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Medical Technology
in Bavaria PORTRAITS
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
GLOBAL PARTNER
Your Key to Bavaria Easy access to economic partners in Bavaria Exclusively available at Bayern International, the company database „Key to Bavaria“ comes free of charge and offers information on more than 32.000 entries of companies from all sectors. Visit WWW.KEYTOBAVARIA.COM
Editorial
"One man's joy is another man's sorrow"...
... this is one way to describe the effects of lock- The COVID-19 crisis shows how important com-
down, where positive business models have made munication is. Let's keep the future in mind!
people sit up and take notice, and negative results
have taken on a depressive edge.
This publication fills you in on what opportunities
exist during difficult times and how you can still Walter Fürst, Managing Director
use funding measures to your advantage:
This publication is also available online at
www.media-mind.info
How does Medical Valley promote the health
economy and health care?
Imprint:
Are frugal innovations more than a stopgap
Publisher: media mind GmbH & Co. KG
solution? Hans-Bunte-Str. 5
80992 Munich/Germany
What are the advantages of compliant mechan- Phone: +49 (0) 89 23 55 57-3
isms in instrument manufacturing? Telefax: +49 (0) 89 23 55 57-47
E-mail:
mail@media-mind.info
Why is the medical technology of the future www.media-mind.info
relying on the power of digitization? Managing director: Walter Fürst, Jürgen Bauernschmitt
Design + DTP: Jürgen Bauernschmitt
What effects does demographic development
Prepress: media mind, München
have on social relevance?
Responsible editor: Ilse Schallwegg
How do company founders pursue a career in Internet: www.media-mind.info
Europe? Published annually: 1 x annually
© 2020/21 by media mind GmbH & Co. KG, Munich.
What significance does knowledge sharing No part of this publication may be stored, copied or
have for a marketable product? reproduced without prior written permission by the editors.
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Greetings
Dear readers, field of healthcare at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg.
The coronavirus pandemic has left Bavaria’s medical Furthermore, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic
industry with ambivalent feelings: On one hand, many Affairs is consequently pursuing its funding lines for
companies have been and still are economically affected medical technology and digital health, which have
by the consequences of the lockdown. On the other been active for years. The Bavarian Cluster for
hand, digital services and business models experience a Medical Technology is also consistently promoting the
rapid ascent. creation and further development of functioning net-
work and cluster structures.
The sector has been engaged with digitalization for
several years already! These are definitely appropriate measures, for it is cer-
tain that the digitalization will radically transform the
In 2019, Medical Valley EMN e. V. and Forum healthcare industry and healthcare provision. Existing
MedTech Pharma e. V., together with other MedTech care structures and processes will change and generate
clusters in Germany as well as the management con- entirely new healthcare services. Besides funding, it is
sultancy Econum, have therefore conducted a study cal- therefore important that these new business models and
led “Under the magnifying glass – implementation sta- innovations can actually be absorbed by the healthcare
tus of digitization in medium-sized medical technology systems.
companies”. After all, it is clear that digitalization is the
most important growth driver in the medical tech- And there is a lot of progress going on in Germany,
nology/healthcare sector, particularly in the context of right now! The Digital Supply Act (DVG) and the
small and medium-sized businesses. Patient Data Protection Act (PDSG), which is current-
ly being discussed, are opening up a new market for
Key findings of the study are: industrial providers of digital health applications
(DiGAs). Extra-budgetary financing will shift and
The medical technology industry expects both direct expand the previous sectoral supply and financing limits.
and indirect support through digitalization, e.g. better Additionally, it is to be expected that the Hospital
diagnoses and individual therapies and thus, a more Future Act, which is currently being discussed in
efficient healthcare system. Data protection plays a Parliament, will provide further innovative impetus on
special role here. the inpatient care side.
Due to new technical developments, a significant
growth in sales is expected on the medical technology In order to seize the oppurtunities outlined here,
market. transdisciplinary cooperation and genuine teamwork on
The new technologies and digital approaches – re- an equal level are required. And this is exactly where we
gardless of the company size – do not only impact as Medical Valley EMN e. V. want to contribute effec-
medical technology products. They also influence the tively. As a leading edge cluster for medical technology
company and its processes, methods and procedures as and digital health hub, Medical Valley functions on the
well as the business models. principle of transdisciplinary networking, and there-
by supports all stakeholders in the healthcare sector in
The Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian state govern- generating innovations at eye level. Feel free to contact us!
ment are striving to support this transformation with We look forward to exchanging with you!
funding programs. In the context of Bavaria’s “Hightech
Agenda”, which was pushed once again just last Jörg Trinkwalter
September, it was possible, for example, to set up a Member of the Executive Board
Department for Research and Education on AI in the Medical Valley EMN e. V.
Medical Valley Award –
from Research
to Start-Up
Since 2017 the Medical Valley Award has been offering Bavarian research
teams access to funding to realize their scientific findings by starting their
own enterprise. But what are the requirements for an application and
what comes afterwards? In the following, Jonas Jung, Medtech engineer,
project lead & techscout at Medical Valley EMN e. V. gives answers to
these and further questions - maybe you will be part of the next winning
team?
