Healthcare industry

The start-up 3a-diagnostics GmbH from Frickenhausen is developing a gum that can be used both in doctors’ surgeries and at home as a quick and easy diagnostic aid. The sensor in this case is the human tongue. If bacteria are present – due to an inflammation of the teeth or tonsils, for instance – chewing produces a bitter taste and the doctor can quickly initiate the appropriate treatment.

Press release - 28/01/2019

5,5 millions for project on smart matrices for knee cartilage repair

A research project in cartilage regeneration, in which the Institute of Orthopaedic Research and Biomechanics at Ulm University participates together with partners from eight european countries, was recently financed by the European Commission with 5.5 million Euro. Named RESTORE, the project aims to create 3D matrices incorporating smart nanomaterials to repair knee cartilage lesions thereby reducing or delaying the onset of osteoarthritis,…

Company profile - 19/12/2018

With DiHeSys into integrated digital healthcare

The founders and partners of DiHeSys have big ambitions: "We have to build a complete ecosystem around the patient," says Dr. Markus Dachtler, managing director of DiHeSys. The company develops products and services for an industry in transition, provides answers to trends such as personalized medicine, 2D- and 3D-printing technologies and platform technologies. The company’s motto: no isolated solutions, but a comprehensive range of…

Company profile - 31/07/2018

Acousia Therapeutics: medicines for deafness

Deafness is one of the most common sensory disorders in the world: in Germany alone, around eleven million people suffer from hearing loss. So far there is no real therapy, the symptoms can only be alleviated to a greater or lesser degree. This is what researchers from the Tübingen-based company Acousia Therapeutics want to change: they have identified drug candidates that can protect sensory hair cells and support their function.

Article - 13/11/2017

An artificial heart valve with the potential to grow

About 30,000 artificial heart valves are implanted in Germany every year. The durability of these heart valves presents a major challenge, requiring them to be exchanged time and again, especially in young patients. Researchers from the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have developed a new artificial heart valve material on which cells that are naturally present in a patient’s blood can form new…

Article - 28/09/2017

Textile implant as herniated disc repair kit

Repairing herniated discs is a clinical need that has still not been met. When the discomfort becomes unbearable, surgery can be performed and the intervertebral disc is generally removed. However, this can further reduce the patients’ quality of life. Scientists at DITF, in cooperation with the Spanish company NEOS Surgery S.L., have developed a textile-based device for treating herniated discs. The device is a minimally invasive “repair kit”…

The Commission welcomes the adoption of its proposal for two Regulations on medical devices which establish a modernised and more robust EU legislative framework to ensure better protection of public health and patient safety.

Article - 22/02/2017

Review: New European directives will impact the medical technology industry

The new Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and the first In Vitro Diagnostic Devices Regulation (IVDR) are likely to become European law in the second half of 2017, with transitional periods of three and five years, respectively.

Press release - 13/12/2016

Early-diagnosis systems from Baden-Württemberg help prevent the spread of drug-resistant pathogens

More and more bacteria are developing resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs. These multidrug-resistant bacteria can impede the action of common antibiotics via mutations or DNA transfer. More than 30,000 people are infected every year with multidrug-resistant bacteria in German hospitals alone. This could be prevented with appropriate hygiene measures and innovative test systems. Innovative test systems that enable reliable and rapid…

Article - 22/11/2016

Research on the durability and longevity of artificial joints

In Germany alone, several hundred thousand patients are given an artificial hip, knee or shoulder joint every year. Prof. Dr. Jan Philippe Kretzer and his team of researchers in the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Implant Research at the University Hospital in Heidelberg are studying what limits the longevity of implants and how durability can be improved.

Company profile - 14/07/2016

neuroloop GmbH: how the manipulation of neuronal information can lower blood pressure

Millions of people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure. However, taking medicines to control high blood pressure does not work for everyone. Dr. Dennis Plachta and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz from IMTEK have now developed a neurostimulator to control blood pressure. Together with Dr. Michael Lauk, an experienced company founder, the two researchers set up a company called neuroloop, which is funded by Aesculap AG and aims to turn the…

Article - 23/06/2016

The body’s immune system loosens artificial joints

Hip and knee endoprostheses are not nearly as long-lasting as their natural counterparts. Dr. Ulrike Dapunt from the University Hospital Heidelberg’s Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology has now discovered that it is not the bacterial activity or secretions that lead to the degradation of bone during chronic inflammation, but rather local host defence mechanisms.

