Otto Hess postgraduate scholarship for MHB student Simon Seitz

Neuruppin, 17 June 2024

The German Cardiac Society DGK awards the renowned Otto Hess postgraduate scholarship to Simon Seitz, 9th-semester medical student at the Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (MHB). The scholarship supports experimental and clinical doctoral projects of exceptionally gifted medical students. Simon Seitz conducts research on a novel ultrasound measurement method in acute heart failure; the project is based at the cardiology department of the Immanuel Klinikum Bernau Herzzentrum Brandenburg.

The doctoral candidate is highly pleased to receive the DGK Otto-Hess postgraduate scholarship, for him “an additional motivation to pursue this exciting project as part of an excellent team.” Together with an interdisciplinary group of MHB physicians and researchers, Simon Seitz explores a gentle ultrasound-based measurement procedure to monitor fluid accumulation in the body in acute heart failure.

Balancing mechanisms in the body fail when the heart is no longer strong enough to pump a sufficient amount of blood through the body. The resulting fluid accumulation causes symptoms like breathlessness or deteriorating renal function. The new procedure uses a structured ultrasound-based evaluation of blood flow in the venous vessels of liver and kidneys. Blood flow is assessed via the Venous Excess Ultrasound Score (VExUS) to determine the amount of accumulated pre-heart blood. The MHB project, performed simultaneously at several clinics, aims to predict potential acute kidney injury and excessive dehydration due to medication.

Prof. Dr. Anja Haase-Fielitz is in charge of the research team. She underlines the significance of the project for clinical practice in facilitating more precise forecasts for the development of a disease. Prof. Dr. Christian Butter, senior cardiologist at the Bernau center, is proud of the doctoral candidate who conducted a feasibility study to ensure an excellent study design.

The VExUS study is the first clinical study to be jointly undertaken by all MHB university hospitals. These are: Immanuel Klinikum Bernau Herzzentrum Brandenburg,  Universitätsklinikum Brandenburg an der Havel, Universitätsklinikum Ruppin-Brandenburg, plus Krankenhaus Märkisch-Oderland (MHB teaching hospital) and MHB Zentrum für klinische Studien.