1. What exactly is the do offer a very good infrastruc- 12-member jury. From the appli-
Medical Valley Award? ture and many opportunities. Of cants, 20 potential teams are se-
course, this is especially noticea- lected and invited for the pitch. I
The Medical Valley Award is a ble in the highly regulated med- always like to take the time to
pre-pre-seed funding and is expli- tech sector. Moreover, the infra- give individual feedback to teams
citly directed at scientific teams at structure for start-ups at research after the evaluation. I think this is
colleges, universities, university institutes and universities in Ba- a mandatory, but unfortunately it
hospitals & research institutes in varia is far from homogeneous. is not always offered as part of
Bavaria. The award is sponsored So, the biggest challenge for me the funding context. The teams
by the Free State of Bavaria is to find and approach the right applying for the award deserve
(Bavarian State Ministry of Eco- teams that are willing to show feedback, as they have already
nomic Affairs, Regional Develop- courage and endurance. These shown at the time of application
ment and Energy). are things you need if you want that they are willing to enter
to gain a foothold in this field. unknown territories and to han-
It supports high-risk projects that dle justifications. I would like to
Medical Valley Awards
show great commercialization On the other hand, I also enjoy avoid hindering this spirit of the
potential and provide enormous searching and encouraging poten- teams, as it can easily happen that
added value for the healthcare of tial teams to apply for MVA. You some teams are basically just too
the future. Teams receive up to cannot always rely on the technol- advanced and would fit better into
500k Ä to implement their scien- ogy transfer centers here, instead another program.
tific work and findings in an en- you more likely have to be in an
trepreneurial way. Indiana Jones state of mind ??. We offer all teams a wide range of
services to help the applicants
In short, the Medical Valley 3. Why should you apply for prepare for the pitch and to
Award is intended to help realize the MVA? improve their strategies.
potential key technologies for the
healthcare of the future and bring The Medical Valley Award has a In the event of success, we will
them to market. two-stage structure and in my of course provide support
opinion, it has a very low entry through our network and indivi-
2. What past challenges do hurdle in respect of application. dual guidance, so that the com-
you like to think back on? At the beginning, a 5-page project pany is either ready to be found-
Germany is not the most found- outline is sufficient, which is then ed or ready for follow-up financ-
er-friendly country, although we evaluated by our interdisciplinary ing.
Medical Valley Awards
4. How, where and when can individual, and overall, all teams
one apply for the MVA? have a very broad spectrum - from
classic medical technology to digi-
That is very simple! At tal health. One good option, for
www.award.medical-valley.de you example, is the Exist funding pro-
can find all information about the gram as follow-up financing.
program and the deadlines.
In any case, we would definitely
5. Are there follow-up grants recommend the team an individu-
or programs? al consultation and we would be
happy to assist you in every way
Countless! However, it is not we can.
really possible to say in general
which one is best. Each team is Just contact us!
Schematische Darstellung der Anbrin-
gung von inContAlert am Unterleib
which can be associated, for example,
A winning team of the Medical Valley with paraplegia, MS, or Parkinson's
Award 2019: disease, suffer from uncontrolled loss
of urine and the harmful risks of this
inContAlert - a wearable for monitoring incontinence. Unfortunately, this
suffering is still a taboo, which makes
the filling level of the bladder of the burden of those affected even
more difficult.
incontinence patients
inContAlert has set itself the goal of end, a wearable device has been To ease the consequences of uncon-
supporting people with incontinence developed that determines the filling trolled loss of urine, inserts, diapers,
in such a way that they can once level of the bladder and warns when or urinal condoms can be worn.
again go through their everyday life it needs to be emptied. People with In some cases, however, it may
more freely and unburdened. To this a neurogenic bladder dysfunction, not be possible to empty the bladder
Das Gründerteam um Jannik Lockl (l.) und Tristan Zürl (r.) mit einem Screenshot ihrer App
Medical Valley Awards
in a targeted manner, as the body's too high. This allows, for example, can then use the information about
own controlled emptying is no long- assistants in nursing homes to moni- their current fill level and past emp-
er possible due to motor-driven limi- tor the level of the bladder and tying cycles to make their daily rou-
tations. Accordingly, catheters are catheterize only as needed. Both tines more self-determined and
often used in such cases, but there is unhygienic "under-catheterization" easier. We at inContAlert hope
no knowledge about their filling that endangers the kidneys and that this better control will help
level, which means that catheteriza- "over-catheterization" that causes users to go through life more
tion is based on time intervals or a urinary tract infections as well as autonomously and carefree again.
drinking protocol. To prevent wastes material could be avoided.
uncontrolled urine loss or harmful The consequence would be reduced
overfilling of the bladder, the fre- restrictions on the lives of those
quency is then often too high, result- affected, a decrease in the in the use
ing in a significantly reduced quality of aids and a reduction in health
of life. damage downstream.
A solution could be a device that A device like inContAlert could help
determines the patient’s bladder level with micturition management. The
and enables targeted emptying. device consists of two components: a
inContAlert is a portable sensor wearable, which is attached to the
system for non-invasive measure- clothing at belt height with a clip, and
ment of the bladder level that an app that displays the fill level and
intends to fulfill this value propositi- the optimal time for emptying. This
Contact:
on. The device alerts incontinence device can be worn for about two to
patients as soon as a predefined and three days without further medical MEDICAL VALLEY EMN E.V.
