SIIRI discovers Implant Heroes for a healthy future at IdeenExpo 2024!
SIIRI discovers Implant Heroes for a healthy future at IdeenExpo 2024!

SIIRI discovers Implant Heroes for a healthy future at IdeenExpo 2024!

Welcome to our SIIRI stand

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Our highly motivated Teams looked forward to seeing you

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Visitor Turnout at the SIIRI Stand

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Once again, SIIRI was part of the IdeenExpo this year. From June 8th to 16th, 2024, students, teachers, parents, and research enthusiasts had the opportunity to gain insights into SIIRI’s research. At SIIRI’s booth, there was the chance to explore our focus on “Implant-Associated Infections” in a playful way. The interactive course with four stations illustrated the research on sustainable implants within the SIIRI research network and turned everyone into a SIIRI Implant Hero.

Getting to Know Current Implants

First, visitors could learn about various current implants and associate them with their function in the body using Kuno, our skeleton. This was an exciting opportunity to experience the variety and use of modern implants up close.

Detecting Infections Autonomously:

Next, we presented a central future vision of SIIRI: implants that autonomously detect problems, such as infections, and respond accordingly. We illustrated this approach with a buzzer game. Visitors had to detect an infection on the implant by pressing the correct button corresponding to the illuminated LED—a race against time! This playfully demonstrated the importance of early detection and response to infections for the functionality of an implant.

Targeting Infections Directly:

The ability of an implant to autonomously respond to detected problems in the future was the next focus. A detected infection should be combated, for example, with the targeted release of antibiotics or other active substances at the site of infection. We demonstrated this with our throwing game: visitors had to throw Velcro balls, symbolizing antibiotics, onto the infection site. The more “antibiotic” Velcro balls stuck to the infection site, the better the infection could be fought, and the implant quickly restored to its healthy original state.

Creating Your Own SIIRI Implant:

Finally, the SIIRI Implant Heroes reached the last station, where they could cast their own SIIRI implant from soap. Similar to implant manufacturing, they had to mix different components (in this case, soap, color, and fragrance) and pour them into molds.

We look back on nine successful days with nearly 3,000 interested visitors. The SIIRI Implant Heroes masterfully completed our course, and we are already looking forward to a continuation in 2026.

Impressions of the IdeenExpo 2024

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