cristian colceriu -personalitati clujene prof.dr.ing.pompiliu manea

8/14/2019 CRISTIAN COLCERIU -PERSONALITATI CLUJENE Prof.Dr.ing.POMPILIU MANEA

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Prof. univ. eng. POMPILIU MANEA,Ph.DThe wisdom and calling of one founding achievement

MOTTO: “Medical equipment has been my life. The reason I’ve lived for and the tendered of

my utmost satisfactions”

Nowadays, in Romanian university clinics and medical units, the classical scalpel andscialytic lamp appear more as museum items and less as surgical symbols, yielding inch byinch to the technological superiority of the ultrasound scalpel and of the microprocessor,identifiable with the performant surgical act and thus, minimally- invasive surgery. In thisrespect, we acknowledge the decisive merit of one of the most prodigious and exponentialpersonalities of contemporary Cluj, embracing the medical and university environments atlarge: the adroit and renowned medical technique specialist Pompiliu Manea.

The multivalency of those qualities that God has endowed him with, the amplitudeand complexity of his cognitive superposition, the inmost aperture of encyclopaedicdimension, the nimble pragmatism at work, organically blended into the professional destinyof engineer Pompiliu Manea, transcend the familiar and linear framework that anybiographer attempts at commonly revealing and investigating, by default of any efforts orhindrances, towards a normal and equable sui-generis portraiture. To know and speak tohim however, mutatis- mutandis, to record and write on the illustrious professional andscintillating person, Pompiliu Manea, is tantamount to revealing an acknowledgeablebiographical chrestomathy, shaped around a dense and impressive human destiny. Suchdestiny encloses stately model ramifications, proving this life story to be paradigmatically,practically and eternally inducive, as both life model and lesson.

Locked up in the tower of professional dignity, Pompiliu Manea, the engineer,university professor and business man completes a 51 year- career in the medical field that isstrongly founded on the wisdom of the Latin adage „mens sana in corpore sano” andpropagated through such accomplishments and results that subscribe to the fight for thesalvation of life and the alleviation of suffering.

Nowadays, the medical community of Cluj treasures, in the character of engineerPompiliu Manea, a solar and fertile personality, expresis -verbis „in the medical field”.

This was the fertile field, the fertile land of Ardeal and Cluj that generously offeredthemselves to Pompiliu Manea and allowed him the adequate sphere and conditions for hisprofessional, as well as spiritual uplift. This uplift has crossed three decades and a half sincehis settlement in the cradle of his utmost accomplishments.

Wallachian by birth, he saw the light of day on 7 October 1935 in Purani- Teleormanand fed his permanent love for Ardeal since his settlement here, through a fortunate identityfusion and his in integrum devotion to the Transylvanians and their noble ideals establishedthrough tradition, science, art and culture.

After graduating from the Normal School of Câmpulung Muscel, the high school andTechnical University in Bucharest, the quantitative, qualitative professional accumulationand the spur of his spiritual father, Augustin Z. N. Pop, have set out the professional road of Pompiliu Manea. At the same time, he approached the field of medical technique andcovered all steps of professional hierarchy, from probationer engineer to chief engineer.From then on, one decade after another, engineer Pompiliu Manea completed the difficult



task of servicing medical equipment in all Transylvanian medical units. Hence, hiscompetences allowed him to initiate and hold several useful and necessary lectures inMedical Equipment, before students of the Sanitary High school, of the Technical University,medical residents in radiology and specialty nurses, as these expositions in the field werecritically acclaimed by the students of the Popular University in Cluj- Napoca.

Always on duty, displaying great insight and earnestness, fiery and determined in

demeanour, as well as action and devoted to consistent and passionate study, PompiliuManea illustrated his preoccupation and abnegation for medical technique. Therefore, hewrote textbooks and reference papers in the field, as author and co-author alongsideimportant personalities such as: Academician Ştefan Milcu, Academician Mircea Maliţa,University Professor Dumitru Rădulescu, as well as specialty articles and studies presentedbefore prestigious scientific sessions and events, both in Romania and abroad. He is also thefounder of some publications and magazines in the field, especially “The Magazine forSanitary Economics and Management”.

A founder of Medical Equipment tradition and school, Pompiliu Manea has alwaysshown his appreciation for the school of Haţieganu and all the great figures of the Romanianmedical world, whom he met and collaborated with. Furthermore, he has passionatelystudied not only medical technique, but also medicine, towards his solid improvementnecessary for a full professional in his achievements.

The beneficial influence that the great Professor, Doctor and Eminescu scholarAugustin Z.N. Pop has exerted upon his intellectual formation, as well as their beautifulfriendship inoculated the calling for the destiny of the Eminescu family and for theshattering love story of our unmatched poet and Veronica Micle. In this respect, alongside alifetime friend and a close collaborator, the distinguished University Professor and doctorCrişan Mircioiu, Pompiliu Manea has upheld the researches conducted in Ardeal byAugustin Z.N. Pop, tracing the descendents of the Eminovici family and Veronica Micle. Thebroader sphere of his preoccupations in the field has led him, and other intellectuals of Cluj,towards the initiation and organization of cultural activities, anniversaries, symposiums andcommunication sessions for the discovery and preservation of the particularities of ournational being, as well as the promotion of an enlightened militantism within the culturaland scientific landscape of Cluj.

The historical crossroad of 1989 provided engineer Pompiliu Manea with theappropriate climate to professionally propagate his vital love for medical equipment,establishing the first Romanian Company for Medical Electronic Technique in 1990. It waslocated in Cluj-Napoca and branched in the main medical university centres of Romania:Bucureşti, Iaşi, Timişoara, Târgu- Mureş, Craiova, Constanţa, Galaţi and Alexandria, hisbirth town.

Medical equipment had brought him numerous professional satisfactions until 1989and propelled him towards developing one of the most important businesses for Romanianmedicine. This time however, as the owner- general manager of an enterprise which opted fora holistic approach of medical equipment, setting out from the small catheters, syringes tolast generation medical equipment, to the magnetic field investigation, linear accelerator orcomputer tomograph and the challenges it poses in accordance with technical performances.Furthermore, his active fight for the introduction of the Positron Emission Tomograph(PET) is notable.

