Siemens Opens Museum for Medical Technology

A new museum offers a multimedia journey through the history of Siemens (Erlangen, Germany) from the mid-19th century to the present day.

The Siemens Museum for Medical Technology (MedMuseum; Erlangen, Germany), occupies a 400 m² space once occupied by a machine shop dating to 1893, and is open to the public free of charge. The MedMuseum devotes a wealth of space to the early days of medical technology, such as Reiniger's plunge battery an early electrostimulation device from 1886 (the oldest piece on exhibit), and most especially, the history of X-ray imaging, which has an exhibition area of its own, called "shadow images."

Starting with an X-ray unit from 1902, designed by Friedrich Dessauer, which bears witness to the early years on development, the museum also showcases other developments, such as in the "slices and sections" area, which deals with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. The first Siemens systems of both types, the Magnetom MRI scanner (1983) and the Siretom CT scanner (1975), are on display, as is the first German image taken on an MRI, an image of a bell pepper taken in 1980.

Other sections are devoted to ultrasound imaging, including the Vidoson, launched in 1965. A section on audiology displays the first Siemens electric hearing aid, the Phonophor, developed in 1911. Another presentation recalls the work of William Niendorf, who built Germany's first electric dental drill in 1890. Yet another features Swedish inventor Rune Elmqvist, who produced the first fully implantable cardiac pacemaker while working at Elema-Schönander (later Siemens-Elema) in the 1950’s.

Many of the exhibition stations feature tablet computers which offer museum visitors additional background information, and also explain how the different technologies work. A digital map of the world illustrates how Siemens Healthcare has developed and expanded globally. In the future, regular special exhibitions will be held to provide further information on the various thematic areas covered at the museum. The building's modern annex offers an additional 100 square meters of space for these exhibitions.

“This specific exhibition concept underscores the exceptional position of Siemens in the field of medical technology. We can be proud that high-tech medical equipment ‘made in Erlangen’ has such an excellent reputation all over the world,” said Joachim Herrmann, the Bavarian Minister of the Interior and Building. “Our new Siemens MedMuseum lets you relive this Erlangen-made success story that now spans already more than a hundred years.”

Siemens was founded by self-educated inventor Werner Siemens in 1844. Three years later, Siemens teamed up with master mechanic Johann Georg Halske to found Siemens & Halske, which produced electromedical equipment in addition to telegraphs. Meanwhile, in Erlangen, Erwin Moritz Reiniger joined with Max Gebbert and Karl Schall to form the medical technology company Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall (RGS), which was to supply Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of X-rays, with X-ray tubes no long afterward. In 1932, RGS, Phönix, and Siemens merged to form the Siemens-Reiniger-Werke (SRW), the third of the so-called parent companies that merged in 1966 to form the present-day Siemens.

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Siemens Museum for Medical Technology