Since a very young age, all of us have been acquainted with the art of science and fiction. From RoboCop to Alita: Battle Angel, the sci-fi space has impacted the world tremendously. At some point in time, we all have imagined creating a masterpiece that could help the common people. However, no one would have expected that one day, the love for sci-fi movies would lead to developing a medical device that will revolutionize the universe of healthcare.
Carsten Mahrenholz is one such real-life hero who is leading COLDPLASMATECH GmbH through his superpowers of delivering world-class medical devices.
Through this interview, Carsten unfolds the journey of COLDPLASMATECH.
- Can you brief us about the services and products COLDPLASMATECH offers?
At COLDPLASMATECH we have developed a Star Trek-like medical device that provides the solution to killing multi-resistant bacteria and treating chronic wounds. We use our newly developed, technology to generate the 4th state of matter – cold physical plasma. Our product, a thin wound dressing, connected to the PlasmaCube generates this blue glowing, bioactive gas on a large scale, easy to use and mass-market compatible.Sounds like science fiction? Yes, it does but we’ve made it a reality – a class 2b medical device.
- Can you help us understand your journey throughout the years?
A young medtech company is like a ship navigating through unknown waters. Through a proper vision to develop and build an organization, I ensure the production and market growth are upscale. Hence, it’s my role to plan our journey and steer – even tied to the steering wheel – through the often rough sea.As someone with a Masters in Biology and Economics and a Doctorate in Chemistry, I’ve also had to learn to also master my role as a leader of my company and my team. I enjoy learning new systems and don’t hesitate to challenge them.
- Being a successful leader, how do you deal with the challenge? What keeps you motivated?
I am a very curious, enthusiastic and resilient individual. Being a scientist by heart, it helps me to stay motivated, even if results take some time. Recurring and ongoing problems can be very challenging and hugely demotivating. Growing a company sometimes feels like opening pandora’s box. However, I try to make problem-solving a mental challenge and define my job inside the company as a troubleshooter – making sure everyone can perform. This way a problem is no longer an obstacle but an anticipated event that builds the basis for creativity and unconventional solutions.
- What word best describes your personality?
I would say, ‘bold’ is the perfect word that defines me.
- What advice would you give to the upcoming entrepreneurs and healthcare professionals?
My usual advice to everyone would be to find what you love and start working on it. You will notice that your performance and endurance will go up when you like what you do.A friend once told me I was a dreamer because my goals and visions are often unrealistic to achieve. That bothered me for a while until I understood that I actually was a dreamer. However, as soon as I started dreaming about something, I started to think of ways how to make that dream a reality. I now understand that bridging the gap between visions and the real world is something I am very good at. So, yes, I’m a dreamer and my advice would be to not be afraid to build bridges to your dreams, instead of seeing dreams as unrealistic ideas.
“Through a proper vision to develop and build an organization, I ensure the production and market growth are upscale.”
- What is your opinion regarding the current landscape of the healthcare market your company caters to?
We are addressing the advanced wound care market. Potentially opening up a complete new field of medicine: Plasma medicine.Our main focus is on chronic wound infections and treatment. Two of the biggest problems in modern medicine.Unfortunately, there is a huge trend to manage chronic conditions rather than healing them. I understand the business case-aspect of this approach; however, I find it morally eyebrow-raising to maintain current methods rather than adopting solutions that can actually permanently heal. This is why COLDPLASMATECH fights to treat and finally heal patients.
- How is the advancement in technology changing the healthcare space?
Interestingly the advanced wound care market is still a rather non-innovative market with huge turnovers for stabilizing products. This is a huge disadvantage for health care systems. More effective technologies and innovations are needed and should be fostered.We are personally and professionally highly distinguished to hold more than 20 awards. Lately, we even received the prestigious German Innovation Award.
- Please tell us about your achievements and accomplishments
I’d rather let others talk about them and concentrate on my mission! However, it’s very encouraging to see that ideas that no one believed in initially are now getting noticed and seem to inspire others.
- Where do you envision yourself and your company in the near future?
We are working on spearheading a new area in wound care. As a result, the COLDPLASMATECH team are trying to solve a problem that not many people have had the privilege to do — how to bring completely new technology to the world. The X-ray did it, the laser did it and plasma definitely has the potential to become one of the next big standards in modern medicine. But to get there is like navigating in unknown waters — a journey that I very much enjoy taking.
To sum it up with a famous Star Trek quote: “To boldly go where no man has gone before.”
