Laying the Cornerstone for the Science Center Medical Technology
The Science Center Medical Technology allows anyone to experience the fascination of things we may otherwise take for granted. Incumbent mayor Klaus Wowereit attended the ceremony to lay the cornerstone for the building on the Ebertstraße on April 18, 2008. With an excellent location between the Potsdamer Platz and Brandenburger Tor, the centre is destined to become a popular attraction for residents and visitors to the national capital.
“Otto Bock HealthCare deserves respect and recognition for their decision to come to Berlin,” says Rainer Bormann from the real estate company ORCO Germany. “With a prime location in the heart of Berlin, large numbers of people will have the opportunity to visit the Competence Centre and inform themselves.”
As a world market leader in the prosthetics field and a global brand with subsidiaries in 38 countries around the world, this project takes Otto Bock back to Berlin where the company was founded in 1919. Otto Bock partnered with the renowned Berlin agency ART+COM to design the exhibition.
The concept is based on the level of experience and knowledge of an interested layperson. On the first three exhibition levels, visitors are greeted by interactive installations that examine fundamental movement patterns such as walking and gripping. These exhibits heighten awareness of the fact that physical functions which are taken for granted on a day-to-day basis conceal true miracles of nature.
The product of human evolution also sets the standard for research and development activities conducted by Otto Bock. Maintaining or restoring the mobility of people is the overriding goal. The two upper exhibition levels explore how the analysis of natural movement patterns leads to the development of medical devices and what this means for people with physical disabilities.
“This is not a museum or a product display,” explains Prof. Hans Georg Näder, chairman and CEO of the Otto Bock Group. “We want to help people understand how high-tech solutions can help people with health impairments or physical disabilities regain mobility and restore their quality of life.” Otto Bock became a global market leader by developing innovative technologies. The C-Leg®, which is the first microprocessor-controlled leg prosthesis system in the world, is the company’s most famous product. Its latest prototype is the first mind-controlled arm prosthesis.
Seminar and presentation facilities are located above the exhibition area. The penthouse is dedicated to patient fittings with high-end products and demonstrations of technically feasible solutions for specialist audiences.
Additional information:
Joachim F. Hamacher
Director of Corporate Communication / Company Spokesman
Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, Max-Näder-Str. 15, 37115 Duderstadt
Phone: (05527) 848-1239, Fax: (05527) 848-3360
Mobile: (0170) 9 20 79 97
E-Mail: joachim.hamacher@ottobock.de
www.ottobock.de