Henkestraße 91
possibly critical filling level is reach- assistance and the emptying times D-91052 Erlangen
ed. It digitalizes the current level of can be recorded. Meanwhile, the Phone +49 9131-91617-58
the bladder and sends a warning to device adapts to the individual Mobil +49 176-66559374
yvonne.dauer@medical-valley-emn.de
the user's smartphone if the level is user to optimize the results. Users
Your product in good hands
Activoris is the German medi- Engineering Future-oriented
cal device specialist, building up Are you looking for a partner
embedded system
development
on decades of management who can design and produce
experience in the medtech and medical devices according to
pharma industry. No matter if your requirements? For over Solectrix considers itself as an
you are looking for a manufac- 20 years Ergo-Tec has been innovator and independent
turing partner or if you need developing complex medical service provider in the deve-
strategic advice. We take a technology - primarily special lopment of high-end electro-
holistic view on product con- tables, chairs and medical beds - nics solutions. With our team
cepts and put your innovative according to customer require- of highly qualified experts,
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port our clients in setting-up prototypes and in series. We tronic assemblies, software
and executing their projects. are certified according to DIN solutions, and complete sys-
Due to our management expe- EN ISO 13485. tems for demanding medical
rience of successful fund rai- technology applications. Dur-
sings and exits, we help start- Manufacturing ing the development process,
We supply both assembled we take a holistic view of all
groups of components as so-cal- aspects of a complete system
led OEM manufacturers and and contribute the know-how
complete devices with regula- of our experts with experien-
tory approval. ce in the industry to create an
optimum, customized soluti-
on.
up companies defining the
right strategy for their venture.
Jointly with our clients, we
define the regulatory develop-
ment strategy, product con- In order to generate time
cepts and transform this into a All material used is according advantages for our customers
compelling business plan. Buil- to your specifications and we during development, we also
ding prototypes, organizing take care of selection, testing, offer our own solutions, such
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design transfer and launch ment. a flexible housing concept for
management is our business. an easier start in the develop-
Further, we can also take-over Documentation ment of mobile diagnostic
administration, accounting, bud- An important part of our service devices that includes hardware
geting, reporting and control- is preparing all the required and software.
ling. documents - from the specifica-
tion sheet to risk management to
testing.
Activoris Medizintechnik GmbH Ergo-Tec GmbH solectrix GmbH
Wohraer Str. 37 Gewerbestraße 2 Dieter-Streng-Str. 4
35285 Gemünden (Wohra) 91489 Wilhelmsdorf 90766 Fürth
Phone: +49 (0)6691.97990.0 Phone: +49 9104 82969-0 Fon: +49 (0)911 30 91 61 – 0
Fax: +49 (0)6691.97990.25 Fax: +49 9104 82969-6 Fax: +49 (0)911 30 91 61 – 299
www.activoris.com E-Mail: sales@ergo-tec.com info@solectrix.de
info@activoris.com www.et-medical.eu www.solectrix.de
Innovative housing
solutions – Good ideas
have to be well packaged For 40 years, sepp.med gmbh, You invest to treat your patients
Therefore housing solutions a medium-sized owner-mana- at the highest professional and
have to be tailored perfectly to ged enterprise, has been supp- medical level.
the requirements of material as orting its customers in many
well as quality and content. areas of IT quality assurance Since the costs of in-patient
Also in competition the optical and organization — especially treatment are remunerated
design plays an important role. on the rocky road to digita- through the German DRG
lization. accounting system, complete
acad systems – and accurate mapping using
Time to Market DRG coding is indispensable.
acad systems develops innova- Only this ensures the cost
tive housing solutions for the recovery.
medical field. We produce
small quantities up to 2,000 In times of staff shortages and
pieces, procure all purchased rising cost pressure, this is
parts and manage the whole increasingly difficult.
project – to your advantage:
cost-effective solutions, high DRG-Control collects the
quality and a functional, inno- peculiarities of your house,
vative design. checks your existing data for
We are market-leaders in the plausibility in terms of your
acad prototyping – German-speaking regions when material costs, draws samples
Driven by Improvement it comes to development and and checks your billing. Based
acad prototyping produces pla- quality assurance of software on these results we map the
stic prototypes with an express solutions in safety and busin- medical services of the clinics.
injection moulding process. ess critical fields, such as in
Parts can be delivered within 5 Medical Technology, Auto- Contact us.
to 15 working days. Applicable motive, Pharmaceutical, Avia-
are all available thermoplastics, tion and various other bran- You decide the further proce-
multi-component components ches. Our consulting and IT dure - subsequent billing cor-
or structured surfaces – all this engineering solutions cover rections or the prospective
is realizable. the entire software lifecycle, right coding in the current
primarily in highly regulated billing procedure.
sectors.
Accompanied at the begin-
Yet — no matter what branch ning by us, later taken over by
we work in — we live by the your employees. A good co-
Cerbomed Nemos
sepp.med motto: Ensuring operation - through the re-
Quality Digitalization! Quality vision in the context of billing
ensures success, our expertise trouble-free and low-friction.
ensures your success!
acad group GmbH sepp.med gmbh DRG-Control e.K.
Gutenbergstraße 26 Headquarter Reuther Straße 79
D-91560 Heilsbronn Gewerbering 9 91301 Forchheim
Telefon: +49 (0)9872 95339 00 91341 Röttenbach Tel.: +49 (0)9191 3 40 44-0
Telefax: +49 (0)9872 95339 01 Fon: +49 (0) 9195 - 931 - 0 Fax: +49 (0)9191 3 40 44-99
E-Mail: kontakt@acad-group.de info@seppmed.de E-Mail: info@drg-control.com
www.acad-group.de www.seppmed.de www.drg-control.comMedStage® was certified by VTplus is a leading provider
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An den Breiten 4
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Tel.: +49 931 30699754
Prof. Michelson
eMail: kontakt@vtplus.eu
Email:
www.vtplus.eu
georgmichelson@georgmichelson.deThe Digital Health Application Center from
Medical Valley and the H+ Digital
Health Innovation Programme: How to
realise and seize the opportunities of
digitalisation in the healthcare sector.
