THE INTERVIEW
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Dr Ralf Heijkants
Project Leader, Health and Sports, The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) |
If I wasn’t talking to you right now, what would you be doing?
My group is working as part of an international programme on a sensor system for abdominal pressure measurement. As project leader of the group focussing on human body sensors, I would be guiding initial experiments on the new sensor concept or discussing the progress with one of our partners.
How did you get into the medical device industry?
My fascination for technical developments in medical devices started during my Ph.D. when I developed a novel material for meniscus reconstruction. After my Ph.D., TNO offered me the opportunity to work in its medical and health technology group. I did not have to think long before accepting the offer.
What is the best thing about your work?
Because of the unique position of TNO in The Netherlands, we are constantly working at the edge of what is possible technology speaking. We conduct indepth studies on the potential social impact of medical devices and play an important role in bringing users, companies and decision makers into contact.
What do you think is the most important medical device invention ever?
One of the most important was the Dutch invention of the artificial kidney just after World War II. This development inspired TNO to apply its nano-based filtration techniques in a concept for a wearable artificial kidney.
What should people give more attention to?
The connection between biology/biomechanics researchers and electronics developers should be stronger. A strong relationship between these fields can lead to inspired developments.
The success of neural stimulators in applications such as deep brain stimulation and vagal nerve stimulation. The success rate in treating Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and even severe depression is impressive. The technology could have been realised more than 10 years ago, if the medical interest had been there earlier.
What is the most exciting development on the horizon?
At TNO these range from wearable feedback systems for patient revalidation in the near future, via haptic feedback and advanced optic techniques in operation equipment, to the previously mentioned wearable artificial kidney in the more distant future.
What do you want from your suppliers?
Instead of suppliers we have partners. We believe that cooperation via open innovation will enable the industry to bring new products to the market faster and more efficiently.
Dr Ralf Heijkants is Project Leader in Health and Sports, at The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), PO Box 6235, NL-5600HE Eindhoven, The Netherlands, tel. +31 40 265 0467, e-mail: ralf.heijkants@tno.nl www.tno.nl.
