THEY鈥橰E objects that have stood between us and death. After photographer Reiner Riedler鈥檚 newborn son spent two weeks in a neonatal unit, he began paying closer attention to the fantastic forms of the tools that keep patients alive.
Riedler spent five years photographing medical equipment around Europe, from historic prototypes that never saw a hospital to well-worn veterans of many procedures.
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Rather than take photos of devices in action on trauma wards or in intensive care units, Riedler posed them as isolated shapes, often with black backgrounds and simple, direct lighting. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to show a drama,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or me, it all turned into something very positive.鈥�
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Riedler says he was drawn to objects that showed a human touch 鈥� some contrast high-tech equipment with ordinary or improvised materials, like the test tube rack held in place with tape (above). Others mimic human organs, like the machine that models the flow of fluid through a pump-assisted heart (below).
The image below shows 鈥淩omeo鈥�, the prototype of a robot designed to help older people with everyday tasks.
The 鈥淎ugen-Akkomodationsmodell鈥�, invented by an Austrian optician sometime around 1900 to track how the eye changes shape as it focuses on nearby objects.
Below is an electrical stimulator used to treat epilepsy and other nervous system disorders by jolting the vagus nerve as it passes through the ear.
Then comes a 1H/31P double-tuned radio-frequency surface coil that helped make magnetic resonance images of brains.
Last is a CaStar CPAP helmet that kept intensive care patients鈥� airways open using air pressure.
Taking photos of prototypes old and new gave Riedler hope for our ability to devise solutions to complex problems. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the power of humans to survive, to find solutions to get along,鈥� he says. The project is showcased in a new book, Will, due out in June from La Fabrica.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淢edical oddities鈥�
