Irreversibly captured by the human heart
Two years ago, Angela Kornberger brought her expertise as a cardiac surgeon and passion for saving lives to Getinge’s Medical and Clinical Affairs team. Today, she is part of creating tomorrow’s acute care therapy solutions, with the user perspective still top of mind.
Angela Kornberger has had a fascination with the human heart and an eagerness to help people for as long as she can remember.
“I always knew I wanted to become a doctor, ever since I was a child. In Medical School I tried different fields throughout the years, but I was irreversibly captured by the human heart. Cardiac surgery seemed so interesting to me, so fascinating,” Angela Kornberger recalls.It’s about two years ago now that she left the operating room (OR) to enter the world of medtech development, by joining Getinge’s Medical and Clinical Affairs team.
“First, I wasn’t sure I could stop being a cardiac surgeon. Saving lives every day is the best feeling in the world, it is incredible satisfying to go home at the end of the day knowing that you and your team made that difference for someone.”
What made her finally take the leap into the medtech industry, was the mind-blowing intuition that she could take things to the next level. Realizing that she could be part of making a change for both other surgeons and even more patients was a game-changer, and she would do it by helping develop crucial solutions needed in the OR and the intensive care unit (ICU).
“I knew that having a fully trained team around you, working under safe and efficient conditions with equally safe and efficient solutions, is essential. In the OR and the ICU, it’s a question of life and death and there cannot be any compromises on quality.”
With all her knowledge and experience in cardiac care, Angela hadn’t given much thought to all the working parts required to develop safe, high-quality, sustainable and cost-efficient solutions before joining Getinge. However, she learned quickly what is at stake and what is crucial, to not only develop the right products for the patients, and what it takes to bring the products to the market under quality and regulatory requirements.
“Today, I have a greater understanding of why it might take decades to launch some solutions. In my role at Getinge, I don’t have to ‘stop’ being a cardiac surgeon. I never step away from that perspective which is super valuable while working with R&D and clinical studies.”
Right now, Angela’s focus is on the European MDR (Medical Device Regulation) where she and the team work with clinical data to meet the new regulations in time. When gazing at the future, she thinks cardiac surgery will evolve to become less invasive and less dramatic and will be able to be performed with simpler and smaller solutions.
“Safety and quality come first in all Getinge’s innovations. I love being part of the process of creating tomorrow’s acute care therapy solutions together with a big and passionate team. Here, teamwork and having the right equipment is as crucial as it is in the OR or the ICU – essential I would say.”