Prof. Dr. Andreas Melzer
Background and Position
Education
- Study of Medicine and Dentistry in Mainz and Tübingen
- 1989 Graduation in Dentistry
- 1993 Graduation in Medicine
Medical Scientific Training and Positions (Forschung und Lehre)
- 35 years experiences in the development of: Medical technology for laparo-endoscopic surgery, Interventional radiology, Interventional and intraoperative MRI Image guided robotics, Surgical instrumentation, Surgical robotics, Nitinol devices – More than 200 patents and over 300 publications – Co-founder and partner of six start-up companies in the medical technology business – Consultant for major vendors in medicine
- 1986 – 1993 Technology Director at the Minimally Invasive Surgery Lab of Prof Gerhard Buess in Mainz and Tübingen, Germany
- 1993 – 2000 Training Radiology and Leader Interventional MRI research; Mülheim Radiology Institute University Witten-Herdecke, Germany
- 2000 – 2006 Clinical Position at the Dept. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Dept. of Vascular Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital Buer, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- 1998 – 2006 Professor of Applied Biomedical Engineering C3/2
- 2003 – 2006 Founding Director and Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Medical Technologies and Management in Medicine INSITE, med. University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- 2006 Professor of ‘Medical Technology and Head of Division (until 2014), Founding Director of the Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSaT) of the Universities Dundee and St Andrews, Scotland
- since 2006 Board member of the ‘Clinical Research Centre’ at Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK
- 2007 – 2015 Director of the Joint Research Institute Medical Technology of the Northern Research Partnership (NRP) (Universities Aberdeen, Robert Gordon and Dundee)
- Since Sep 2014 Executive Director of ICCAS, Leipzig, Germany
- 2015 – 2018 Full Professor 1000 Plan ‘Focused Ultrasound guided Therapy’ at Chonquing University of Technology, China
Honorary and Visiting Professorships
- Honorary Clinical Professor NHS Tayside, Scotland
- Visiting Professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- Visiting Professor at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Visiting Professor at the Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, US
- Visiting Professor 1000 Plan ‘Therapeutic Imaging’ at Chonquing University of Technology, China (since 2019)
- Visiting Professor by the National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy. Seoul, South Korea (since 2019)
Affiliations
- Professor of Computer Assisted Surgery and Director of ICCAS at the University of Leipzig, Germany
- Professor of Medical Technology and Founding Director of IMSaT at the University Dundee, UK
- Director of the Joint Research Institute Medical Technology of the NRP, UK
- Professor of focused ultrasound, surgery and drug delivery (1000 Plan), Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing, China
Awards and Appointments
- General Secretary of the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT): Conference President 2000 and 2006
- General Secretary of the ‘European Focused Ultrasound Society’ (EUFUS): Conference Chair 2017 and 2019
- Executive board member of the German Society for Biomedical Engineering (BMT) ‘Clinical Application’ (since 2018): Congress President BMT 2020, 20 Sept – 1st Oct. Leipzig
- Fellow of the British ‘Academy of Medical Sciences’ (since 2019)
Membership, Functions
Board Member / Chair:
- Advisory Board, German Society for Endoscopy and Imaging Techniques (DGE-BV) (since 2000)
- Advisory Board, German Society for Medical Technologies (DGBMT) (since 2001)
- Advisory Board, German Roof Association of Societies of Medical Technologies (DVMT) (1998 – 2012)
- Chairman of the board and general secretary Society for Medical Innovation and Technology, SMIT e. V. (since 1999)
- Chairman of the board European Focused Ultrasound Charitable Society EUFUS e.V. (since 2013)
- Chairman of the Advisory Board for Internal Affairs, High Tech Surgery Association (HTC) (since 2018)
- Council Member EAMBES 2016 – 2019, re-elected 2020 – 2022
- Councillor of Societies and Clinical Collaboration at EAMBES 2021-2023
Committee Chairman:
- ‘MRI Technology in Medicine’ Committee chair at DGBMT (1998)
