Roland Mandler and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation have jointly donated 100,000 euros to Giessen University Hospital, enabling the purchase of two state-of-the-art ultrasound machines.
"I suffered a life-threatening illness last year and was treated at the University Hospital in Giessen," explains Mandler, founder and former CEO of OptoTech, which is now part of the Schunk Group. "The team around Professor Winfried Padberg, Professor Oliver Dürr and Senior Physician Detlef Kuhn did an outstanding job and - it has to be said so clearly - saved my life. I am incredibly grateful for that."
Mandler added that he had experienced firsthand how important excellent medical care is. "I wanted to show my appreciation and support the medical work at the hospital." Together with the team of doctors, he said, this gave rise to the idea of helping the university hospital by donating medical equipment.
"This suggestion from Mr. Mandler to support our medical work came at the right time, because we had a need for new ultrasound equipment. These should also be usable for research and applicable in medical training," reports Professor Dr. Winfried Padberg, long-time director of the Department of General, Visceral, Thoracic, Transplantation and Pediatric Surgery at Giessen University Hospital.
Schunk employees also benefit
Mandler approached the Ludwig Schunk Foundation with the suggestion to donate ultrasound equipment to the university hospital. "The foundation was happy to take up this suggestion," says Gunthard Sommer, chairman of the Ludwig Schunk Foundation. "Schunk is rooted in the region. For us as one of the largest companies in Central Hesse, the infrastructure in the region is very important." This includes medical care, which benefits not least Schunk's active and former employees, Sommer added.
"Mr. Mandler and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation have therefore together donated 100,000 euros for the acquisition of two state-of-the-art ultrasound machines for the University Hospital, with each side contributing half of this amount. In this way, we want to make a contribution to excellent medical care in the region." Sommer emphasizes that he is particularly pleased that the two devices will also be used in medical training at the university hospital: "The training and further education of young people is one of the important fields of activity of the Ludwig Schunk Foundation."
High-end system for complex operations
One of the two ultrasound machines is designed for standard applications, while the second is a high-end ultrasound system and will be used in the operating room. The special feature of the device is the fusion of images from computed tomography and ultrasound: this means that during an operation in the abdominal cavity, images taken before the operation using other procedures can be compared in real time with those from ultrasound. This means that even the smallest structures, such as tumors, can be detected and treated in a targeted manner. The clinical field of application for the ultrasound system will be complex liver and pancreas surgery in particular. In addition, both devices will be used in medical training, so that future doctors will be trained in the use of the currently most modern systems.
Senior physician Detlef Kuhn was one of Roland Mandler's attending physicians last year. He says: "Here at the University Hospital, we do everything we can to bring even seriously ill people back to life. The donation from Mr. Mandler and Schunk helps us do that."