Since 2019 dmac – Digital Health Application Center has been a substant-
ial hub in the Medical Valley eco system where companies that work on
solutions regarding the digital medicine of tomorrow can find guidance,
support, and expertise. Additionally, a cross-industry programme that
focuses on digital health start-ups was launched in September 2020.
The digital healthcare pioneers at idea: a cross-industry programme wed down, putting the spotlight on
dmac enable integration of ideas that specifically support Digital the most promising companies for
and products into healthcare and Health start-ups that want to gain investor meetings and a concluding
research, moderates patient-centered market access for their digital “Health X Insurance. Digital Health
development and validation trials healthcare solution. Accordingly, Showcase”. Due to the current
and makes technical solutions in a the resulting H+ Digital Health situation, the H+ Programme will
Digital Health Application Center
newly developing digital health Innovation Programme operates be accessible remotely.
ecosystem perceptible. Through at the interface between health
the connection of medical and and insurance. It is composed of “Though H+ is not specifically designed
health technologies to target various programme points: The to solve COVID 19-related issues, many
group-oriented provision services, Business Development Weeks are start-ups take into account the changing
an individual guidance for patients primarily concerned with establis- needs and wishes of patients, customers
can be realized through prevention, hing business contacts and further and healthcare providers.”
diagnosis, therapy monitoring and developing the company’s own (Marco Wendel, CEO, dmac)
care. When the Digital Healthcare business model. Furthermore,
Act (DVG) became effective? on Business Development Weeks, a Over 2000 founders in the
December 19, 2019, dmac was able continuous curriculum with indus- pre-selection process
to fall back on exactly this expertise try knowledge and entrepreneur- Throughout the planning and scout-
and optimally meet the increased ship frameworks or specialized ing phase, the two hub teams and
demand for operational support in workshops like a “Pitch Clinic” their partners interviewed more than
the development of digital health are designed to add as much value 2000 founders from all over the
solutions. as possible. A continuous curricu- world. At the end of this process 41
lum and workshops with experts startups were selected to participate
Effective support for Digital from various relevant disciplines in this year’s H+ Digital Health
Health start-ups: the H+ Digi- serve to provide in-depth entre- Innovation Programme. The start-
tal Health Innovation Pro- preneurship and industry know- ups come from 17 different coun-
gramme ledge. In addition, experienced tries, more than 50 percent are based
At the same time, the DVG was a mentors support the participating outside of Germany. Additionally,
perfect kick-start for the already startups. The entire program is the organizers registered significantly
initiated cooperation between designed to generate the greatest more female participants compared to
dmac as part of the Medical Val- possible added value for the foun- previous Innovation Programmes of
ley/Digital Health Hub and the ders. In two “Review Events” the the InsurTech Hub Munich. genen
InsurTech Hub Munich. The field of participants will be narro- Innovation Programmes.Digital Health Application Center
“In our innovation programmes we For the first time two Bavarian For more information please go to:
emphasize Internationality and Innovation Digital Hubs join https://www.mv-dmac.com/
Diversity: That’s why this time, we forces https://healthplus.digital/
are particularly very proud to wel- The H+ Digital Health Innovation www.medical-valley-emn.de
come a very large number of female Programme is the first to combine https://www.insurtech-
founders.” the expertise of two Digital Hub munich.com/
(Corine Ackermann, Startup institutions from the Digital-
Relations Lead, InsurTech Hub Hub-Initiative of the Federal
Munich) Ministry for Economic Affairs and
Energy. The aim of this initiative
The different topics covered by is to promote innovation in a wide
the start-ups illustrate how multi- range of industries. While the Author:
faceted the healthcare industry is: Digital Health Hub Nurem- Marco Wendel
the focus ranges from prevention berg/Erlangen contributes its ex-
to diagnostics and rehabilitation. perience from the healthcare
To solve their industry problems, industry in a targeted manner, the
the start-ups use valuable tools InsurTech Hub Munich brings in
and methods from other areas, an excellent know-how in promot-
such as data analysis, IoT or arti- ing innovations in the insurance
ficial intelligence. The various sector. Both hubs are also funded Medical Valley
topics demonstrate the broad by the Bavarian Ministry of Eco- Digital Health Application Center
GmbH
variety of the healthcare sector: nomic Affairs, Regional Develop- Promenadestraße 6a
prevention, diagnosis and rehabili- ment and Energy. Please find D-96047 Bamberg
tation as well as data analytics, news and updates online under: +49 951 964 300 65
info@mv-dmac.de
IoT and AI. https://healthplus.digital/20
Evolution like animal joints –
Automatic design of compliant medical
instruments using bionic structural
optimization methods
Compliant mechanisms are much easier to sterilize than rigid-link-based mechanisms. There-
fore, they are often used in biomedical engineering, such as the disposable compliant forceps.
However, it is time consuming and inefficient to design the compliant mechanisms using
empirical kinematic methods. To automate the design process, the Institute of Micro Technolo-
gy and Medical Device Technology uses bionic structural optimization methods inspired by the
evolutionary development of animal joints. The entire design process is performed in MATLAB
using our automated design toolbox (Solid Geometry Library). In addition, the automatically
designed medical instruments can be quickly printed using selective laser sintering (SLS). These
instruments are available as individual parts at low cost and as disposable medical devices.
