Ulf Hedin

Hi Ulf! What kind of research are you doing at MedTechLabs?

“It is a broad interdisciplinary project to find better treatments for three different diseases in the field of peripheral vascular disease. It includes clinical activities, patient-oriented research and research at Scilifelab and KTH. Together, our aim is to develop person-centred – or individualised – diagnostics and therapy for these diseases. This also means that I, together with Christian Gasser at KTH, lead a rather large team. Because the project builds on already established collaborations between Karolinska University Hospital, Scilifelab and KTH. In practice, it is four individual research groups that are now collaborating across borders.”

What impact do you hope this research will have?

“That we will be able to develop a more accurate assessment of peripheral vascular disease. This in turn may lead to better treatment outcomes, including preventive interventions. Current treatment guidelines for this group of diseases are in some cases based on studies that are more than 30 years old and are population-based. In addition to the risk of a completely different situation among patients today, this also means that decisions are made based on what is the best treatment at group level. Whereas we aim to achieve individualised treatment, a completely different approach. For one of the diseases we are researching, the current assessment method means that on average healthcare providers treat 6-8 people unnecessarily, which is necessary to ensure that an individual can be saved from a stroke. With an individualised assessment, that number would come down to one or two people operated on. This would be three times more effective.”

When can results from this research reach patients?

“What we hope is that the project will lead to a clinical study that can be carried out at least in the final phase of the project period. This would mean that within five years we will have such a result that it is possible to take our new methods further for implementation in the Swedish healthcare system. I feel very confident about this project because it is being carried out by such a well-established platform of researchers who already know and have worked with each other before.”

So, what is required for the findings to be translated into healthcare?

“A clinical trial is both necessary for and facilitates implementation. However, in all likelihood, more research funding will also be required in this phase. Our ambition is for the treatment method we develop to become a new European standard, which takes time and requires several clinical studies to get into the system.”

Are there any plans to commercialise your research results?

“We actually already have a collaboration underway with Karolinska Innovation to keep them informed about what we are doing in the project and thus pave the way for possible commercialisation. For example, it could be data-driven prediction models for risk assessment and therapy selection. There is already commercial potential in this area.” 

What is your background and motivation as a researcher?

“Being clinically active as a doctor and working with these patients while being close to the research tools is very satisfying. I am close to both basic research and the frontline of translational research, where new ways are being found to improve the treatments I and my colleagues will apply. Being able to work interdisciplinary with researchers from Scilifelab and KTH with backgrounds in completely different disciplines also serves as a strong driving force for me.”

Contact Ulf Hedin: ulf.hedin@ki.se