Enthralled in his work and passion, masterfully and practically armed with skilledpsychology and managerial know- how, Pompiliu Manea put his entire strategic potential towork, as TEMCO now represents the unchallengeable market leader in the field of medicalequipment.

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Year after year, TEMCO has forcefully prospered, under the wise leadership of Pompiliu Manea. His acknowledged talent and necessary managerial ability propelled theconcept of medical team and emphasized its importance by its definite application in a fieldwhere its functioning is essential, towards the improvement of health and the evolvement of the medical act.

The sublimation of this fact was shaped and performed by the endowment of university centres and of hundreds of medical units with performant equipment, as TEMCOdisplayed serious and exemplary business conduct.

The recognition of his multiple professional and managerial merits and the devotionto the Romanian medical cause through his entire activity of import, endowment,maintenance, service, user formation and training, and recently medical equipmentproduction, provide us with an imagery of engineer Pompiliu Manea, of a great specialist,holding a number of diverse and solid competences: president of the Romanian Paternali of Producers, Importers and Service- providers in Medical Equipment, University Professor of the Technical and Medical Universities of Cluj-Napoca, Doctor in Technical Sciences, vice-president of the Society of Sanitary Economics and Management and editorial- director of The Magazine for Sanitary Economics and Management.

The patriarch of Romanian medical equipment has made TEMCO the Romanian solerepresentative for 35 of the greatest and most prestigious international companies producingmedical equipment. Therefore, he practically placed Romanian medicine on thetechnological peak that world medical technique has reached.

The progress levers in applied medical technique correspond to integratedtechnological lines, applied research and a considerable rapprochement of the doctor on theone side, and the patient on the other, by means of multimedia communication systems, thusinvolving a fundamental change in the features of the medical environment. Furthermore, adynamic and profound modernizing approach of specialty study is required, as newimperative domains invade, such as: laparoscopic surgery, arthroscopy, robotic surgery andeven therapeutic bioengineering. These domains appear to engineer Pompiliu Manea as thelegitimising agents for the new millennium medicine.

This desideratum in mind, TEMCO installed over 550 pieces of medical equipment in2003, worth of over twenty million dollars, complex cardiology equipment, radiologyequipment, videoendoscopy kits, kits for abdominal and urologic laparoscopic surgery,incubators for infants, X-ray osteoporosis equipment. In this respect, it substantiallycontributed to the development of Romanian medical units, hence the impressive record of diplomas and awards obtained in the most important competitions and events in Romaniaand abroad. The ease and optimism persist and provide the engineer with a bright andpromising outlook on the future of medical technique, as the telemedicine internettransmission systems Orics D – 21 are a proof in this respect and TEMCO regularly attendsinternational reunions and exhibitions of medical equipment.

Engineer Pompiliu Manea is not solely the author of an everlasting premiere of impact for Romanian medical technique, such as the instalment, by TEMCO specialists, of the first Endo-Alpha (Olympus) system in Romania, for the Fundeni clinic of Professor dr.Irinel Popescu. The pragmatic dimension of Pompiliu Manea’s preoccupations include thepast of Romanian medical technique, as precious old exhibits make up one of the mostprestigious private collections of medical equipment in the world.

Pompiliu Manea has always commanded respect within his social environment andwithin the relationships he conducted with his close ones, revealing the ultimate gift of

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charisma and objectivity, as the sharp observer of human spiritual depths. Intelligent andastute connoisseur of the value comprised in every word, Pompiliu Manea astounds in thenovelty, serenity and thrift of reflection. This specific reflection is ever based on the steadyfoundation of a thorough research and knowledge of places, people, events and factscharacteristic only to the intellectual epicurism of a genuine Olympian.

A contemporary spokesman for kalokagathia, Pompiliu Manea is a highly

constructive spirit, theoretically and practically proving the triumph of moral principles,according to his ethical ascendance. This is an essential lever in asserting the will to exist andendure beyond the immanence of the ephemeral impenetrable dimension of human conditionagainst the universal nothingness and frailty.

The harmony that his entire personality breathes, the accommodation of gesture andthought, of practical life and theory, by means of the fundamental harmony of shape andsubstance, incisiveness, perseverance and serenity add up to the prestige that PompiliuManea masterly holds.

Pompiliu Manea, a warm and monopolising character, accomplished bothprofessionally and personally, is the father of two children, a boy and a girl who followrigorously in his footsteps. He is the engineer and the service super specialist, as well as aperson of high moral probity, unconcealed humanity and affection; a refined intellectual of paradigmatic valences, for every person privileged enough to have met him.

A component of the biographic mosaic of engineer Pompiliu Manea, his worldvoyages, have been the itineraries of a faithful, almost pictorial observer, keen on the localcolouring, the faces and characteristic landscape and even the picturesque scenes, out of anunrestrained desire to know and ultimately be enlightened.

The beneficial magnetism of his personality is captivating, as the objectivity of thebiographer within me shares the immense joy of finding a parental protection in this truemodel of demeanour and action, so rarely to be found in a lifetime quest. I admire, respecthim and bring the token of my affection and consideration to him.

***

Talking about creed and faith, I think and I say that we are compelled first of all to say that

we believe in God. My father taught us there are three things one cannot disavow: religion, familyand nation. They are yours, inherited from your ancestors and you have to leave them to your

descendants. My greatest disappointment was when I was seven years old and I learned that Jesus

Christ was not in fact Romanian. As a child, up to seven years of age, I was convinced that JesusChrist was “one of us”. Although he was not Romanian, he was, is and will be one of us, of all the

ones who share the Christian belief. My second faith was my work. Leaving Marx aside, work is

the object, the existence of our life. I have never tried to educate my children, my students or my

subalterns that you can live without work. Work is the main element of life. After we believe inGod, after we work, we can afford to have other hobbies or collateral activities.

