We set up multiple fundamental research projects in fields like sensor technology, control engineering and biocompatible artificial surfaces and gained valuable insights into ways of optimising existing cardiac support systems. Since my move to Berlin in 2014, I’ve been working in Europe’s leading heart clinic. However, I still see Zurich as the most fertile ground for technological collaboration.

Your professorship in Translational Cardiovascular Technologies (TCT) was created in 2019 to institutionalise this successful collaboration at ETH. How much has been achieved for patients since then?

With minimal human resources – besides my 10 per cent position, there are two other roles – we and various ETH departments are working under the name “ETHeart” to develop innovative technologies for cardiovascular medicine. Our aim is to see these technologies find their way into clinical practice and save lives. But the hurdles are high: while bright minds can come up with technological solutions, the regulatory landscape in the medical field is extensive. Nonetheless, we’ve had certain successes, and these make me proud. One example is a project that culminated in the Hylomorph spin-off, in which we navigated the entire translational process from development to preclinical studies to clinical trials. Hylomorph has plans to launch an implant envelope on the market that’s expected to make a significant reduction to postoperative complications. Another is a project with the Department of Computer Science in which artificial intelligence is used to extract poor outcome predictors from routine intensive care data. It was from this basis that x-cardiac spin-off received approval for its product. It’s my belief that this technology will facilitate day-to-day medical practice in the future.