Quality Made in Germany
Production in Germany is Part of the identity of HEINE Optotechnik.
All HEINE instruments – otoscopes, laryngoscopes, binocular loupes, lights, sphygmomanometers, ophthalmoscopes, dermatoscopes and other instruments – are made entirely in Germany. This has always been the case and will always remain so.
However, due to changes in the traditional German supply chain, we now unfortunately need to acquire some of our raw materials and accessories from abroad. Nevertheless, we still obtain 90 per cent of HEINE vendor parts from Germany.
Modern production ‘Made in Germany’.
Production at HEINE’s own manufacturing sites in Germany has many benefits for HEINE product quality and for the satisfaction of HEINE customers. We keep all critical production steps within HEINE and monitor the quality of HEINE components during the production process. When all parts are of the highest quality, this is visible in the quality of the end product.
Thanks to the ‘one-piece flow’ approach of HEINE production system, we can supply 90 per cent of all orders within five days. Customer-specific requirements can be implemented flexibly and quickly. Production in Germany also enables rapid development times for new and improved products.
30 Years Dermatoscopy
1989: HEINE invents the first dermatoscope.
The first dermatoscope in the world, the HEINE DELTA 10, has fundamentally changed the view on naevi, lesions and melanomas of all kinds. It globally increased the accuracy of dermatologists’ diagnoses, almost doubling it from 55% to 90%.
And that’s something we take great pride in to this day! Correctly identifying diseases as early as possible and ideally curing them – especially ones as deadly as skin cancer – is what we aspire to do. And what motivates us day after day.
That’s why we continue to improve our dermatoscopes to facilitate the work of dermatologists all over the world.
The story of the first dermatoscope begins with Helmut A. Heine and his wife.
It was as a precaution that Helmut A. Heine, our company founder, went to the dermatologist with his wife back in 1989. They both reckoned that a birthmark looked peculiar. The dermatologist took a quick glance at it and said, ‘I wouldn’t worry about it’.
Our company founder was stunned. How could the doctor come to that conclusion without performing a precise examination? The accuracy of a diagnosis made based on an ‘assessment’ such as this one was around 55%.
That wasn’t enough for Helmut A. Heine. Through working together with the University of Munich’s Dermatology Clinic, he found out that much more information is stored in the structures under the epidermis (skin). This ultimately resulted in HEINE Optotechnik and Professor Otto Braun-Falco developing the first dermatoscope, DELTA10, which increased the accuracy of diagnosis to 90%.
Each one better than the last.
Much has changed since the DELTA 10. Brighter, larger, sharper, smaller, lighter, but in any case better than its predecessor. Now, two more dermatoscopes are about to see the light of day and one thing is clear: they’re sure to be better than anything before them.
Almost every German dermatologist has a HEINE dermatoscope. Coincidence?
The fact that many doctors around the world opt for HEINE’s quality instruments clearly demonstrates their sense of responsibility. After all, skin cancer isn’t a cold! As the inventors of modern dermatoscopy, we always develop our instruments under the guiding principle of helping to achieve the earliest and most accurate diagnosis possible.
Malignant melanoma of the skin, also known as ‘black skin cancer’, is the most malignant form of skin cancer. Every year, more than 21,000 people in Germany develop a malignant melanoma, and approximately 3 million in the world.
A further 9,000 patients are diagnosed with early forms of melanoma in Germany. The risk of developing a melanoma in the course of one’s lifetime increases each year. It is at about 1:500 in Germany and even higher in Australia with 1:50. People between the ages of 45 and 60 are affected particularly frequently. Identifying skin cancer, particularly at an early stage, becomes more and more important.
So it’s certainly no coincidence that more and more dermatologists are opting for a HEINE dermatoscope.