‘Good evening and welcome to my house on Christmas Eve, the place where I spend a lotof my free time. My work hours usually end around eight or nine, in the evening. I spend half of my time away, one quarter around the country and the other abroad. In this house you see, I livemy life, beside my family. I want to show you some things, some memories that I brought frommy travels, either for studies, business meetings, congresses where I was invited, starting with

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India, Japan, France, Sudan, USA. I had the chance to circle the Globe, having as a hobby the joyof being a tourist. This was my hobby, from Vladivostok to Honolulu and not only did I travel, butI also had the pleasure to seek and find out what life is and how it is lived in every place I travelledto.’

‘A profound and powerful emotion has encompassed us in the moment when, in apleasant twittering sound, the door of your house was opened to us. In our journalistic

wanderings, few personalities from Cluj have been so kind as you, Mr. Pompiliu Manea, andlet us visit them on the eve of a great holiday; my sound and image team and I have enjoyeda warm welcome in your hospitable dwelling, a fact that – I admit it with honesty – amplifiesthe feelings and emotions that we normally have during Christmas. As nothing seems tohappen by chance in this world, surely God has created the chance for us to meet you in thisholy atmosphere, brought and sung by carols. For me this is the symbol of the birth of asincere friendship with an exquisite personality, with a career and a person that truly honourme.’

‘Icons, books, diplomas, participation badges from national and internationalcongresses, photo albums, all these harmoniously complete each other in the interioruniverse of your house. For me, all these are signs of an intense intellectual life, whoserhythm I will ask you to put down in words.’

‘Part of my activity and my writing is here, in this library where I have written manythings, whenever I have had the time and this is also where I lead my intellectual life. You haveasked me about my badges. They are badges from national and worldwide congresses I attendedand the diplomas I received. This is an icon brought from the Holy Grave that I visited during theCongress of Disease Biochemistry. Some of the books are written by me, co-authored or coordinated, they are seven and we will talk about them later if we have the time.’

‘I notice you approach this miniature with sympathy and emotion, depicting thegreatest Romanian poet. What memories does this precious artwork arise and whom do youowe it to?’

‘I want you to see this drawing, Augustin Z. N. Pop and Mihai Eminescu. Augustin Z. N.Pop was my Romanian Language and Literature teacher at the “Carol I” Normal School, he wasmy spiritual father. And, what is more important, today he is considered to be the most important biographer of the unmatched poet.’

‘You are a very complex personality. The opening “test” of this interview is theinvitation to comment on the following lines that probably have some connotation regardingyour existence, your tumultuous biography: “No fondle, if you know not how to curse,/ Theycan only smile if they once sobbed,/ No love, if you know not how to moan,/ If you had notwept, your eyes would miss the light.”’

‘Yes, it is true, but I want to say that the first word stroke me: that is “personality”, because, although in school we were forced to learn Dan Deşliu, Mihai Beniuc and Maria Banuş,and from Eminescu only “Emperor and Proletarian”, I could read a little something from LucianBlaga. I remember reading in a book that “universal philosophy entered Romanian philosophythrough Blaga’s door, and Romanian philosophy got out to universal philosophy through Blaga’swindow.” Lucian Blaga said these words: “to be a person means to write about others, to be a personality means that others write about you.” I still consider myself to be a person.’

‘As a start to this biographical itinerary that we mean to investigate, I believe theyears of your formation as a teacher are perhaps the most adequate for an evocation.’

‘Yes, I also learnt that up to about forty, forty-five years you have to accumulate. Fromthen on, you must share your knowledge with others. I remember my childhood, the years when I began to be aware of myself. It is true, the years of my professorship – what I consider myself to be now – have been the most beautiful years, the ones that held me closest to my youth, that held

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me closest to the ones seeking knowledge, the ones that gave me strength. A class was a feast for me, although I worked for it four, five or six hours the night before.’

‘How did you begin your career and what were the stages and places where yourwork and your professional skills brought you results, accomplishments, satisfactions?’

‘At first, childhood happiness renders you unaware of what is going on around you, butthen sorrow starts. I vividly remember the “Capacity” exam I had to take after graduating from

lower secondary school when the Party was the one to decide who passes to the next level of education and who does not. The teachers of that time – this was a short time before the EducationReform- had the strength of character to put the real mark on the exam poster beside the verdictgiven by the Party, accepted or rejected. You would see “Pompiliu Manea 8, 43 – rejected,Popescu A. Ion, 3.21 – accepted”. After this incident, by chance I got to possibly one of the bestRomanian schools the “Carol I” Normal School in Câmpulung Muscel. This was a school that, inthe period between the two World Wars, besides granting the title of elementary school teachers toits students, also gave them the rank of lieutenant, capable of defending their country. Certainly, Iwent there after the war. Having taken the elementary school teacher diploma, comrade Ciocoiu,the party secretary from Alexandria, decided we are fit to educate the young generation.Immediately after, I attended the school for pilots in the “Gheorghe Lazar” Highschool inBucharest and was assigned to work at the Romanian- Soviet Air Transportation Company. But Iwas eventually excluded because “the goods of the people couldn’t be entrusted to class enemies”.In short, in a chronological order, my jobs were: from 1952 to 1955, plane mechanic at theRomanian-Soviet Air Transportation, the Baneasa Airport; 1957-1962, electro- physio- radiologytechnician at the Rayon Hospital Reghin, Mures County; 1962-1965 radiology technician at theClinical Hospital Fundeni Bucharest; 1965-1972, probationer engineer, engineer, main engineer and Radiology Workshop chief at Industria Tehnica Medicala, Bucharest, 1972-1993, chief engineer at AJIRAM (The County Workshop for the Maintenance and Repairing of MedicalEquipment), and from 1993 to present day, Sole Associate and General Manager of the TehnoElectro Medical Company. I entered the health system following the advice of my great mentor and adoptive father Augustin Z.N. Pop, who said to me: “Child, go work in the health system,maybe class struggle won’t be so acute there as in other domains.” And so, from 1955 to this day,I’ve been working in the medical field.’

‘You keep all the signs of your wanderings through the world with the utmost care,your enormous passion for collecting is shown through objects of the greatest diversity.’