The main advantage of the com-
pliant mechanism over the classi-
cal mechanism is that the compli-
ant mechanism does not require
complicated assembly work. This
greatly simplifies the sterilization
process of medical instruments,
as the contact surfaces in rigid-
link-based mechanisms are diffi-
cult to sterilize. Therefore, the Fig. 1: Medical forceps with conventional und compliant mechanisms.
compliant mechanisms are often
Medizingerätetechnik
used in medical technology. For Bionic structural optimization the two optimization methods are
the design of classical rigid-body methods limited to static structures only.
joint based medical mechanisms, In the research, numerical opti- Another interesting phenomenon
usually the gear theory or multi- mization methods already exist, from nature is the evolutionary
body simulation is used. How- which are inspired by the biologi- development of animal joints. In
ever, such rigid-link-based meth- cal self-optimization process. A contrast to the CAO and SKO
ods for the design of compliant well-known example is Com- methods, this occurs over a much
mechanisms are inefficient due to puter-Aided-Optimization (CAO), longer period of time through
the monolithic continuum struc- which imitates the cell growth of natural selection and mutation
ture (Fig. 1). Since the flexible a tree to optimize the stress dis- (Fig. 2). It would be revolutionary
property of compliant mecha- tribution on the surface of a com- if the principle of the theory of
nisms is similar to that of living ponent. The method Soft-Kill- evolution is also applied to the
organisms in nature, the Institute Option (SKO) on the other hand design of the mobile mechanisms.
of Micro Technology and Medi- imitates the phenomenon of cell For this reason, the method "Soft
cal Device Technology is develop- degradation of the bone, which Kill Option for Large Displace-
ing bionic methods to accelerate uses lightweight structures to ment (SKOLD)" is being devel-
the design of compliant medical optimize the distribution of stress oped at our institute in order to
instruments. inside the component. However, automatically design various me-Medizingerätetechnik 21
Future work
The entire SKOLD method is
implemented in MATLAB using
our automated design toolbox
(Solid Geometry Library). Since
the Solid Geometry Library is
easily extensible, we plan to further
develop the SKOLD method in
the future to create compliant
medical instruments with special
functions (Fig. 4) [2].
References
[1] Y. Sun, Y. Liu, L. Xu, and T. C.
Lueth, “Design of a disposable com-
pliant medical forceps using topology
optimization techniques,” in 2019
IEEE International Conference on
Fig. 2: The natural selection of the hand of different animals. Robotics and Biomimetics (RO-
BIO). IEEE, 2019, pp. 924—929.
dical instruments according to the the developed SKOLD method, a
theory of evolution, which also patient-specific instrument can be [2] Y. Sun, Y. Liu, L. Xu, Y. Zou, A.
incorporates the flexible property designed in a short time. In addition, Faragasso, and T. C. Lueth, “Auto-
of the biological joints into the the medical instruments developed matic design of compliant surgical
design. The SKOLD method is in this project can be quickly 3D- forceps with adaptive grasping func-
realized mathematically by ad- printed with the biocompatible tions,” IEEE Robotics and Automa-
vanced topology optimization. Fig. 3 material polyamide, which are availa- tion Letters, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1095—
shows an example of the SKOLD ble as individual parts at low cost and 1102, 2020.
method [1]. as disposable medical devices (Fig. 4).
3D printable disposable medi-
cal devices with patient-spe-
cific design
The conventional medical instru-
ments are usually made of stainless Authors:
steel. They are expensive and are Yilun Sun, M.Sc.
(Corresponding
therefore reusable. It is unfavorable author)
in terms of cost and design effort to Fig. 4: LS-printed compliant medical
develop a metallic instrument espe- instruments with the function of adap-
tive grasping.
cially for an individual patient. With
Prof. Dr. Tim Lüth
Technical University of Munich
Institute of Micro Technology and
Medical Device Technology
Contact:
Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching
Tel.: 089/28915159
Fax.: 089/28915192
E-Mail: yilun.sun@tum.de
Fig. 3: Automatic design of a compliant forceps for open surgery. www.mimed.mw.tum.deFrom vision
to practice:
Medical Engineering Campus
in Weiden
5G - the new generation of the are used that enable the availabili-
cellular standard is taking the ty of patient data from anywhere
existing network further. Thanks and specific measures for tele-
to high bandwidths and transmis- medical therapy and diagnostics
sion rates, real-time applications (Implement teleconsultation. A vir-
such as automated and networked tual supply center, complemen-
driving or mass networking and tary to a conventional medical
communication in the Internet of supply center, enables perma-
Things are taken to a new level. nently available, high-quality and
Unimagined possibilities are also efficient care by experts.
opening up in the health sector.
Jetzt als Studiengang in Weiden: Physician
Assistance (PA,„Arztassistent“) Use case home care
In order to develop concepts for An equally consistent digital
innovative 5G mobile communi- and clinics, the 15-person re- health-based approach that explic-
Institut für Medizintechnik Weiden
cations applications, the Federal search team works with practical- itly addresses home care and sup-
Ministry of Transportation and use cases: How can the single, 81- ply in rural areas: To optimize the
Infrastructure is funding six re- year-old Edith, who suffers from logistics for home-care patients, a
search projects across Germany. high blood pressure and diabetes, communication platform in the
One of these highlight projects is and lives in a northern Bavarian form of an innovative, mobile IT
based at the Technical University village without public transport collaboration tool is being set up –
of Applied Sciences (OTH) Local transport, benefit from integrating doctor’s office, phar-
Amberg-Weiden and deals with telemedicine or blood sugar meas- macy, medical supply store, nursing
the health care of tomorrow. Pro- urement using sensors in the staff and patient/relatives. The
fessors Clemens Bulitta and Stef- future? infrastructure is supplemented by
fen Hamm have named their the use of assistance solutions and
project 5G4Healthcare. Using such exemplary scenarios, smart devices for a self-determined
which added value and which life in everyday life (Ambient
The name says it all: The aim is effects can be realized through Assisted Living) as well as auto-
to find the best possible uses for digital solutions in health care and mated solutions in patient care.
