Steffen Strobel - Newsmaker 2009
It’s the daily challenges in life that make people resourceful. At one of his doctor’s appointments Steffen Strobel waited patiently as the needle pricked his skin repeatedly failing to find the right vein. It was a painful experience which drove him to come up with his award-winning invention.
 Jugen forscht winner Steffan Strobel with his invention, Photo: (C) Jugend forscht “I just thought, if only she could see through my skin, she would not prick me blindfolded anymore,” said 20-year-old science student Strobel.
Scared of the doc
Most routine diagnostic tests require blood samples. But common as it is, this brief procedure causes great apprehension. The thought of a needle alone makes many people anxious to go to the doctor’s. Even worse, if the correct vein is not found first try, it compounds the fear.
With a device that could make veins visible, “one prick would mean one strike and save patients from unnecessary pain. So I wanted to build a camera that could see through skin,” said Strobel.
During his last year at secondary school in 2007, when he specialized in physics, Strobel began work on an infrared device that was able to visualize blood vessels under the skin. The work he started for his final physics research paper culminated in participation at “Jugend forscht” (Youth researches) – the biggest youth science and technology competition in Europe.
The needle no longer tears a hole
With his invention, injections become more targeted and the needles can be placed more accurately by doctors during blood tests. It’s a simple principle: in a similar manner to a scanner, the device captures the image of the veins under the skin and makes them visible on a computer screen through a specially designed software program.
“I developed an exceptional camera which can look under your skin. If you hold your arm in front of it you get a live video image of your veins, which show up as dark lines. The camera works with near infrared illumination that feeds raw data to a computer. Highly optimized software then calculates the position of the veins, “ he explains.
For that applicable invention he not only received the “Jugend forscht” Award for most original project, but also placed 3rd in the European Young Scientists Awards and received an award from the European Patent Office (EPO).
Strobel was surprised to receive prizes for his work, as they were far from his mind when he started out with his work. His success even meant he was invited to a reception with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. “I will certainly remember that encounter,” he says.
Originally from a small town in Bavaria, Germany he was also very pleased by the international participation at the various competitions. “I met so many interesting people from all over the world and had lots of fun,” says Strobel.
Opening doors to industry
Strobel is currently studying computer science with a specialization in medicine at the Technical University in Munich. In addition to his studies, he has also already dipped into the real research world working for a large global pharmaceutical company.
Next year the young scientist wants to complete his Bachelor and then aims to continue with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Computing. What would be plenty for others is just the first step on Strobel’s career path. He’s sure he will continue his studies with a doctoral thesis, which he would like to complete abroad. If everything works out according to plan, he will have his PhD age 25.
In the future Strobel still wants to carry on with research on appliances and software for medical-imaging because for him “it’s fascinating to be able to look into the living human body.”
The competition undoubtedly appealed to Strobel’s goal-oriented mind. “If I wasn’t already too old I would have liked to compete at “Jugend forscht” again”, he says. However, participants at “Jugend forscht” must not be older than 21 years.
By Mamé Gamamy
www.jugend-forscht.de www.tumuenchen.de
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