We are pleased to announce prof. dr. Frederik Dikkers and prof. dr. Tjark Ebels as the Mystery Speakers for the Innovation Day 2024! Prof. dr. Dikkers and prof. dr. Ebels are the minds behind the Fused Button Battery Holding – a company geared towards the prevention of suffering of thousands of children each year. Applications for the event are still open. Find out more about the Innovation Day and apply here.

The Safety of Button Batteries

An estimated 8000 children per year die or suffer serious damage due to ingestion of button batteries (BBs). BBs are ubiquitously present throughout the world. Manufacturers and governmental authorities, in addition to consumer and professional organizations have tried to mitigate this problem, without sufficient result. Examples are child-proof packaging, bitter taste, adding a dye to the battery. The electrical behavior of BBs, however, is not affected by these measures. Therefore development of a truly safe BB is mandatory.

The cause of the problem is the continuing production of current until the battery is empty. Scientists from universities of Groningen and Delft have jointly endeavored to solve this problem by inserting an electrical fuse. Such a fuse stops the production of current after a pre-determined interval. The resulting patented design of the fuse has been awarded the Gold Medal in Consumer Product Safety by the European Commission in 2023. The designed fuse will not require major alterations of the production process, making it attractive for manufacturers. Furthermore, the exterior dimensions and other properties of the fused BB remain exactly the same.

Fused Button Battery Holding

Fused Button Battery Holding (FBB) is a company developed and based in Groningen to sublicense the patents to manufacturers. At the same time, the European Commission has expressed their intention to develop legislation to require safety mechanisms, such as a fuse, for all BBs. In addition, FBB will continue to further develop a simple and safe solution for this serious health problem.

Prof. dr. Frederik Dikkers

Frederik G. Dikkers studied medicine in Groningen, the Netherlands. He then spent >30 years at his Alma Mater, the last 15 years of which as Associated Professor of Laryngology. From 2016 until retirement in 2023, he was Professor of Otorhinolaryngology and Head of the Department in the AMC Hospital at Amsterdam University Medical Center, the Netherlands.

His clinical interests span the full range of laryngeal and tracheal problems in children and adults. He was member of the Presidential Council of the European Laryngological Society, and board member of several international associations. He is first author or coauthor of >140 international peer reviewed articles, and has written or coauthored 56 chapters in various textbooks on the larynx and on the difficult airway. He co-owns two patents on electrically fused button batteries in order to make them substantially safer for children.

He has supervised several PhD projects. His international publications can be found here. He was Teacher of the year of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Groningen in 2006. He has given more than 790 presentations in more than 40 countries on all continents.

Prof. dr. Tjark Ebels

Tjark Ebels went to school in the Netherlands and the USA, studied medicine in Groningen from 1969-1977, after which he spent 6 years training for Cardio-thoracic surgery of which 3 years general surgery in Curaçao.  Thereafter he was appointed for about 35 years at his Alma Mater in Cardio-thoracic surgery, where he earned his PhD in 1989.  He served as full professor and chief of the department since 1994. The last 14 years of which were exclusively devoted to paediatric and congenital anomalies.  After formal retirement he spent 2 years as interim chief of the departments of the merging Amsterdam university hospitals; thereafter, 4 years again as surgeon in Groningen.  He spent years in a variety of functions in international and national organisations related to his specialty.

He published 230 peer reviewed papers in international journals. He has supervised several PhD projects of which 3 are ongoing. He owns a patent for a pulmonary cardiac valvar prosthesis. He co-owns two patents on electrically fused button batteries in order to make them substantially safer for children.

Innovation Day 2024

Join us on the 12th of June and find out more on the Fused Button Battery Holding! Applications are still open. Find out more here.