A conversation with Dr. Eric Hanke, hand surgeon at the University Hospital Mainz, about development potential in the follow-up treatment of hand injuries.
The team is sitting in the meeting room, the mobile phone is set to record, still mineral water is splashing into the glasses. The doorbell rings. Dr Hanke is standing in front of the door - cycling shoes, check shorts, helmet in hand. "Cool, now I'm finally with you in Mainz!"
After a brief tour of the new offices with coffee in hand, we head to the team room. "But now I have to tell you something first" - Dr. Hanke reports on his latest experiences from the university hospital and recommends culinary team-building events for the next company outing.
The interview begins with the beginnings of the collaboration: "In 2014 I received an email from Pascal, he wanted to show me his robot hand and make a prosthesis out of it". However, Dr Hanke sees a medical need more in therapy than in the development of a new prosthesis.
"We have few people here with amputation injuries, which is much more common in war zones. But here I see completely different needs in my consultation hours. There is a lack of follow-up treatment. Just yesterday, a resident said to me after the operation: 'Now you need something to keep your hand moving.' Aftercare is so elementary. You can operate as well as you want, if the aftercare is not sufficient because the therapists are overworked, the result after a few weeks or months is simply not good."
There is a lack of man power - there are not enough physiotherapists who can provide follow-up care for patients. Apart from that, it is difficult to get to a practice for therapy, especially for older patients who are less mobile. "This is where I see the potential of your hand therapy splint."
Since the hand performs very complex movements and has many joints in a small space, the construction of a therapy device is very complex. For this reason, the market lacks a product that guides the joint axes of the fingers in a natural movement. Since the AnyHand works electromechanically, a very precise control is possible that corresponds to the fine movements of our hand. Furthermore: "The device should be portable to make it more suitable for everyday use. How can I say it, the AnyHand is small and delicate and therefore applicable everywhere and for everyone."
A short interruption for the second coffee. "Some days are so stressful that I don't have time to eat..." A chocolate bar is the first remedy, even though Dr Hanke is more in the mood for something hearty.
The operation stories Dr. Hanke told us at the beginning of the conversation are elementary for the cooperation with the founders: "In the operating theatre and in my hand consultation, I see the gaps from a medical point of view. One patient had severe adhesions in the finger joint after a fracture, so that bending was no longer possible. After much deliberation, I decided to perform a second operation because he was still young. Even during the operation, I was able to show the patient how well the finger can now move again. Today, six weeks later, he was with me - the finger is stiff again. I am convinced that we would have had more success with a home device. I tell stories like that, and the two here, as designers, can say what can be done this way or that way, or not at all. That's what our communication thrives on. The two of them ask good questions, and I think it's an advantage that they don't have a medical background. So they go down new paths that others dismiss as impossible. These are sometimes wrong ways, but they also discover new possibilities all the time in the process." The next day, he is supposed to treat the hand of an injured motorcyclist with artificial joints. The fact that this is possible today is already a great achievement. "But the subsequent training with an electromechanical orthosis is still a thing of the future. And that's exactly what gets them hot."
Surgery always involves risks for the patient, such as infections or complications during anaesthesia. Before and after the operation, the doctor and physiotherapist spend a lot of time and effort to achieve a good result. But especially the training at home is such a big gap that the outcome is often not satisfactory. Patient and therapist also need to be in contact outside the practice in order to intensify the exercises and maintain progress. The AnyHand is intended to make therapy not only more suitable for everyday use, but also more motivating. The connected app provides the patient with playful incentives and shows them, for example, what range of motion is possible with good training. Since the device constantly obtains data from the exercises, which can be viewed by the supervising physiotherapist, the measures can be individually adapted. "A device for the general public, but still very individual - we can't respond to this with Man Power alone.
Technology makes it possible - but it doesn't work in all areas. "In Frankfurt, a robot was used for hip operations. But the operating time was longer, the result was not better and there were technical complications. That's why I see more development potential for surgery in terms of materials and their application. That's where having an inventive spirit counts! Do we have to operate on everything at all? Who knows, maybe with an intelligent, well-fitting orthosis we can bypass many an operation."
Next we ask Dr. Hanke to tell us about his career. He smiles. "About the person? Well, I'm a hand surgeon." It's the fun of reconstruction - that's why, after his time as a Zivi in the ambulance service, he quickly knew that his medical career had to go through trauma surgery. After graduating, he spent the practical year in Brazil and was then accepted at the Hannover Medical School. His doctorate in Berlin initially dealt with hip prostheses, but his fascination was with hands. After completing his general surgery training in Mainz, he trained as a trauma surgeon and finally as a hand surgeon. "If I can also operate on a hip once in a while between all the hands, it's a welcome change from magnifying glasses and precision mechanics." What motivates one to follow such a long training path? "The fun is the drive." The challenges from trauma surgery, the delicate manual work (in the literal sense) and the constant progress in medicine, which he also experiences at LIME - this is how Dr. Hanke gets through many a long day in hand surgery.
The conversation ends almost philosophically and with a cross-reference to Leonardo da Vinci as a universal genius. "If you don't start running, if you don't take new paths, you don't need to look ahead in life. Just get going. Right?"
© Photo: University Hospital Mainz
