retired Professor of Regulatory Physiology and Prevention is a sports biologist, medical practitioner and manual therapist. In 1993, he co-founded the Brandenburg Association for Health Promotion at the University of Potsdam, including the associated Academy for Health and Sports Therapy, where he trains specialists. Laura Schaefer completed her doctorate and habilitation under Bittmann, joined his practice for integrative medicine and holds the deputy professorship for health education in sport at the university. Their meeting was "an absolute stroke of luck", they both say. Schaefer brought new impetus to data analysis with her crystal-clear understanding of numbers.
Their joint research focusses on neuromuscular control and regulation processes - and the question of what causes them to malfunction. If a muscle no longer functions as it should, even though no organic damage is visible, the fault may lie in the control system. "Quasi through disruptive influences in the brain," says the sports scientist. "Our research closes a gap in the theoretical structure of movement science. We all have to adapt to the forces acting on us, such as our own body weight, literally every step of the way. But not with the maximum possible force, but adapted to the respective requirement, such as when walking down stairs." Bittmann and Schaefer were the first to scientifically describe this precisely adapted reaction to external forces. They call this ability "adaptive force". This refers to the stability of a muscle in the face of changing resistance. "A completely different force than when exerting pressure," says Bittmann. In the event of disorders, for example due to - often subliminal - pain signals or psychological stress, this stability can drop dramatically.
But how can this be measured objectively? Frank Bittmann positions the handheld between his palm and Laura Schaefer's arm to demonstrate. He then presses on it with increasing force. She is only allowed to hold. The device records the force level up to which the holding position remains stable.
Laura Schaefer and her colleagues have now published their work internationally and discussed and demonstrated it at conferences. Their study on long-COVID patients is particularly interesting, as all those affected show massive drops in muscle stability. Across Germany, tens of thousands are on permanent sick leave. There is no therapy in sight. However, muscle control reacts directly to disruptive influences as well as to helpful ones, explain Schaefer and Bittmann, who use this effect in practice for individualised therapy. "We can noticeably help the majority of patients." According to an RBB report, more than 60 Long COVID sufferers from all over Germany contacted them. "A few sessions are often enough," reports Schaefer. As was the case with the little boy his parents brought in a wheelchair. "He can now walk again," she says, showing how goose bumps tingle down her arm. The device could also be used in the early detection of Parkinson's disease. This is suggested by the results of a pilot study sponsored by the Parkinson's Society, in which muscular oscillations were measured. Ideas for a training device have been developed and a patent applied for. Follow-up funding is now needed.
Schaefer and her colleagues need new allies in order to continue their research, train more specialists and help more patients: "Our prototypes need to be developed further and made ready for the market," says the scientist. The foundation for this has been laid by Potsdam Transfer, the central institution for knowledge and technology transfer at the university, which acts as an interface between research and industry. Dr Sascha Gohlke closely supervised the patent applications for the inventions there. The process is complicated, lengthy and expensive. The university remains the owner of the patents, but in the event of exploitation, the inventors receive 30 per cent of the gross proceeds. "Financially, this is mainly worthwhile for the university indirectly," says Gohlke. "Patents are often essential for start-ups, generate visibility and help to raise funding." Bittmann and Schaefer also need this. Perhaps they are now building their own pitch ...
This article was published in the university magazine Portal Transfer 2024.