CorTec just closed a new investment that will support bringing new personalized therapies for neurological diseases to patients. With Mangold Invest a new investor could be attracted who wants to go along that way with the young medical engineering company located in Freiburg. Equally convinced of the success of this project are the previous investors who are participating in this round of financing.

Article - 17/05/2016

Medical devices legislation: laborious compromises in Brussels

The revision of the European legislation on medical devices is aimed at making medical devices safer and rebuilding the trust of patients. Rather than implementing the system change that was being planned after the silicone breast implant scandal in 2010, the EU called for open public consultation to prevent such incidents from occurring. As a result, revision of the legislation has been ongoing since autumn 2012.

Article - 09/05/2016

FlexiTel – microsensors for tissue monitoring

When soft tissue is transplanted, for example in a patient undergoing tumour surgery, care must be taken to ensure that the new tissue is connected to the blood system in the area where the tumour has been removed. How well this works is difficult to find out, especially in the case of deep-seated defects. Partially implantable microsensor probes called FlexiTel have the potential to improve this situation by monitoring success during the first…

Article - 04/04/2016

An intelligent system for the storage and controlled release of pharmaceutical substances

A sophisticated reservoir that sits under the skin and dispenses precise quantities of drugs locally and at a particular point in time now exists. A junior research group from the University of Freiburg’s BrainLinks-BrainTools excellence cluster led by Dr. Maria Asplund and her doctoral student Christian Böhler from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) has developed a small storage system made of organic-inorganic hybrid material…

Article - 21/03/2016

Shock wave therapy gives hope to many men

Although the approval of vasodilatory drugs made available an effective medicine for treating erectile dysfunction, not all men respond to this type of treatment. MTS Medical UG from Konstanz has developed a therapeutic device that means that these men can now get help too. What's more, the device has no adverse health effects.

Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), today announced the completion of an €26 million round of private equity funding. The funding represents a significant recommitment by both Retina Implant's long-standing investors and new investors, and will be used to establish new clinical centres around the world. It will also help the company to initiate reimbursement…

Press release - 16/11/2015

The Baden-Württemberg healthcare industry – a strong economic power

(Stuttgart – 16th November 2015) BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg has just published its latest analysis of the Baden-Württemberg healthcare industry including comprehensive facts and figures. Baden-Württemberg continues to be one of the top locations for medical technology, pharma and biotechnology in Germany.

Article - 04/11/2015

DNA capture molecules wanted for cells

Artificial blood vessels made of special polymers are no longer a pipedream. However, one problem that needs to be solved is that the artificial vessels have to be compatible with tissue. One solution could be to dupe the body into thinking that the artificial vessels are real by coating their inside walls with the patient’s own cells. Researchers from Reutlingen have developed a microfluidic chip that identifies molecules that can capture the…

Article - 29/10/2015

Personalised Parkinson’s therapy using intelligent brain stimulation

For many decades, deep brain stimulation has been used for treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. However, the mechanisms of the procedure, which involves implanting stimulation probes into low lying brain areas, are still not clear. Prof. Alireza Gharabaghi, Dr. Daniel Weiss and their teams of researchers at the University of Tübingen have now been able to demonstrate a direct relationship between deep brain…

Article - 01/06/2015

High-tech fibres for organ and tissue regeneration

Biologically degradable polymers can be electrically spun into a type of fleece that can be used as a scaffold and growth matrix for living cells. This fleece can be used to replace diseased or damaged tissue. In the field of cardiovascular medicine, the fleece can be used to produce new heart valves and tissue.

Medical technology is indispensible for human health and contributes a great deal to improving the quality of our lives. The field of medical technology covers many areas. These range from simple disposable products and consumables such as dressing materials and other clinical supplies, to IT-related telemedicine, homecare and eHealth systems as well as high-technology and innovative robotics, imaging, diagnostics and life-support systems. 838…

Article - 22/12/2014

The immune system – both weak and overreactive in the absence of CTLA4

The ability to recognise a pathogen and combat it effectively is certainly one of the most complex and sophisticated processes the human body has evolved. People with an immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease may have a genetic defect in one of the genes involved in the immune response. Working with immunologists from London scientists Desire Schubert and Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher from the Centre for Chronic Immunodeficiency CCI at the Freiburg…