5G technology that enable real which additional potential can be The Corona crisis in particular
progress in prevention, diagnos- tapped through 5G technology has shown how important digital
tics, therapy, rehabilitation or are determined. To do this, the communication is, explains Dr.
care. "With 5G4Healthcare, a researchers investigate health eco- Clemens Bulitta. 5G can support
platform will be created on which nomic, technical, legal and ethical telemedicine, and large amounts of
digital applications in rural health questions. image data can be transmitted more
care scenarios can be developed, quickly. In addition, with a higher
tested and evaluated in living labs Use case integrated care network capacity, many users could
(real environments) and test beds A consistently digital health- be active at the same time without
based on 5G technology," ex- based, integrated medical care the network becoming overloaded.
plains Prof. Dr. Steffen Hamm. approach - with both outpatient In the case of urgent, sensitive data
So that in the end there are con- and inpatient structures - in rural in particular, the connection must
crete recommendations for action areas: For example, electronic function without any problems. In
for politicians, medical companies files and telemedical procedures addition to the possibilities, theInstitut für Medizintechnik Weiden
and information and communica-
tion technologies. After comple-
ting their studies, graduates are
able to understand processes and
complex interrelationships in the
health market, evaluate (health)
economics and use digital tech-
nologies based on them sensibly
and effectively.
Infos & Contact
Institut für Medizintechnik:
www.ifmz-weiden.de
Digital Healthcare Management vermittelt technische, medizinische und
betriebswirtschaftliche Kenntnisse
5G4Healthcare
5G4Healthcare team also wants to possible for the special require- https://www.oth-aw.de/forschen-
explore the limits of technology. ments of the specialist area. The und-kooperieren/aktuelles-in-
Because only if possible dangers focus is on easing the burden on der-forschung/5g4healthcare/
are recognized at an early stage, doctors in clinics and private aktuelles/
one can safely move from the vi- practices. Graduates have the
sion to practical implementation. very best career opportunities. Studium:
The OTH Amberg-Weiden was Bachelor:
In trend: the first and is one of only two https://www.oth-aw.de/studien-
Physician Assistance state universities in Bavaria where gaenge-und-bildungsangebote/
For doctors practicing there, you can study the Physician Assis- studienangebote/bachelor-stu-
everyday life in German clinics is tance degree program - without diengaenge/digital-healthcare-
characterized by overtime and fees and without prior profes- management/studium-digital-
24-hour shifts. A new vocation sional medical training. healthcare-management/
can help here: Physician Assis-
tant. Medical assistants, as is the In focus: Digital Healthcare https://www.oth-aw.de/studien-
German name, can take on medi- Management gaenge-und-bildungsangebote/
cal or administrative tasks and The Corona pandemic has re- studienangebote/bachelor-studi-
thus, relieve the burden of docu- lentlessly uncovered the backlog engaenge/physician-assistance/
mentation tasks, organization of that Germany is recording in the studium-physician-assistance/
rounds or operating room man- area of digitization. The German
agement. healthcare system is also under- Master:
digitized in country and industry https://www.oth-aw.de/studien
Because of the interesting and comparisons. But when so-ter- gaenge-und-bildungsangebote/
varied range of tasks, the medical med P4 medicine - personalized, studienangebote/master-studien-
assistant role, which came to preventive, predictive and par- gaenge/medizintechnik/studium-
Germany from the USA via the ticipatory - becomes a reality, medizintechnik/
Netherlands in the 2000s, be- the path to it must be consistent- Contact:
came one of the trend occupa- ly followed. This is impossible Prof. Dr. med.
tions of 2019. Students find this without digital solutions, without Clemens Bulitta
profession as an interesting alter- appropriate health policy and Dekan Fakultät Wirt-
schaftsingenieurwesen
native to medical studies. The legal framework. und Leitung Institut für
OTH Amberg-Weiden is there- Medizintechnik (IfMZ)
fore the first and one of only The OTH Amberg-Weiden
two Bavarian universities to date offers the right course for the
to offer the bachelor's degree in future of health care. Digital
Ostbayerische Technische
Physician Assistance. Healthcare Management imparts Hochschule (OTH) Amberg-Weiden
a profound understanding of the Hetzenrichter Weg 15
The training takes place inter- health system and health eco- D-92637 Weiden i.d. Opf.
facing between people, medicine, nomic issues. The aim is an Phone +49 (961) 382-1620
Fax +49 (961) 382-2620
technology and the health in- interdisciplinary education inter- c.bulitta@oth-aw.de
dustry and thus qualifies as best facing between health, business https://www.oth-aw.de/Future healthcare
with
sepp.med
Tomorrow‘s Know-how for Future Healthcare
Future Medtech will not happen
without digitalization. We can
observe that – besides the real
patient – the “digital twin” is
increasingly gaining importance
and attention. It would mean no
less than a technical quantum
jump if a human being could be
replaced by data – like it is already
done in the industrial field.
