Research – from glasses to turbo wound-healing

The Furtwangen University innovation partnership CoHMed offers insights into research projects

Dr. Sabine Seeliger CoHMed

Dr. Sabine Seeliger gave an overview of the research themes at CoHMed

Since 2017 Furtwangen University has been carrying out research with partner companies within the innovation CoHMed – Connected Health in Medical Mountains partnership CoHMed on current topics in the field of medical technology. Fascinating insights into the research projects were revealed to the public on 2 April 2019 in the Tuttlingen Innovation and Research Centre. With talks by experts on subjects as varied as micro-organisms on your glasses and turbo wound-healing, the public were given impressive examples of current research projects. The poster exhibition and presentations by the companies involved caused lively discussion among those present.

According to the manager of CoHMed, Dr. Sabine Seeliger, the research themes of the cooperation projects are wide-ranging: from intelligent instruments, hybrid materials and bioactive coatings, to methods of testing 3D printing in medical technology and the optimization of materials. Furtwangen University professors reported on 4 of these projects during Research Day.

Prof. Dr. Bahman Azarhoushang of the HFU Institute for Precision Machining talked about what needs to be taken into consideration in the finishing of titanium components. Prof. Dr. Knut Möller discussed the question of turbo-healing with technology. And showed how wide-ranging that topic is when talking about the treatment of wounds using light - whether blue light helps better than red - pressure or electrical stimulation. "There is proof that this can have a positive influence on the healing of wounds, however the optimal dosage and combination has not yet been determined," said Möller. Glasses as a particularly good method of producing cultures - namely the germs on spectacles and what you can do about it - was the subject of the talk by Prof. Dr. Markus Egert. His research group compared the frames of glasses belonging to HFU members with those of senior citizen home residents, and discovered around 500 different types of germs. The topic of data use in the operating theatre and opportunities for a gentler form of surgery, was Prof. Dr. Knut Möller's second topic of the day. The ultimate goal is customized medicine. One of the challenges is the synchronization between various devices.

CoHMed – the medical technology innovation partnership
Furtwangen University is one of only 10 universities nationwide which, along with its innovation partner CoHMed, is funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research within the framework of the "Strong Universities of Applied Sciences - a Regional Boost" programme. CoHMed aims to support regional companies in their development, research and innovation initiatives for viable, future-oriented products. Research projects in the fields of intelligent medical instruments, functional surfaces and biocompatibility, as well as new materials and their processing, have already been successfully launched. Further projects in the area of the digitalization of operations, and in medical technology manufacture, will follow.

University and medical technology
Furtwangen University, with its campuses in Furtwangen, Schwenningen and Tuttlingen, is one of the leading research universities of applied sciences in Baden-Württemberg. Medical technology, medicine and health are not only subjects on the curriculum, but are also successfully established, long-term research focuses.

CoHMed – Facts and figures
Project duration: 4 years starting in 2017 (first phase, extension by 4 years possible)
Funding amount: approx. €6 million (first phase)
Network partners: TechnologyMountains e.V., MedicalMountains GmbH, Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg Chamber of Commerce, Friends of University Campus in Tuttlingen e.V.
No. of professors involved: 15
Research partners from industry: 28, 17 of which are SMEs

Contact details
Dr. Sabine Seeliger, Esther Bogdanovic
Tel: 07461 1502-6780 and -6781
cohmed(at)hs-furtwangen.de
www.cohmed.de