Images: Tobias Hase, Andreas Gebert und Susanne Höcht / TUM, Text: Susanne Höcht
The student group began 2017 at the Chair of Medical Materials and Implants. As part of a Master's thesis, an ankle prosthesis was developed for Ethiopia that meets this country's requirements and manufacturing conditions. This led to the development of a new field of research at the Chair, from which the association "MedTech OneWorld Students e.V." emerged in 2018. Professor Mela and her team at the chair continue to support the student initiative today.
The group aims to strengthen knowledge exchange with experts beyond TUM and national borders and to find collaborations. Above all, the members of MedTech OneWorld Students want to realize that medical technology can be adapted to the conditions in developing and emerging countries and thus enable local production. The students consider conditions such as locally available materials, production conditions, or, for example, climatic influences. In addition to the ankle prosthesis for Ethiopia, projects such as an autoclave for sterilizing medical products or a device for automatic infusion control have been implemented in the past.
Maria and Sophie explain that the 30 students in the initiative are currently working on two projects. Maria is active in the “denTUM” project. This team is designing a bamboo toothbrush for Madagascar made from sustainable materials wherever possible and can be produced locally. Maria explains that developing a toothbrush is not easy at first glance: "Then you open a toothbrush and realize that everything is very delicate and complicated to do by hand." The group also struggles with the challenges of working in developing countries, be it language barriers or the issue of corruption. Above all, however, the team has to ask itself questions such as: What is available? Which materials are in stable supply? What is the quality of the materials?
The LiTUM team, on the other hand, is struggling with different challenges. Sophie is involved in this project. The aim is to develop a lithium blood sensor that ultimately measures the concentration of lithium in the blood of people with bipolar disorder. Lithium therapy is the gold standard when it comes to treating people with such disorders. However, this therapy is particularly inaccessible to people in developing and emerging countries. "The measurements, the equipment, the laboratory items, and conditions are simply costly," explains Sophie. That is why the LiTUM team is trying to make this test as cost-effective as possible so that it is also available in these countries.
Despite the challenges, both students agree that putting the knowledge from their studies into practice and doing something meaningful is fun. They also love the friendly atmosphere, the student atmosphere, and the opportunity to make international friends.
MedTech OneWorld Students would like to achieve a lot more in the future and set up further projects. Maria and Sophie say they are always happy to welcome new members to the group. New members only need "commitment and a hunger for knowledge." "It doesn't matter what degree program they come from; the main thing is that they want to make a difference," says Sophie. Maria adds that the dates of the group meetings are listed on the initiative’s website and that anyone interested can drop by or email.
Links:
Chair of Medical Materials and Implants: https://www.mec.ed.tum.de/mmi/home/
MedTech OneWorld Students e.V.: https://mtows.de/