‘As you were inquiring before, on this little table you can see my latest acquisitions, my books and photo albums. I was astonished to find in Jerusalem some Romanian editions of “TheLife Of Jesus”, “On the Footsteps of Jesus” and “The Land of Jesus”, which I bought and brought back with great pleasure. In another book, which contains more photos displaying Jerusalem andIsrael, a priest said: “A picture speaks a thousand words.” I heard these words for the first time andliked them very much. This is why I am going to show you thousands of photos from my travels,the official visits in Japan, the professional meeting organized by the Olympus Company for allthe European dealers. Afterwards I went to India, part of the Romanian economic mission, on theoccasion of the President’s visit. I visited Bombay, New Delhi, the Taj Mahal, and Calcutta. In this photo taken in India you can see a Romanian riding an elephant, and returning from Taj- Mahal. Iwas riding a camel; in Paris, on the Champs-Elysees, during Christmas, at the Radiology Congressin Romania, in England, at the Science Museum and at the British Museum. As you can see in this picture, I was entering Israel. I was entering on the Damascus Gate, at Jerusalem, riding a donkey.In England, you could not see the British Museum in one day so I asked to see the Roman culture,Byzantium and Phoenicia. Three things stroke me: England declares with pride that in the beginning it was a Roman colony. In the heart of the Roman Empire I could see Dacia Napocensiswith Sarmizegetusa, Apullum and Cluj. I also saw there something I did not believe I would see:

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two museum cabinets full of medical instruments from the Roman Age. In fact, I have to tell youthe first medical instrument was the finger. With its help they performed a homeostasis or adilatation, they removed a thorn. At the Museum of Leeds, they talked about the finger as amedical instrument for more than two hours.’

‘As providing quality medical equipment is the purpose of all your professionalactivity, I would ask you what are the expectations of a doctor concerning medical

technique?’‘When entering a medical equipment establishment, a doctor must find all the necessitiesof a hospital that is to be able to cover all the necessities, from the hospital bed to the linear accelerator. You must give the doctors what they need, not what you want to sell them.’

‘What does TEMCO represent for Romanian medical technique, regarding preciselythe technical aspects of diagnosis, therapy and medical research?’

‘As I said, the Tehno Electro Medical Company’s head-office is in Cluj, but it has branches in Bucharest, Iasi, Timisoara, Craiova, Constanta, Târgu- Mures, Alexandria and Galati,so that we can cover all universities. Here, in Cluj, we built the first business centre for medicalequipment in Romania, a building with six levels that sum up to 2500 square meters, covering asurface of over 3000 square meters on an overall. This is where many firms can be encounteredand where doctors will be able to buy what they need and not what we want to sell them. In short,all that is necessary for hospital needs will be there. Today TEMCO can cover all the needs of ahospital starting from the furniture, the hospital bed, the bedside table to the linear accelerator,tomography computers, medical imagistic and, why not, computers with positron emission – PETin the nearby future. That is to say, the whole gamma of medical equipment necessary for hospitalunits for diagnosis, therapy and medical research is available in TEMCO.’

‘A.B.: It means that from the relieves, the second hand equipment, we have reached aworld level. This is something extraordinary for the patients, as they will receive a treatmentsimilar to that performed in most Western hospitals.’

‘I have never brought second-hand equipment. I do not agree with introducing medicalequipment that can fail you when a life is in danger. I have always preferred bringing newequipment, with a one-year or two-year warranty, there are pieces that receive a five-year warranty, with service provided for all their functioning period. I do not endow selling a devicehere, if it does not have a certificate and the service provided.’

‘Your activity was reflected in some works, especially in Medical Technique, that wehave here and I ask you to speak about them. Are they works of pioneering in this domain?’

‘Partly, yes, they are. I would like to say that as an “apprentice” – actually I was already anengineer – I was learning from masters that studied at Philips, Siemens, Odelca, General Electricand other renowned medical equipment manufacturers. I learned with dedication. I was impressed by the knowledge of these people who, at that time, were of course considered enemies of the people. Finally, I had the chance to teach Medical Technique at the Technical School, as theSanitary Highschool Pitar Mos in Bucharest was called at that time, following on the steps of engineer Krikorian Jirair, one of the first teachers in this field. Perhaps, it was not so early, I wasthirty-two years old.’

‘But how did you get to Cluj, Mr. Pompiliu Manea and how did this encounter takeplace?’

‘I arrived in Cluj in 1970. As faith has it, I came from Bucharest with a class, in order toset up the first school of medical equipment technicians. I learnt alongside these youngsters sothat, years after, in 1976, we started to write the first three manuals of Medical Technique inRomanian. This may be considered a pioneering activity. I have remained connected to this school,where I formed my disciples and future co-workers. Today, some of them are already retired andwe go on learning under every aspect. I started teaching by writing on a blackboard with a piece of

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chalk and a rag, my only two instruments. It is true that I had to fill in an hour, ten up to twelvetimes the blackboard with formulas, drawings, because I taught Electrotechnics. But, as I alreadymentioned, several hours a night were sacrificed for two hours of class. Then I passed to theepidiascope, then the retro projector, then the film slides, then, finally, the video tape whichseemed to be like the resurrection. Nowadays we work with the video projector on a screen thesize of a wall (10- 16 square meters), operated from a laptop or from a PC. Now we are setting up

a real school and many of my colleagues have attended some classes in Milwaukee (USA), Buc,near Paris, Slough, near London, Hamburg, Tokyo and other places in the world where one canlearn how to refit, promote and maintain medical equipment.’

‘The service, the users and respectively the distribution are aspects you are currentlyconcerned with…’

‘For thirty-five of my fifty-one years of activity, I had been a service engineer and incharge of service activity. For sixteen years though, I have been a promoter and a distributor of medical equipment. I was the first to pose the problem with companies that sell medical equipmentin Romania and I did not admit the sale of a device in Romania if it did not have service men, withcertificates from the producing companies and until they did not perform a real service of theequipment, during the warranty period and afterwards, during the entire period of its functioning.’

‘Your preoccupation with medical equipment has proved to be tremendouslysatisfactory. I presume that on one side the satisfactions come from your company, on theother side they are born out of tradition, as I know you are a passionate collector of medicalequipment.’