Digitalization has revolutionary
potential for both the patients’
therapy and the medical staff’s
possibilities. It can mean an trust them blindly. Health systems investment in time and cost. 100%
important relief to the doctor and worldwide are exposed to an safety is mandatory as medical
the health system. enormous cost pressure while data are legally protected personal
Already today image processing quality requirements keep increas- data and unauthorized access –
algorithms reliably detect tumors ing constantly. The solution will e.g. to an insulin pump or diagnostic
and other physical transforma- be integrated digitalization and protocols – can lead to vital risks.
tions in the human body. Still data cross-linking: the internet of Healthcare digitalization promises
are hard to come by: do we pos- things is ready for the job! Tailor- an exciting future — come along
sess sufficient digital knowlegde made dataflow along clinical with us into a successful future!
(comparative data) in order to workflows promises more quality Let us show you 3 examples of
reliably recognize every transfor- patient centered care and seemless how we see the successful way to
mation in any concrete case? scooping of service- and optimiza- future healthcare:
Future Healthcare
MedTech development has gone tion-potential for business pro-
through a process of constant cesses. Medical processes can be The “Digital twin” as an
acceleration. Meanwhile we are managed – we’re ready for the online-validation laboratory
able to load more innovative and tackle! Medical devices are often operated as
precise algorithms over-the-air on Certainly, waving good-bye to part of an IT-network (Medical Devi-
the treating device. Learning al- isolated solutions will bring new ces Network). These kinds of net-
gorithms and BigData-Solutions challenges to both producers and works usually connect medical de-
will soon be able to recognize operators because data exchange vices of diverse types and producers.
deseases which had been undis- between the medical products They don’t only have to be protected
closed so far. among each other and the adja- from IT-risks like cyber attacks, it is
But what, if the computer goes cent IT-systems has to be most equally important to guarantee relia-
wrong? The question to be easy and safe at the same time. Most ble interaction of the connected de-
answered is “how will we manage easy, in order to integrate, replace vices in order to guarantee safe ope-
to control selflearning algo- or supplement medical devices ration even after structural changes
rithms?”, so that we won’t have to and systems without unreasonable within the net or after updates.Future Healthcare
web-based prototpye of an
exemplary solution assisting in
the image analysis of eye diseases
using deep learning methods.
This approach offers the specia-
list the possibility to have his
diagnosis checked by a second
opinion – the one of the algo-
rithm.
At the same time the doctor‘s
diagnosis can be compared with
other diagnoses. Quality counts!
The sepp.med deep-learning
approach:
Separation of training-, valida-
tion- and testdata according to
best practices of machine
learning
Making use of data-modelling
and imaging of combinatorics
in graphic flowcharts by means
of MBTsuite, the automatic
test case generator developed
by sepp.med.
sepp.med, in cooperation with the status as well as an early warning Important: training- and valida-
radiation clinic of the Friedrich-Alex- system. sepp.med makes use of arti- tions data must be representa-
ander Universität Erlangen-Nürn- ficial intelligence in this context. tive, normed, available and
berg, is currently envolved in a re- Real-time network-analysis in relevant!
search program “Information- and order to predict future operating
Communication Technology” spon- conditions and to define preven- In this model the use of MBTsuite
sored by the State of Bavaria. These tive maintenance measures. as a test case generator will always
are the sepp.med contributions: deliver the minimum set of test
Automatical identification of ab- data, covering any class of equiva-
Construction of an online living- normal behaviour lence or limiting value. Thus you
lab to serve as an online-valida- will get a new set of test data with
tion-laboratory to safe-guard and An additional level of intelligence every change you make. This
validate the clinical processes and uses prescriptive analysis to pre- increases the variance of the tests.
the technical environment of the dict critical situations. We control the algorithm by
medical-device-network. applying the DICE-coefficient,
2nd opinion – safe diagnosis by Hausdorff metric or execution
Creation of a “digital twin” to the digital consultation time metric.
medical-device-network, suitable for With the application “2nd opin- sepp.med works with the follow-
real-time-control of the network ion” sepp.med developed the ing test workflow.Future Healthcare
Agile software development ly checked by an inbuilt validation-
for medtech in combination consultant. This is how we prevent
with validation process know- unnoticed changes of artefacts in Contact:
how for admission to the ger- retrospect. The key to successful Dipl. Inf.
man market or by the FDA in certification is traceability. Florian Prester
the USA CEO, sepp.med gmbh
Agile software development makes We will take you to successful
also possible the sprint based devel- digitalization
opment of medical products. Thus You will find quick results compli-
we can react more flexible and ant with standards, while your team
speedy to new ideas and requirements. and customer stay in good spirits.
M.A. Wirtschafts-
Regulatory requirements are paralle- Trust in our portfolio, no matter und Politikwissen-
what your upcoming challenges in schaften
future healthcare will be, we will Felix Winter
facilitate you to meet them all. You Business Development
choose the contract: overall re- Consultant
sponsibility (requirements, devel-
opment and test) or selected services,
agile or conventional, agile fix price
or factory mode. sepp.med gmbh
Gewerbering 9. D-91341 Röttenbach
sepp.med will be the perfect www.seppmed.de, info@seppmed.de
partner for your projects!Central Institute
of Medical Engineering
(ZiMT): Medical Engineering
In view of demographic develop-
ments, the scientific focus on medi-
cal engineering is of the greatest
social relevance and is embedded in
an excellent research environment
at the Friedrich-Alexander-Univer-
sität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).
