BioPark Regensburg GmbH and the patent law firm Dehmel & Bettenhausen have once again awarded two innovation prizes worth 1,500 euros this year. Decisive for the jury, consisting of BioPark Managing Director Dr Thomas Diefenthal, patent attorney Dr Berthold Bettenhausen, Prof. Dr Bernhard Weber (University of Regensburg) and Prof. Dr Klaudia Winkler (OTH Regensburg), were the criteria of innovative strength as well as the application and start-up potential of the work.
Dr Moritz Burger's doctoral thesis ‘Development of an innovative implant for the minimally invasive treatment of isolated orbital fractures’ won out over a large number of applicants. These fractures of the orbital floor, often caused by accidents and falls, are currently treated via a lower eyelid approach, which is prone to complications. Dr Burger developed the implant and implantation system for a new, minimally invasive treatment procedure for these fractures as part of his doctoral thesis at the Regensburg Center of Biomedical Engineering (RCBE), a cross-faculty and cross-university research facility of the OTH Regensburg and the University of Regensburg with the University Hospital.
In Prof Dr Thomas Schratzenstaller's medical devices laboratory, Dr Burger developed the implant using clinical CT data in order to be able to reproduce the anatomy and the new access route in the design in detail. The manufacturability of the implant was successfully demonstrated using laser fine cutting and the implantation system using injection moulding. The industrial research partner Gerresheimer Regensburg GmbH provided support here. The innovative implantation system via the nasal passage into the maxillary sinus enables minimally invasive insertion and placement of the implant, which significantly improves patient care. A patent for the entire system was successfully applied for.
Sandra Friedrich received another prize for her Master's thesis at the University of Regensburg.
