Bert Garlich (1969) has been responsible for the Medical business line of ZiuZ for two years now. Under his leadership, this business unit has been further expanded and new distributors ensure further worldwide growth. In 2016, a new, compact control device for prepackaged medicine bags sees the light: the IRIS. Now the high-tech company from Gorredijk also serves the market for so-called small packers of medicines, mainly in Asian countries. Before his switch to ZiuZ, Bert leads various companies in the IT and telecom sector after completing his study Technical Innovation Sciences at Eindhoven University of Technology. Baarda and Garlich know each other from the time of the joint research projects at the HTS in Hilversum.

Energy

With this succession, Gerrit Baarda (1969) returns to the basics of ZiuZ: developing new products based on visual technology with global impact. That's how it started in 2002 when ZiuZ was founded by Gerrit and Ed van den Brand. After successful growth with products for the forensic police world and the pharmacy market, a different business and management are now needed. "I am happy and proud that I have been able to build the company this far", says Baarda, "but I see that this ZiuZ in the hands of Bert will come into its own for further growth". Baarda just doesn't like to spend a lot of time managing. “I want to put my energy back into developing new products from scratch. With Bert at the helm, I have my hands completely free for that.”

Smart Health

ZiuZ has ambitious plans for the further application of smart visual technology in healthcare. For example, according to Garlich, doctors and medical specialists are increasingly using photo and video material. “Worldwide we see that by using advanced camera techniques, diagnoses can be made without surgery. Consider, for example, the growing use of MRI/PET/CT scanners, endoscopes and pill cameras, as a result of which the photo and video material to be analyzed gives an increasing overload of information.” According to ZiuZ's own research, medical specialists can use powerful tools to search photos and videos quickly and automatically. “We are now working on several innovative 'smart health' products together with medical specialists. We are building on previously developed products.” 

Horizon 2021

With the pressure on healthcare costs and an increasing number of care recipients, it is almost impossible for medical specialists and other healthcare workers to be able to process the increasing amount of material. Baarda: ,,Help to regain an overview of the enormous clutter of images and to help speed up the diagnostic analyzes are very welcome. And that is exactly the field in which we have already proven ourselves.” According to Baarda, ZiuZ is not only functionally capable of making products that do exactly what they are needed for, but above all they make products that match the work processes of their customers. Baarda: ,,We have developed a five-year plan under the heading 'Horizon 2021' to also become successful in the new direction of 'smart health'. With Bert at the helm of our company and all the time for myself to develop new products with our technicians, I see a bright future for ZiuZ.”