‘Yes, I can say that, out of the 71 years I lived, 51 were dedicated to medical equipment, itwas my lifetime preoccupation. I lived for it, I have had many satisfactions. I realized that, besidesservicing, having the chance to travel abroad for studies, in other prestigious companies, themedical equipment user is a specialist holding a special importance in the medical team. Thisimportance resides in establishing the diagnostic, in the results of a medical therapy or even inmedical research. Regarding the problem of medical equipment distribution, I was surprised when,almost 10 years ago, at the International Congress of Romanian Hospitals, at the Palace Hall, Icould read something for the first time on a poster. It was at a medical laboratory equipmentexhibition organized by the Romanian laboratory societies and it said the following: “We aresearching for distributors of medical equipment.”’

‘A profession that is only now entering the professions list in Romania…’‘A profession that surely existed and exists in other advanced countries, but does only now

enter the Romanian list of professions. ‘‘You are an active promoter of this brilliant initiative to encourage not only state

hospitals that need quality medical equipment, but also private doctor’s offices. Can you tellus how many such establishments have you equipped in Cluj?’

‘I can say that, talking about Romanian hospitals, I tell my colleagues and even mychildren the following: a partner company – I collaborate today with over 40 companies, many of them being holdings, that cover all the necessary medical equipment, from furniture to the linear accelerator and even the PET, which are the most complex medical devices – I tell them this: “a partner company can be by our side for a period of our life, a lifetime or even several lives, but theRomanian hospitals will belong to your children, too”. Without paraphrasing Delavrancea, I cansee this is the truth. And now, children, please take care and respect the needs and necessities of Romanian hospitals. You were talking before about that museum collection of medical equipment.’

‘But you are also a custodian…’‘Yes, I am a custodian and I was, as I often like to say, delighted with these words of a

Frenchman, a man of over 80 years of age, with a resonant French name, General Lefèvre, whowrote in our book of honour: “I have seen during my lifetime many museums with devices that

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torture or destroy life”, probably he was talking about military museums, “but for the first time inmy life I can see a museum with devices that protect life”. I collected these instruments becauseotherwise, they would have been lost. If they had not been saved from cassation, they would havenever been recovered. There will always be old equipment and new equipment, but we will never have the first ones again, the ones from the beginning of medical activity and medical equipment production in Romania. That is why I gathered, kept and preserved them and wanted to return

them to Romanian national patrimony, where they rightfully belong.’‘Still, can you give us details about this old medical equipment collection right nowwhen we cross the threshold of the delightful Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy History inour city?’

‘This is a History of Pharmacy collection that is part of the Medicine and PharmacyHistory collection that belongs to the Transylvanian National History Museum. This collection ismuch older. It started to be developed after 1919. We also have a collection of medical equipmentthat has, unfortunately, travelled to many places, but we wanted this collection to sit alongside itselder “sibling”, the History of Pharmacy collection, and this has finally happened, but we do nothave organizing funds available, although the city council has facilitated the necessary space.’

‘Mr. Pompiliu Manea, Mrs. Eva Crisan, your shared preoccupation for theconservation of medical and pharmaceutical technique represents the common goal of yourefforts. What examples can you give for the results of your work?’

‘We met more than eight years ago, at Leeds in England, at the International Congress of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy on the theme of the Medical Museum, 1998.’

E.C.: ‘Yes, the fact that we met in Leeds, attending this very beautiful reunion, theCongress of the Association of Medical Sciences, is owed to you. Without your kindness, withoutyour help, the pharmacy collection, would not have made it there, and thus finally, facilitated thedisplay of collection of medical equipment that you were so kind to donate to the TransylvanianHistory Museum. This collection has entered the universal circuit and in this way we believe wewill be able to fulfil the long- wanted dream of a Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy History thatwill be open in this building. As you may very well know, you and the museum directorship, wehave deposed a great deal of effort in order to obtain a space in a house that is a historicalmonument and that we are entitled to obtain for enlarging this exhibition with the collection youdonated, but with no result. Meanwhile, we received part of it.’

‘I recently attended, in 20- 25 August 2006, the 13th Congress of Medical ScienceMuseums, organized by the European Association for History of Medical Science Museums inRiga, Latvia.’

‘I requested in plenum, from the above-mentioned society leaders, to approve theorganization of the 16th European Congress of Medical Science Museums in Cluj- Napoca, for 2012. We have strong justification, as we hold two collections of pharmacy and medicalequipment, included in the universal patrimony. These congresses are held every two years; thefollowing is going to take place in Edinburgh, while our challenger for 2010 is scheduled inBerlin.’

‘In order to settle all necessary details for this European congress, Mrs. Marie VeroniqueClin, the president of the European Association for Medical Sciences History Museums and thedirector of the Medicine History Museum within the Medical University, René Descartes, in Pariswill assess the situation and make contact with local authorities.’

‘I presented the situation to the mayor of Cluj- Napoca, Mr. Emil Boc, and insisted uponour desire to lease a central 500 square meters land surface. We thus plan to build, out of privatefunds, pre-eminently TEMCO funding, a 1000 square meters edifice for a Scientific Museum,similar to the Scientific Museum of London. This is where medicine and its artfulness, including

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veterinary medicine, occupy the 4th and 5th floors. This prestigious institution occupies the second place in London, immediately following the British Museum, dating since 1753.’

‘We wish to transfer the scientific collections of Cluj-Napoca, namely the Collection of Pharmacy and the Collection of Medical Equipment from within the Transylvania NationalMuseum of History into this new construction; the Collections of Castings, Medical History andOphthalmology Equipment within the Medical and Pharmacy University “Iuliu Hatieganu”; the

Collection of Scientific Equipment of “Babes-Bolyai” University and the colleges of the TechnicalUniversity in Cluj- Napoca, as well.’A.B.: ‘We can thus more clearly appraise that our health is ensured by doctors,

pharmacists, as well as engineers and technicians. What can you tell as about the medicalteam?’

