History

With the endowed professorship for biomedical engineering established in 2008, Prof. Dr. Peter Osypka, the founder of high-frequency catheter ablation, as a generous sponsor and partner of Offenburg University. He created the basis for the development of the medical technology course. On his initiative, the Peter Osypka Institute for Pacing and Ablation was founded in June 2011. Its leadership was taken over by Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Bruno Ismer. With his extraordinary commitment, his many years of experience in university cardiology as well as the provision of numerous high-quality medical devices and his contacts with industrial and clinical partners, he has brought research to life and shaped an emphasis on practical training.

The institute's tasks focused on the development of methods and medical technology for the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases, particularly in the areas of clinical electrophysiology, electrical stimulation and ablation. Examples of this include the development of a special external pacemaker for the treatment of life-threatening heart palpitations in babies, pilot studies for a novel catheter set for ablation therapy for ventricular palpitations, and a computerized demonstration board for the didactic teaching of the spread of excitation in the heart in the event of arrhythmias and during pacemaker therapy.

The institute's expertise in these areas was used by doctors, medical staff and employees of medical technology companies in numerous further training events. In addition to theory, these always offered intensive practical training under the motto “ Studying through experimentation ” . The teaching concept for pacemaker and defibrillator therapy as well as high-frequency catheter ablation practiced here was awarded a fellowship for “ Innovations in University Teaching ” by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation .

In order to create adequate working conditions at the institute, Osypka AG donated the construction of a research building on the university campus in 2012. In the new building, which was handed over in 2017, separate spatial concepts for specialized learning environments were implemented in the four laboratories, which enabled multifunctional use for the institute's research and teaching. By 2020, three former medical technology master's graduates from the university or institute employees used this environment to complete their doctoral theses. The close collaborations with our clinical, academic and industrial partners were also essential. They guaranteed the current transfer of knowledge and technology from research to teaching. The close collaboration with Prof. Melichercik from the nearby MediClin Heart Center in Lahr/Baden, with Prof. Haas from the Ludwig Maximilian University Hospital in Munich and with Prof. Bitzer from the Freiburg University of Education proved particularly valuable.

Further information can be found on the POIM homepage
www.poim.hs-offenburg.de