Medical Tribune, 04/23/21, page 12
From theory to medical practise
Some inventions are so ingenious that one wonders why a Nobel Prize was not awarded for them long ago. For example, in addition to an enthusiastic review of my columns, a medical colleague sent me newly developed tick tweezers by post. Next to the familiar tweezer shape, this instrument also has a kind of gripping balloon head that tightly encloses the tick, thus making crushing the tick impossible. In addition, the pliers have a built-in rotating mechanism which, after enclosing the tick, automatically extracts it by means of counterclockwise rotation. Excellent!
I tested the new tick tweezers extensively in animal trials (on my two cats). The results were so good that I can now release them for human patients as well. An order is going in the mail today.
Your Dr. Jörg Vogel
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There are ticks also in Japan ...
At the Outdoor-Show in Tokyo on the 3rd of September 2019 the Tickgripper was exhibited by IIZUKA company.
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53. Jahrgang, Nr. 42, 2832, October 19, 2018
Tickgripper is getting the hang of it
Those who discover a tick on their body should act quickly. Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis threaten. But beware: Squeezing that animal by pulling off, you risk to press pathogens in the bite wound. There should be a simple solution for this problem ...
That's what Dr. Matthias Meinhold thought, a general practitioner from Nuremberg, almost exactly 20 years ago. The specialist in general medicine, also physicist, began to research. He was referring to a method described in 1990 in an article of the 'Medical Tribune. It was the lasso trick: put a thread with the knot still open on the slightly raised tick, tighten and twist it. The tick is extracted through rotation.
"The longer I studied the topic, the clearer the requirements were," says Dr. Meinhold. "There has to be a mechanical solution to gently and easily remove the tick." Studies show that "unscrewing" the tick from the skin is more effective than pulling it off, because in the latter case up to 70% of the puncture tools remain in the skin.
A long way of experimenting started. Very soon the experiments led to the development of the Tickgripper. Press from above on the top so that the lower end turns - in theory quite simply. But how to implement? The basic idea is close to the technique of a rotating pencil. That's why Dr. Meinhold got in contact to Faber Castell, a well-known pencil manufacturer in the neighboring Stein. In 2007 there was a first common prototype, which was not pursued by Faber-Castell for reasons of the company portfolio.
But Dr. Meinhold was convinced that the device he had developed will be successful. He applied for a patent on the Tickgripper in Europe and US, founded his own company (tickSAFE GmbH) and tried a new start with a production in China. "That was a flop! Many products having been delivered, did not work," said the inventor. Again he had to cope with a setback.
Six years ago came the breakthrough. Together with a Nuremberg company Dr. Meinhold developed the Tickgripper with a rotating gripper head. Two products have been created: a gripperhead for humans and one for animals. "We made so many technical calculations in advance, it just had to work."
His perseverance paid off - today the device is considered an excellent choice when removing ticks. "Some customers contact us and say how easy it is with our Tickgripper," says the doctor. Did he think about giving up in heavy hours? "No, never, I knew it will work. Never I would have sold the patents, as my heart is attached to it. And of course countless hours of work."
Six years ago came the breakthrough. Together with a Nuremberg company Dr. Meinhold developed the Tickgripper with a rotating gripper head. Two products have been created: a gripperhead for humans and one for animals. "We made so many technical calculations in advance, it just had to work."
His perseverance paid off - today the device is considered an excellent choice when removing ticks. "Some customers contact us and say how easy it is with our Tickgripper," says the doctor. Did he think about giving up in heavy hours? "No, never, I knew it will work. Never I would have sold the patents, as my heart is attached to it. And of course countless hours of work."