‘The medical team I have perceived and accepted for over 51 years is organised arounddoctors, pharmacists, chemists, biologists, engineers, economists, physicists and computer specialists- and recently, even television cameramen. You might know that, in the laparoscopy procedure, one of the performing doctors must be trained with regard to camera employment, inseeing the cholecyst and managing internal dissection. Other specializations will probably emergetomorrow, that we are totally unaware of at present, but which will bring their contribution to thediagnosis procedure, to medical treatment and research. I want to remind you that I visited Israel,for a Congress in Disease Chemistry accompanied by the rector of the University of Medicine andPharmacy “Carol Davila” in Bucharest, Acad. Laurentiu Mircea Popescu and his collaborators.But only upon my arrival, was I able to understand what the proceedings were cantered upon. Itdealt with cellular information “leak”, how can information be extracted out of a cell, or on thecontrary, how can information be let in a cell.’

‘To be furthermore specific, it is cell cloning that is under scrutiny. It is the first time Iofficially found out, that AIDS is in fact, a laboratory virus that was let loose by humans. It wastruly the first time that I witnessed this truth being acknowledged. The lack of vigilance a medicaland research team displayed causes three million deaths yearly, out of 30 million AIDS patientsand the numbers are growing. In fact, bearing the medical team in mind, we should emphasize thatthe Romanian who performs cell cloning is a veterinary doctor employed by the Victor BabeşInstitute in Bucharest, Dr. Cristina Iosif, Ph.D and biologist, who managed multiple cell cloning inRomania. It is thus rather obvious that the medical team can accommodate all specialties.However, it is rather paramount and natural that the leading part must be played by doctors in theteam, towards ensuring human health, life and fulfilling their medical responsibility in thisrespect.’

‘The establishment of institutions in Cluj, namely of a medical equipment college, wasyour initiative, as well, Mr. Pompiliu Manea. What can you reveal to us on this topic?’

‘I can testify that the notion of medical equipment user occurred to me in the 70’s, when Istated that “although the automobile is the most ordinary mechanism of the 20th century, nowherein the world and no one is allowed to take the wheel of the automobile without proper drivingtraining. In this respect, isn’t the employment of radioactive isotopes, radiology equipment or of any other toxic radiation source a danger as such? You will probably argue that social danger resides in a car crashing into a person or a group of people, with trivial or grave consequences. Butthe use of a radioactive isotope or a radiology piece of equipment by an unspecialist is an attempton the human species”. This quote was published in a book I co-authored, “Sanitary Economicsand Management”, Ed Medicala, Bucharest, 1968, under the editorship of Prof. Al. Popescu,Ph.D.’

‘A genocide…’‘...to suit post-1989 terminology, a genocide indeed. To illustrate, I remember the time I

was involved in the instalment of medical equipment from the former private offices in 1957/58.

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We used to provide village medical units with a Röntgen apparatus, lacking any protection norms,as these were unheard of in Romania at that particular time. Doctors used to gaze: hey, look, theheart, the lungs, the pancreas!...’

‘They used to perform radiological anatomy on their patients, disregarding the dosage the patient in question was subjected to, during this „radiological anatomy”. Returning to the previous

story of the automobile, it is generally known that there are some pedals, a gear lever and someswitches on any car and it costs around 7000 euros if it is a Logan, for example. A computer tomograph exhibits a few hundred control elements and costs an average of half a million euros,the equivalent of approximately 70 automobiles. Nevertheless, a computer tomograph in Romaniamay fall in the hands of an untrained or unqualified user, which is unfortunately the case, at times.Therefore, the western medical equipment users who can also be instructors and not necessarilyuniversity professors are asked to initiate and train any great university professor in theemployment of a computer tomograph, of a nuclear electromagnetic resonance, of a scintillationchamber or a linear accelerator which are undoubtedly extremely complex pieces of equipment.That is why we came up with the idea of creating these users, within the University of Medicineand Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” in Cluj-Napoca. Ever since, annual series of specialistsgraduated. The analytical and university curricula for this college was drafted years ago, by a staff of prestigious academics, myself included, a step for the benefit of medical equipment users.’

‘As far as medical equipment servicing is concerned, the Technical Sanitary School trainedthree categories of specialists until 11 years ago, namely: medical equipment technicians, opticaltechnicians and radiology assistants. The Technical University in Cluj- Napoca initiated, beginningwith the 95/96 school year, a college in medical equipment. The vice-president of the approval andattestation commission, Acad. Laurenţiu Mircea Popescu, stated that “medical equipment is athome in Cluj- Napoca”, upon studying the approval papers.’

‘The last class of this medical equipment college will graduate in 2007, in accordance withthe “declaration of Bologna”. Furthermore, there is a 4- year specialization in medical engineering,applied sciences, within the Faculty of Electric Engineering.’

‘Mrs. Eva Crişan, can you present succinctly the collections that this museum we findourselves into, holds?’

E.C. ‘For instance, we stand before a collection on the history of pharmacy. It was firstinitiated by Prof. Iuliu Orient, at the turn of the last century and it was further enriched, until it became the ownership of the Transylvanian History Museum, as you see it, preserving the roomsof the old 18th century pharmacy.’

‘When and where was the first pharmacy in Cluj opened?’E.C.: ‘It is believed that the first pharmacy in Cluj was opened in 1573. However we can

trace back documents until 1547, when there was already a pharmacist in Cluj. Assumingly, if this pharmacist existed, a pharmacy might have existed as well, at the time. The building in questionwas central, close to the church and according to specialists; it met all suitable conditions for a pharmacy. As a matter of certainty, in 1727, this pharmacy became private property and wasdefinitely located there, while in 1753, Tobias Maus bought the pharmacy and ever since, the building preserves its original appearance, to the day. Granted that it is considered a historicmonument, under the name of the Hintz House, the exhibition can be held in the rooms of the oldSt. George pharmacy, the officina, material chamber and the laboratory, in the basement. There arearound 3000 exhibits at the moment, in addition to the splendid vicinity of the medical exhibition.’

