Dear Colleagues,
It is our sad duty to inform you that Prim. a. D. Univ. Prof. Dr. med. Dr.h.c. Friedrich Olbert died in April 2019.
Up to the last, Friedrich Olbert was regularly to be found at the Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, as surely MedUni Vienna's oldest external teaching professor, and had particularly close links with the Division of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology.
Prof. Olbert graduated in Vienna in 1950 and, in 1963, became Head of the Division of Radiology and Angiology and the Department of Surgery I at Lainz Hospital in Vienna. Friedrich Olbert was awarded the Venia Docendi in 1975 and was appointed as a professor at the University of Vienna in 1981.
After his retirement, Friedrich Olbert supervised and supported the expansion of the then Division of Angiography and Interventional Radiology and, right up to his death, regularly took part in the morning meetings of the Division of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology.
Friedrich Olbert was a pioneer of interventional radiology and dedicated his life to "his" special field. He was one of the founders of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Society of Europe (CIRSE), which now has more than 7,000 members and is Europe's largest professional society in the field of interventional radiology. He was co-founder of the Olbert Symposium, the largest German-speaking event in "his" special field, which is held annually under the title of "IROS – Interventionell-Radiologisches Olbert Symposium". He developed the "Olbert balloon catheter", which he patented in 1979. This can be defined as one of the first high-pressure balloons for vascular dilation and was in clinical use throughout the world up until 2000.
With the death of Friedrich Olbert, European radiology is losing an important pioneer and visionary, the Medical University of Vienna is losing a dedicated lecturer and the Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy is losing a long-standing, caring and committed supporter and friend.
Christian Herold
Marcus Hacker
Thomas Helbich
Georg Langs
Christian Loewe
Daniela Prayer
Siegfried Trattnig