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tickSAFE at the iENA - the most important international specialized
Trade Show for "Ideas - Inventions - New Products"
Nuremberg, Germany, November 02-05, 2017
tickSAFE receives the gold medal for the Tickgripper
(From left: Dr. Matthias Meinhold, tickSAFE; Sandra Hübner, iENA)
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Nürnberger Nachrichten, October 31, 2017
"Tickgripper, transport drone and cable protection belt"
Creative minds from all over the world present
highly sophisticated and seemingly simple developments
at the 69th Invention Fair iENA
Tickgripper, transport drone and cable protection belt
Creative minds from around the world present highly sophisticated and seemingly simple developments at the 69th inventions fair iENA
FROM H.-P. BOX HUBER (text) AND STEFAN HIPPEL (photos)
Once a year, Nuremberg is the mecca of the international inventions scene: Tinkerers from 31 countries present their innovations and developments from Thursday to Sunday at the 69th iENA trade fair in the exhibition center. As a general practitioner, Matthias Meinhold is familiar with the serious illnesses that are transmitted by ticks - from Lyme disease mith its manifold symptoms to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a dangerous meningitis. And the Nuremberg doctor knows the difficulty with removing ticks correctly. Because he was dissatisfied with most of the instruments - from the noose to forceps to tweezers - he became an inventor himself. And now the doctor with his Tickgripper take part at the press presentation of Iena, starting on Thursday, between technology-loving high school students, who have developped an "autonomous transport drone", and old inventor rabbits. Meinhold's Tickgripper is already on the market and is sold preferably via Internet. But the development costs of the small device, which removes the tick carefully with a twisting motion and without squeezing, still have to be imported. Matthias Meinhold focuses on the PR effect of his iENA presence. It does not bother him that the tick season is over. The next one is coming.
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German TV Bayern 3 Abendschau, October 30, 2017 "iENA Nuremberg"
with English subtitles
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German Television, May 16, 2017
"The Tickgripper from Nuremberg"
with English subtitles
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Bild-Zeitung, local editor Nuremberg, May 15, 2017
Nuremberg doctor develops soft Tickgripper
This Tickgripper is designed to reduce the risk of infection
By P. LAUSCHMANN
Nuremberg - This pen removes ticks! Rising temperatures increase the risk of being bitten by a tick (in truth, ticks do not bite, they sting). The beasts can transmit dangerous diseases like Lyme disease or tick-borne encephalitis. The Nuremberg doctor Matthias Meinhold (64) has developed a Tickgripper that reduces the risk of transmission. Meinhold: "Removing a tick you might cut off their head or squeeze the tick." Meinhold designed a gripper head made of the same material that baby pacifiers are made of: "So soft that the tick can be removed uninjured." The rotation is done by a sophisticated mechanics. Meinhold has made the Tickgripper ready for series production. For 16.95 euros, it's available in pharmacies or at ticksafe.com (Editor's note: the price has changed).
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German TV Interview April 26, 2017
"Nuremberg doctor invents Tickgripper"
with English subtitles
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3rd South German Tick Congres
Hohenheim, March 14-16, 2016
Dr. Matthias Meinhold presents a poster on "Methods of removing ticks - an overview"
The abstract of the poster see here.
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tickSAFE was a sponsor of the 56th Annual Scientific Meeting of the
German Society for Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine e.V.
Munich, 09. - 11. March 2016
Lyme disease can be an occupational disease.
Best protection: remove the tick as soon and as properly as possible.
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Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung Nr. 35, August 27, 2015
Category 'Pharmacy and market'
Article "For tick removal"
"For removing ticks the German company tickSAFE GmbH has developed the Tickgripper. The gripper head consists of a flexible material and is designed to remove ticks without squeezing them. The Tickgripper is placed over the tick. Releasing the push button, the gripper head closes around the tick and is removing the tick by rotatory extraction 'automatically'. The Tickgripper was invented by a German physician and physicist and can be used in humans as well as in animals. Pharmacists receive graduated prices on request."
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Pharmazeutische Zeitung 33/2015, August 13, 2015
Reducing Tick Terror
The rotating tickSAFE Tickgripper is made of a flexible meaterial and removes ticks without squeezing them. Thereby the risk of transmitting pathogens from the salivary glands or the gastrointestinal tract to humans or animals is minimized. The use of rigid materials such as forceps, tweezers or fingernails lead to a higher risk of transmitting pathogens if ticks are removed this way. Simular to a pen, you press the push button of the tickSAFE Tickgripper. Releasing it gently, the flexible gripper head closes around the tick. The tick is removed by rotatory extraction 'automatically'. The Tickgripper was invented by a German physician and physicist and can be used in humans as well as in animals. Available in direct order or well-stocked wholesale. Pharmacists receive graduated prices on request.
tickSAFE GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany. Phone +49 911 3 84 85 86, info@ticksafe.com, www.ticksafe.com, www.tickgripper.com