- ‘Endoscopic Surgery’ AA Committee on German Standards DIN (1990 – 1999)
- ‘MRI Terms and Definitions’ working group at Germans Standards DIN AA ‘Magnetic Resonance’
- ‘Microsystems in Medicine’ Committee 4.6. of GMM and VDE/VDI (Societies for electrical and mechanical Engineering) (1999 – 2005)
- Co chair Ultrasound Technology Committee DGBMT (since 2017)
Committee Member:
- European Association on Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) Technology Committee (1995 – 2015 Founder)
- ASTM-FDA working group MRI Safety (1996)
- DIN AA Radiology WG Magnetic Resonance Procedures (2000)
- CARS Program Committee (2006)
- SMST Review Committee (since 1994)
- Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics Program Committee (since 2011)
- DLR ESA Focus group Translation of Biomedical Engineering for Deep Space Mission (since 2019)
- Member of the ESA Focus Group Tropor and Hibernation for Mars Mission (since 2019)
Editorial Functions:
- Co-Editor in Chief Endoscopic Surgery and Allied Technologies ESAT (1993 – 1996)
- Technology Editor Surgical Endoscopy (1995 – 2003)
- Assistant Editor in Chief Minimally Invasive Therapy Allied Technologies (since 1996)
Editorial Board:
- Endoskopie Heute Thieme Publisher (2005 – 2015)
- Computer aided Radiology and Surgery (since 2007)
- Editorial Board Surgical Endoscopy (since 2009)
- Videoendoscopic Surgery since 2010
Research Founding Council Reviewer:
- ERC LS7 panel member 2010 – 2018, maximum of election period
- SAP “Science after the Project” ERC Edvanced Grant evaluation Panel member (since 2019),
- Welcome Trust, UK MRC and EPSRC; Dutch, Norwegian, Italian and Polish Research Councils
Society Member:
- German Society for Endoscopy and Imaging Techniques (DGE-BV)
- German Society for Medical Technologies (VDE DGBMT)
- German Roof Association of Societies of Medical Technologies (DVMT)
- German Society of Radiology (DRG)
- European Association on Endoscopic Surgery (EAES)
- International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM)
Patents
> 200 Patents out of 35 families
Top Publications (< 200 Peer Reviewed) and Inventions
- Melzer A, et al “Intelligent Surgical Instrument System ISIS. Concept and Preliminary experimental application of components and prototypes” Endoscopic Surgery& Allied Techn. 1 (3) 165 – 170 (1993)
- Ethicon EndoLoop (Melzer Buess Knot) Product Brochure Ethicon Endo Johnson and Johnson 1990
- Melzer A, et al “Technology and principles of tomographic image-guided interventions and surgery” Surgical Endoscopy – Ultrasound and Interventional Techniques 11 (9) 946 – 95 (1997)
- MR enhancing Stent, Heartvalve and Occluder Paten United States Patent No. 6,280,385
- Melzer A, Gutmann B, Remmele T, Wolf R, Lukoscheck A, Bock M, Bardenheuer H, and Fischer H, “INNOMOTION for percutaneous image-guided interventions” IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Magazine 27 (3) 66 – 73 (2008)
- Zangos S, Melzer A, Eichler K, Sadighi C, Thalhammer A, Bodelle B, Wolf R, Gruber-Rouh T, Proschek D, Hammerstingl R, Müller C, Mack MG, Vogl TJ. MR-compatible assistance system for biopsy in a high-field-strength system: initial results in patients with suspicious prostate lesions. 259(3):903-10 (2011)
- EPFlex, 2012 and 2018 CE marked MR safe guide wire.
- Eisma R, Gueorguieva M, Immel E, Toomey R, McLeod G, Soames R, Melzer A. Liver displacement during ventilation in Thiel embalmed human cadavers – a possible model for research and training in minimally invasive therapies. Min Invasive Ther Allied Technol. 2013 Sep;22(5):291-6.
- Karakitsios I, Dogadkin O, Le N, Melzer A. Measurement of proton resonance frequency shift coefficient during MR-guided focused ultrasound on Thiel embalmed tissue. Magn Reson Med. 74:260–265 (2015)
- Gourevich D, Hertzberg Y, Volovick A, Shafran Y, Navon G, Cochran S, Melzer A. Ultrasound-mediated targeted drug delivery generated by multifocal beam patterns: an in vitro study. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2013 Mar;39(3):507-14.
- Gourevich D, Dogadkin O, Volovick A, Wang L, Gnaim J, Cochran S, Melzer A. Ultrasound-mediated targeted drug delivery with a novel cyclodextrin-based drug carrier by mechanical and thermal mechanisms. J Control Release. 2013 Sep 28;170(3):316-24.
- Démoré CE, Dahl PM, Yang Z, Glynne-Jones P, Melzer A, Cochran S, MacDonald MP, Spalding GC. Acoustic tractor beam. Phys Rev Lett. May 2;112(17) :174302 (2014) – 31 citations