Prof. Dr. Inge Katrin Herrmann

Area of Research

Description of Research Interest

My research focuses on creating medical technologies of the future that bridge advanced materials chemistry and engineering to address unmet clinical needs. My lab develops conceptionally new approaches to improve how we diagnose, treat, and monitor disease. Core areas include smart surgical materials and technologies for musculoskeletal and visceral surgery (e.g., ultrasound-visible hydrogels, bioactive adhesives, radioenhancers, and robotic surgery tools), point-of-care diagnostics for decentralized, low-resource, and intraoperative settings, and women’s health (e.g., MenstruAI wearable menstrual-blood diagnostics, EndoStop reversible contraception and endometriosis prevention). Our work combines nano/biomaterials, photonics, robotics, and sensor design, with strong emphasis on clinical translation. We collaborate closely with surgeons, clinicians, engineers, designersto ensure high clinical relevance. 

Special Expertise

• Smart surgical materials & biomaterials: bioactive tissue adhesives, sealants (AnastoSeal, Nanoglue), ultrasound-visible hydrogels, nanoparticle-enabled therapies.
  
• Point-of-care & wearable diagnostics: microfluidic LFA development,  biosensing in unprocessed biofluids.
  
• Theranostic nanotechnology: radioenhancers (PreXision), NIR-II nanomaterials, mechanistic studies across 2D/3D/in vivo models.
  
• Women’s health technologies: menstrual-blood diagnostics (MenstruAI), reversible contraception & endometriosis prevention (EndoStop), tool design.
  
• Advanced imaging & spectroscopy: ultrasound imaging, Raman and NIR-II, micro-CT, advanced electron microscopy (ED, EDX, EELS), nanoparticle quantification (ICP-OES/MS).
  
• Robotics & surgical innovation: intelligent surgical robotics, sensor-integrated tools and end effectors, intraoperative monitoring systems.
  
• Clinical translation & regulatory strategy: preclinical validation, ISO 10993 workflows, trial design, interface with clinicians.
  
• Entrepreneurship & technology transfer: IP strategy, spin-off creation, industry partnerships, high-impact translational roadmaps.
  
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: surgeons, designers, engineers, data scientists; co-creation with patients; arts–science innovation.
  

Shareable Platforms, Services, Equipment & Infrastructure

• Polymer synthesis & formulation (electrospinning, 3D/4D printing, cell and tissue printing)
  
• Tissue-adhesive and sealant development platforms (bench testing, burst pressure rigs, mechanical testing)
  
• Ultrasound-visible and bioactive material development
  

• Nanoparticle synthesis (metal, metal oxide, metal carbides, NIR-II materials, etc.)
  
• Extracellular vesicles and liposomes
  
• Characterization suite: DLS, zeta potential, UV-Vis, fluorescence/NIR-II imaging
  
• ICP-OES and ICP-MS and advanced electron microscopy for quantitative metal analysis
  

• High-performance ultrasound systems (Verasonics, GE, Clarius)
  
• Raman microscopy (WITec 300alphaR)
  
• Micro-CT, MRI (3 and 7T) and photon-counting CT access (Balgrist)
  
• Optical imaging, thermal imaging
  

• Ex vivo tissue models, organ-mimicking phantoms, robotic surgical testbeds
  
• In vivo models (rodent and pig)
  

• Robotic platforms for sensor-integrated surgical tool  and technology development, next to OR-X
  
• Human-factors and usability testing with surgeons and designers
  

• Access to clinical samples (established clinical collaborations)
  
• Regulatory, ISO 10993 biocompatibility workflows
  

• Health-design collaboration with ZHdK (patient-centric innovation)
  
• Arts–science exhibition platforms (for outreach-linked projects)