Minister Kuipers opens intra-operative MRI OR
During a festive opening by Minister Ernst Kuipers of Health, Welfare and Sport, the intra-operative MRI operating room at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital (WKZ) was officially inaugurated. The IO MRI-OK is a collaboration between the Princess Máxima Center and the UMC Utrecht. This special operating room is for children with brain tumors. Together with children from the Máxima Center and WKZ, the minister built a block tower in the operating room and via a start button they opened the doors to the adjacent MRI. This officially opened the IO MRI-OK today.
More accurate surgery
Worldwide, there are only a few places with a similar combination of MRI with OR. An MRI in the operating room offers the possibility to make new MRI scans of the surgical area during neurosurgical surgery, providing an exact representation of the actual anatomical proportions. With this, the IO MRI provides information about the size of the remaining tumor and its proportions to the healthy surrounding brain tissue. The neurosurgeon can thus remove more tumor tissue more safely and accurately. As a result, complications and re-operations can be prevented and the final result of the surgery improves. The Princess Máxima Center uses the OR complex at the WKZ for all operations, where surgeons and OR staff work intensively together.
Higher level
Gita Gallé, board of directors of the Princess Máxima Center: ‘The IO MRI-OK is unique in the Netherlands and an asset for children with brain tumors. It raises neurosurgical care for children to a higher level. Between two ‘building blocks’ of the WKZ building, a new building for the IO MRI OR has been created. Our neurosurgeons operate in this OR facility and work closely with the UMC Utrecht OR teams. A bridge connects the two buildings; the bridge symbolizes this cooperation.’
Collaboration
The UMC Utrecht and the Princess Máxima Center have already been working closely together since 2014 in the daily care of children with cancer and in various research programs. Also in neurosurgical procedures, the WKZ, part of UMC Utrecht, and the specialists from the Princess Máxima Center work together to provide the best possible nationwide concentrated care for children with cancer.
UMC Utrecht takes third surgical robot into use
UMC Utrecht has commissioned a third surgical robot. With the arrival of the latest generation, the Da Vinci 5, even more patients can be operated on with minimal stress. This leads to fewer complications and faster recovery. “Apart from the benefits for patients, the Da Vinci 5 also allows us to train even better,” says Jelle Ruurda, gastrointestinal surgeon and professor of robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery. “At the touch of a button, colleagues can watch remotely, and even learn from previous operations. This way we share knowledge faster and more widely.” The hospital is thus building on a tradition of 25 years at the forefront of robotic surgery.
The HU ORM program is moving to the Utrecht Science Park.
The Entrepreneurship & Retail Management (ORM) program will relocate from Amersfoort to the Utrecht Science Park as of September 1, 2026. According to program manager Lisette Luijk (Institute for Marketing & Commerce), it is mainly about one thing: more connection.
Danny Sahtoe receives NVBMB prize
Danny Sahtoe has been awarded the prestigious NVBMB prize, a prize that gives recognition to the work of a highly talented young independent researcher in the field of biochemistry or molecular biology. The prize includes funding to organize a one-day symposium on a topic of choice. Danny Sahtoe is group leader at the Hubrecht Institute and Investigator at Oncode Institute.
Inspiring and connecting visit by the President of Estonia to Utrecht Science Park
On Wednesday, April 8, 2026, the President of Estonia, Mr. Alar Karis, together with his wife Sirje Karis, ambassador Mr. Paul Teesalu and a delegation from the Estonian Health Ecosystem, visited the Utrecht Science Park. During the visit, much knowledge was exchanged and valuable connections were made.