Welcome to the Balgrist Research and Science Report!

Breakthrough Research Is Our Duty

Balgrist has a 115-year-old tradition of contributing to modern care of patients with musculoskeletal disorders. More than 75 years ago, Balgrist became the Orthopedic University Hospital in Zurich and its director Richard Scherb became the first Professor of Orthopedics at the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich. Since then, the heart of Balgrist University Hospital has been beating to the rhythm of research. Over the decades, the directors of Balgrist have helped shape the development of modern orthopedics. The DNA of Balgrist is committed to building on this legacy.

Of course, patients first and foremost expect their hospital to provide outstanding medical services. These services ideally result in healing, but if healing is not possible, they should at least improve a patient's quality of life. However, unlike non-university hospitals, a university hospital has important responsibilities in the areas of research and teaching, aiming to improve the medicine of tomorrow. As a university institution, it's in Balgrist's DNA to improve the quality of future healthcare, particularly in the field of musculoskeletal medicine, through research, innovation and development. Since the 2023 reporting year, we established the OR-X surgical research and teaching center. The OR-X is a fully equipped operating theater of the future, allowing current and future surgeons to practice cutting edge surgical medicine. Given its potential for impact, the OR-X has emerged as a strategic infrastructure within the University Medicine Zurich (UMZH) initiative, as part of its goal to promote the medical research, and specifically to drive development of surgical healthcare in Switzerland.

Also new since 2023, the Ingenuity Lab is breaking new technological ground at our clinic. Among other things, the Ingenuity team is working on new tissue adhesives technologies for minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery. This research reflects how Balgrist University Hospital is pushing the boundaries of surgical craft. In this report, you can read about this work among the full diversity of our research activities.

All the research presented to you in this report, both basic and clinical, is inspired by our patients. We are working to bring these cutting-edge innovations to patients as quickly and safely as possible. This goal is what drives our researchers, every day.

We hope you too are excited and inspired by what you read.