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New Professor Prell revolutionizes neurosurgery at MLU!
Prof. Dr. Julian Prell will be the new professor of neurophysiological neurosurgery at the MLU in Wittenberg and promotes the latest monitoring techniques.
New Professor Prell revolutionizes neurosurgery at MLU!
Something is happening in the field of neurosurgery in Halle. Since August 1, 2025, Prof. Dr. Julian Prell brings a breath of fresh air to the Medical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. With his new professorship for neurophysiological neurosurgery, a clinical-scientific work area is being created at Halle University Medicine that is dedicated to the central topic of monitoring nerve functions during complex brain operations. This is particularly important to completely remove tumors without jeopardizing important brain functions, reports idw online.
Prof. Prell is no stranger to the scene: he has been working on methods for monitoring nerve functions for over 20 years. Under the heading “Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring” (IOM), he uses various techniques to precisely observe the condition of the nerves during operations. These include evoked potentials, which test the conductivity of nerves, and electromyography (EMG), which is used to monitor facial muscles. The more we know about these techniques, the safer the surgical procedure can be.
Innovative monitoring methods
The IOM is a valuable support in neurosurgery and is based on the real-time measurement of electrical potentials of the nerves, which register special electrodes on the scalp and in the muscles. This monitoring is painless and takes place under anesthesia, without any relevant risks, according to the information muenchen-klinik.de.
Commonly used IOM techniques include:
- Electrocorticography (ECoG)
- Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs)
- Motor evoked potentials (MEPs)
- Direct cortical stimulation (DCS)
- Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs)
- Visual evoked potentials (VEPs)
These techniques allow the functionality of the neural pathways to be observed and reduce the need for intraoperative awakening tests for high-risk patients, as described in an article pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov is presented.
A strong commitment to the future
Another goal of Prof. Prell is to build a group of experts for neurosurgery and neurophysiology. He is committed to combining competencies in both areas in order to further expand the evidence for neurophysiological monitoring procedures and to anchor it in guidelines. This could help significantly improve safety and accuracy during surgical procedures.
Dean Prof. Dr. Heike Kielstein describes Prell as a pioneer in the field of intraoperative neurophysiology. Additionally, Germany has developed a certification for this type of operation, which Prell coordinated. He will therefore play a central role not only in Halle, but also far beyond the city limits.
At a time when medical progress is advancing rapidly, such developments are of enormous importance. It remains exciting to see how the new professorship and the associated research will lead to improved patient care in neurosurgery. Prof. Prell is well advised to set the course for this future; After all, his work could also enable further research into the potential of neurophysiological monitoring outside of neurosurgery.