P.M. ‘You said that the fight was much too long, unsuccessful and pointless, but this is notentirely true. I personally started to collect old medical equipment 48 years ago. This was my first private collection, I used to store in the basement, in the attic, wherever I could spare some space.36 years ago, when I came to Cluj, I learnt about Dimitrie Mihail, the first ophthalmology

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professor, about Prof. Păcuraru and finally about your pharmacy collection, realised the medicaland academic dimension of Cluj in the inter- war period and wondered what to make of myexhibits. I donated a part of them in 1976, to the Dimitrie Leonida Techical Museum in Bucharest,namely an extensive collection of Röntgen tubes. I eventually asked museographers, as you mightremember. You directed me to Professor Daicoviciu, God rest his soul, and he first asked mewhether I wanted my own personal museum. I then denied and confessed that I wanted these

exhibits to belong to our national patrimony. He signed a director’s decision, as it was called at thetime, granting the establishment of the “museum collection of medical equipment”, soon turninginto the younger brother of the pharmacy collection. Then our dream appeared and grew its roots. Iwas honoured to attend the reunion in Leeds, where this collection was included in the universal patrimony, as the president of the Congress said “We wrote about what others accomplished:doctorate theses, papers, books, but for the first time we are faced with a man who shows what hedid for this collection”.’

E.C.: ‘You are extremely generous to present us with these wonderful moments. Your generosity however, overlooked the countless situations when this medical equipment was almostthrown away on the streets, as no space for its placement could be found. It was moved from hereto there and you had to intervene for its protection. I remember everything perfectly well! ...’

‘We have included in the file that many people wrote in, all documents of the equipment.We also hold the original of the first refusal to build this collection, of the legal adviser for theSanitary Service Cluj, Mr. Alexandru Roman. He found no grounds for the inclusion of theseobjects in the patrimony, although the law of the patrimony has always existed, but they chose torather ignore it flagrantly.’

E.C.: ‘I am glad you emphasized this; seldom does it occur that a donation is made and nospace can be spared to accommodate this donation.’

‘You must be aware that I was temporarily accommodated for public display in 1979,when we were celebrating 90 years since Eminescu’s passing, at the Studio for Radio andTelevision, and then in the Students’ Spectacle Hall, in the Central University Library, nowadaysthe “Lucian Blaga” Library. However, after being accommodated within the health service, under the provisions issued by the History Museum, the collection was in danger of being evicted. I amdeeply saddened, as you informed me that a prestigious radiology professor, dr. Aurel Văleanu,exclaimed “why does Manea trouble us with his scrap-iron” when a decision was taken to sendthem all to the clinic in Gilău.’

E.C.: ‘Director Manea, I ask you what shall we do when we attend the reunion in Portoand we shall be compelled to show the collection on display and the museum already built? Wemade a promise of the sort.’

‘I believe that no Romanian, myself included, has ever dreamt that this collection willimmediately be accommodated in the Transylvanian History Museum. I well recollect that, precisely a decade ago, Mr. Lazarovici suggested including it in the lapidarium. However, I wasaware that the lapidarium involves the preservation of ancient periods, thousands of years behind.Consequently, these rooms for the celebration of the greatest Romanian before ’89 were chosen toaccommodate this collection of medical equipment. This is our dream, and I believe it will appealto town officials, for the greater prestige of Cluj. All being considered, pharmacy collections ineastern countries are few, while ours is the only collection of medical equipment and we should proudly display it.’

E.C.: “Yes, it is highly important! You are a generous person and an optimist!’‘Engineer Pompiliu Manea, as for the import and employment of performant

medical equipment, you showed brilliant initiatives among medical equipment importers?What part do you play within this business community?’

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‘The decision for the greatest part, perhaps the majority of importers, producers andservice providers in medical equipment, was taken on 2 April, 1998. It was the final day of a prestigious international exhibition - ROMEDICA ’98. The meeting was held in Rhône PoulencRorer, nowadays Sanofi- Aventis, in Bucharest and decided the creation of this Paternali, its statusand programme. The ultimate goal of our Paternali is to consciously bring its full contribution toensuring health, to diagnosis, therapy and medical research, alongside the College of Doctors,

Pharmacists, the Ministry of Health and National Social Insurance House. It is commonly known,especially among specialists, that an early diagnosis lowers therapy costs considerably. Medicalresearch triggers disease prevention, the eradication of common diseases and the shortening of hospitalisation time. You must be aware of the emergence of new technologies, such as theabdominal laparoscopy, oncological laparoscopy, arthroscopy, endoscopic urology, etc. Heartsurgery is performed on an endoscope nowadays, for example. Therefore, sternotomy is easilyexcluded in coronary surgery. It is enough for an inter- rib plug to be carved, just like in a melon, plastically speaking. Then, access to any coronary is permitted and ambulatory surgery or minimally-invasive endoscopic surgery is performed, the cut is sewn and the patient is releasedand reintegrated in a few days’ time. Not to mention cholecystectomy which involves only a 24hours’ hospitalisation or arthroscopy, which is meniscus tear in effect. For the last example, the patient can easily leave the hospital immediately after the surgery and a professional sportsman isable to re-start his training after 10 days.’

‘Abandoning this professional dimension, we hold a few of a poet’s volumes whichtrigger precious memories to you. We already included a few in our dialogue. These arecomprised in a touching poem, pathetically expressing feelings of the utmost profundity: “If you hadn’t licked your wound, yourself,/ No hand of yours would anoint at foreign scourge,/No craving for a patch of heaven,/ If you bore not a drop of hell.// No rising still before thefall/ Before your forehead touches bitter ground,/ And if you resurrect today and call,/ Youtears killed you before.” It’s Radu Gyr, isn’t it?’

‘Indeed, Radu Gyr. There is a spiritual bond and a family bond, on equal footing.’‘To Dumitru Cristea, to be precise’‘To my brother-in-law, Dumitru Cristea, the husband of my elder sister, Dorina Cristea. He

suffered alongside Radu Gyr, locked in communist prisons. In volume three, “Radu Gyr’s OralPoetry”, the S.R.I. facsimile that was obtained after 45 years of secrecy in their archives, showsthis poem, memorized by Dumitru Cristea. Every line, every stanza was either written on a chip of glass covered in soap and carved in with a needle or a toothpick, or they were transmitted in theMorse alphabet.