Over 90 lecturers are active in this
field at the university and have been
working together in this institution-
al framework since the founding of
Zentralinstitut für Medizintechnik (ZiMT)
the Central Institute of Medical
Engineering (ZiMT) in December
2009. The aim is to further expand boundaries is a particular focus at tion of the competencies of the
the research network in the priority FAU, the unifying motto being numerous member institutions as
area of medical engineering both "Knowledge in motion". For the well as the bachelor and master's
within and outside the university second year in a row, FAU took first degree programs in medical en-
and to ensure a more transparent place in the Reuters Innovation gineering at FAU. In addition, the
external presentation of the highly Ranking in Germany (2nd place in ZiMT offers funding structures to
dynamic field of medical engineer- Europe, 14th place worldwide). In support interdisciplinary projects
ing at FAU. The ZiMT acts as an 2020, FAU was selected as the and assistance with applications at
interface between industry, clinic "Health" node in the HighTech local, state, national and European
and science. Agenda Bavaria. In the course of levels.
The university research and teach- this, the new department "Artificial
ing activities interact closely with a Intelligence in Biomedical Engineer-
high concentration of medical ing (AIBE)" with 12 chairs and 4
engineering companies within a 50- junior professorships is currently
km radius that is unparalleled. being established at FAU (desig-
Headed by Siemens Healthineers, nated speaker: Prof. Eskofier). The
the national excellence cluster FAU is also a "Core Partner" in the
Contakt:
"Medical Valley European Metro- "European Institute of Innovation
politan Region of Nuremberg", and Technology Health" (EIT
which has been funded by the Health), in which European institu-
BMBF since 2010, is one of the tions and industries in the field of
world's strongest economic and digital health and medical engineer-
scientifically active medical tech- ing are networked.
nology clusters and focuses on the The MedTech Map, a new compe-
prevention, diagnosis, therapy and tence map of the FAU, summarizes Prof. Dr. Dr.-Ing.
Bjoern Eskofier Heike Leutheuser
rehabilitation of diseases elicited by for medical engineering its focal Speaker of the ZiMT Director
demographic change. points imaging, sensors and robotics, Directorial Board
FAU is one of the largest, research- biomaterials, digital health and Central Institute of Medical Enginee-
intense and internationally oriented medical processes, as well as medical ring (ZiMT)
Henkestr. 127, 91052 Erlangen
full universities in Germany. In engineering in society. Phone: +49 9131 85 26861
addition to disciplinary excellence, The core tasks of the ZiMT thus zimt-director@fau.de
zimt.fau.eu
cooperation across disciplinary include in particular the coordina-Targeted Therapies
in Chronic-Inflammatory
Diseases and Cancer
Advanced diagnostic methods and therapies in a new research building for the
Deutsches Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI) at the Universitätsklinikum Erlangen.
Studies of the past years show
that inflammatory diseases and
cancer are treated with great suc-
cess using immunotherapies.
However, not all patients are re-
sponsive to the immunotherapeu-
tic treatments that are currently
available. Therefore, a new mo- The treatment at DZI focuses on chronic-
From the left: Prof. Neurath (spokesman
lecular understanding of these of DZI), Bernd Sibler (Bavarian State
inflammatory diseases (e.g. Psoriasis, Rheu-
diseases is crucial. “The better the matoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Inflam-
DZI, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen
Minister for Science and the Arts), and
matory Bowel Disease) and cancer (e. g.
understanding of the immuno- Prof. Hornegger (President of FAU)
Leukemia, Melanoma, Colorectal Cancer,
during a press conference to inform
logical processes in the inflamed tis- Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer). Hotline:
about the CITABLE research concept,
sues, the more targeted the indi- +49 9131 85-44944. Photographer: Michael
specific benefits for patients and the
Rabenstein/Uni-Klinikum Erlangen.
vidualized therapy can be chosen. construction planning. Photographer:
By taking the latest biophysical Michael Rabenstein/Uni-Klinikum research and promising research
Erlangen.
measurement methods and digital findings can directly be transferred
analytics into account, appropriate ber of malignant diseases. An ear- to the patients in form of new
immunotherapies can be deter- ly diagnosis as well as an opti- therapies in clinical studies.
mined and prescribed for the affect- mized therapy are therefore of CITABLE will be locally suppor-
ed patients”, explains Prof. Neu- major significance. ted by the Translational Research
rath, head of Department of The second major step for DZI Center (TRC) as well as the new
Medicine 1 (Gastroenterology, after opening the clinical units is Max-Planck-Center for Physics
Pneumology and Endocrinology) now the construction of a new and Medicine (MPZPM), focusing
of the Universitätsklinikum Erlan- research building entitled “Center on the development of new physi-
gen, dean of the Faculty of Medi- for Immunotherapy, Biophysics & cal measurement techniques. It
cine and spokesman of DZI. Digital Medicine (CITABLE)” in also offers excellent opportunities
As a first step along this novel order to combine latest immuno- for local cooperations with differ-
path, the Deutsches Zentrum therapeutic strategies with inno- ent institutions and medical device
Immuntherapie in Erlangen was vative analytical biophysical meth- companies.
founded in 2018 enabling interdis- ods and the opportunities offered by Contact:
ciplinary specialist consultancy digital medicine. Dr. Sylvia Schreiner
and targeted immunotherapeutic A direct constructional link to the Leitung Geschäftsstelle DZI
treatments of patients with chron- DZI, focused on patient care, will Universitätsklinikum Erlangen
ic-inflammatory diseases and can- enable a bi-directional translat- Deutsches Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI)
Ulmenweg 18
cer. ional research strategy to be im- 91054 Erlangen
Chronic inflammations often trig- plemented in a perfect manner. Tel.: 09131 85-40333
ger the development of cancer The physicians directly contribute sylvia.schreiner@uk-erlangen.de
www.dzi.uk-erlangen.de
and control the growth of a num- their high level of expertise inYou can also read
