1994 - 1999 ✧ Herz-Gefäßklinik GmbH, Bad Neustadt - senior Consultant Cardiac Surgery

Senior consultant or deputy head of the private (first German hospital listed at the Frankfurt stock exchange) Herz-Gefäßklinik GmbH - Rhön Klinikum - in Bad Neustadt Germany, treating over 12.000 cardiac patients and 4.000 open heart operations annually - recognized as one of Europe's best managed and financially most successful centers at that time in order to learn modern medical management methods and medical cost management, parallel to refining his practice as heart surgeon in a high volume center.

Have performed more than 500 mitral heart valve & repair operations annually myself. Responsible for all clinical and medical matters and head of the medical IT group for quality control and patient data base. We were one of the first to start paperless electronic medical records. Responsible to design, develop and operate the first internet based patient admittance planning system.

Member of the future strategy task group for the board, focusing on cost and quality control mechanism, new strategies, technologies and architecture and planning of new hospitals. Our department at that time performed about 10% of all valvular operations and most of mitral repair operations in all Germany.

Research 

° Clinical research programs to standardize mitral valve repair surgery and study the mid- and long-term outcome.

° Joint research program with the Department of Cardiology, Sarver Heart Center, University of Arizona in Tucson, USA to develop novel easy implantable coronary artery stents.

° Joint research program with the experimental Division of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Cape Town, RSA, to develop a clinically applicable routine procedure for gen-therapy and induced angiogenesis.

other Activities - Responsible for the foundation of 'German Health Ltd', a company to specialize and organize ‘health & medical tourism’ and ‘patient incoming’.

1998 ‘Medical Advisory Board Member’ of the US company 'Acorn Inc’

1998 Medical Advisory Board Member’ of the US company 'EndoTrax Inc’

1998 co-Founder of the US venture-capital start-up company 'EndoCore (Purpose of this start-up company 'EndoCore' is the” development of high-tech medical devices)

1997 Experimental development of a novel mitral valve chordal system for reliable mitral repair  • U.S. Patent Docket No. 23113-0002/Inventor: R. Fasol

1996 Director of Study of the Clinical Investigation Programs: 

- Anti-arrhythmic and anti-ischemic properties of Ca-antagonists Diltiazem in coronary patient

- Analysis of long-term follow-up results of mitral valve patients

1996 Organizer of the 'Mitral Valve Workshop' in Bad Neustadt/Saale

1995 Organizer of the Annual 'International Cardiovascular Surgical Symposium' in Zuers, Austria, and Organizer of the Scientific Program

1994 Scientific Consultant of St. Jude Medical for the Development of ‘New Biological Heart Valves'

1994 Fellowship of the 'International College of Angiology' 

1994 Experimental Research Cooperation with the 'Vienna Working Heart Research (with Dr. B. Podesser and PD Dr. R. Seitelberger, University of Vienna)

1994 Experimental Research Cooperation with M. Slepian, MD; M. Flugelmann, MD; University Tucson & Hadassah Hospital, Israel. Topic: Modification of intravascular stents with gene-manipulated & autologous endothelial cells

1994 Director of Study of the Clinical Investigation: Topic: Clinical application of angiogenic growth factors in aorto-coronary bypass to induce site-directed coronary artery angiogenesis