Siemensfahrt

Year 9 trip to Siemens Healthineers in Erlangen

With 45,000 employees Siemens Healthineers is one of the world’s largest suppliers of technology to the healthcare industry and a leader in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics and healthcare IT.
That Siemens is a global player in the field of healthcare is well known, but what exactly does 'Healthineers' mean? The term itself is a combination of the two English words 'health' and 'engineer' but who or what is a 'healthineer'? On Tuesday 16th July 2019 class 9b, accompanied by Frau Schultz and Frau Meinhart, made their way to Erlangen hoping to find the answer to this question.

On arrival we were warmly welcomed in English (!) by Mr Jentz and his team. Following a brief general introduction we were given an insight into two areas in the fascinating world of medical imaging, namely computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Admittedly it is not every day that you get the opportunity to hold a titanium stent worth 5000€ in your hands but this is exactly what pupils in 9b did! After watching a short film about angiography, various pieces of medical equipment implemented in sugery in this field, including an expensive titanium stent, were passed around. Subsequently members of 9b were given the opportunity to operate an X-ray machine. However, this was not an ordinary machine.This was a CT scanner. Computed tomography (CT) is an imaging procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to create detailed pictures, or scans, of areas inside the body. We watched in awe as 3D images filled the screen and began to understand how 'health' and 'engineering' could be connected.

We continued to be awestruck as we were given a demonstration of an MRI scanner. Whereas a CT scanner makes use of x-rays, MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients and radio waves to generate images of the organs in the body. However, rather than looking at images of organs in a human body we focused on the insides of a Baby Born doll. As the day progressed, we all began to understand who 'healthineers' are and what they do and who knows? ….... maybe a future 'healthineer' was already sitting in the coach on the way back to Bamberg.

Our time in Erlangen was extremely enlightening, educational and enjoyable. We would like to say a big thank you to Mr Jentz and his team for making it possible for us to visit, giving us such a warm welcome and for taking time out of their busy schedules to introduce us to the world of Siemens Healthineers.

Maureen Meinhart