Franz Freudenthal tells an inspirational story of how his upbringing in the Andes helped him realize there are no limitations in life.Helping his grandmother treat indigenous patients in remote areas played a large part in his decision to enter the medical field.Franz Freudenthal developed a passion for treating babies with heart defects.One night while camping in the Amazon,an idea came to mind.He realized he could use a coil to close the hole in the hearts of babies with heart defects. He went on to begin treating patients in Bolivia.Sadly this coil wasn’t suitable for patients living at high altitude.It was only suitable for treating half of the patients in Bolivia. Thankfully,traditional Bolivian weaving techniques inspired the development of an improved version of the coil.This was successful in treating the high altitude patients.
Key Points of Video:
- 1Rate of babies born with holes in their hearts is higher in high altitudes
- 2a hole in a child’s heart can be healed without surgery by filling the hole with a smart material woven in traditional indigenous technique in a 30 minute procedure
- 3The best solutions need to be simple so they can reach the most people