These poems were no solely learnt in Aiud, but in other prisons, as well, long after fateseparated them. The elders chose Cristea to be the collector of Radu Gyr’s poetry. The elders incommunist prisons used to gather the youth around and say: you are compelled to learn all thegood things that we know and pass them on to future generations. And they did, they memorizedeverything. And that’s how Cristea came to memorize this poem of Gyr’s. After his release, hewrote 300 poems, filling three notebooks. Ill and afraid to lose them, he passes them on to acolleague, then the colleague passes them on to Marioara, Marioara on to a neighbour, on toCostică…, the fifth was a security service informer. The notebooks were confiscated; Gyr, Cristeaand his wife were found. Gyr was sentenced to death, his sentence was commuted, but he was onlylet know after a year. Imagine living under the death threat for a year, every step on the prisoncorridors, every check, and every rattle could have been the execution squad. However, faithhelped Gyr to live through his imprisonment and outlive it. Cristea was convicted to 25 years of forced labour, and my sister, his wife, to 10 years for omission of denunciation, for not turning her husband in. After 45 years, I accompanied Cristea to recover his notebooks from the former S.R.I.

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We believed he was called for an arrest, again. It was September 1990. Simona Popa, the poet’sdaughter and him managed to publish this third volume, the oral poetry.’

‘What was the fate of Radu Gyr’s oral poetry?’‘My brother- in- law was honoured to be one of Radu Gyr’s prison fellows, to meet him

and memorize all his poems. Every prison of the country he found himself in, my brother-in-law,Dumitru Cristea, was trusted with these poems. The note thus said: “the oral poetry of Radu Gyr is

a source of multiple issues for the publisher. Not even Radu Gyr himself remembered his oral poetry. What do we understand by this oral poetry, first and foremost? Perhaps we should confineourselves to what the poet created during his imprisonment, excluding previous poems that werenevertheless transmitted in prison for the first time. On the other hand, the verses of his first twovolumes The Blood of the Black- hole, Ballads and Stigmas have acquired the same status.Another confusing phenomenon is that every person acquainted to Gyr’s poetry appropriated adifferent version. However, it is rather obvious that these versions represent the different stages of the abrading process that every creation undergoes. This moving ground however, provided uswith one steady support, as it is mentioned in volume one. These are the notebooks of DumitruCristea, confiscated by the S.R.I.. Cristea memorized the poems in Aiud and after he was firstreleased, he wrote them scrupulously. Instead of other verses, we settled for using his unfalteringmemory and notebooks”.’

‘And that is how this poetry managed to reach us.’‘Everything I tell you is included in these three volumes.’‘Your house holds an impressive number of authentic artifacts and documents. I

could not notice on this wall, a letter from Ilie Alecsandri to his famous brother. Your love forthe world of letters originates into genuine passions, I gather.’

‘This is a letter from Ilie Alecsandri to Vasile Alecsandri: “Mon cher cocotier”. It is writtenduring the union and it is undoubtedly an authentic document. It was sent from Paris to Mirceşti.This is going to be a collection center piece, as well. However, Veronica Micle’s dress, her wedding dress, her fan, and Eminescu’s teaspoon belong to the Romanian Academy and lay in the basement. Furthermore, several books of Z.N. Pop can also be found in a damp basement. It istherefore righteous that a lifetime’s work should be provided with the chance to endure.’

‘Similar to your spiritual father, Augustin Z.N. Pop, you were interested in the lovethat Veronica Micle felt for Eminescu until she died. What was the basis of this relationship?’

‘What is more genuine than a woman who loves a man for all eternity? Veronica Micleloved Eminescu. He loved him not for his worth, as nobody believed at the time, apart from TituMaiorescu, that he was going to be the unmatched poet of our people. She first wrote however, in a poem called “To X…” “This high peak/ My vision barely treads to touch/ Eternally belovedgenius/”. She preceded Maiorescu in acknowledging the “genius” dimension of the poet. You mustimagine that, as a woman and poetess, she lived this powerful love, not the adventure that issometimes so unsuitably called.’

‘In your times of reflection, perhaps due to the spiritual guidance of Augustin Z. N.Pop, your love for Eminescu is revived. This is the love that was mirrored in thoseanniversary events that you organized or made a contribution to.’

‘It is a bit senseless to say that the love for Eminescu is revived, because it has always beenwith me. I can say that during my youth, like all of you youngsters, I was shivering when readingany verse, any stanza, and any poem of Eminescu. I had the courage to ask Augustin Z.N. Pop, myteacher at the Normal School in Câmpulung: “Teacher, how do you know that Eminescu wanted tosay in “Emperor and Proletarian”, or in “Eve on the Hill”, “O, Mother”, “Down Where the LonelyPoplars Grow”, or “Epigones” what you tell us now?” He used to answer: “Pompilică, to get toknow what a man wanted to say, you must know his biography and if you do, then you will betruly convinced that he wanted to say what he said”. I realized it was nothing less than what my

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teacher had told me. It was only after that I learnt everything about Eminescu’s biography, after wewere free and allowed to learn about it, that I fully understood what Eminescu expressed in eachand every one of his poems. Augustin Z.N. Pop was not only my teacher, the ideal of my teachingapprenticeship, but my spiritual father indeed. Upon my arrival in Cluj, we organized many eventson Eminescu, my dear Professor Augustin Z.N. Pop and me. I recollect that we celebrated 90 yearssince the poet’s death on 14-15 June 1979. This event, within the Cântarea României Festival, was

the sole that was allowed free expression, a display of personality and comprised three sections:art, culture and health. Culture and art were linked to Eminescu, as Augustin Z.N. Pop attended theevent and health referred to health programmes. The official opening for the cultural sectionoccurred at the Radio House, lead by Alexandru Căpraru and included the first display of themedical equipment collection. Many writers and scholars of Cluj attended this event. Another suchunforgettable cultural event of the sort is linked to Bistriţa, where Augustin Z.N. Pop, LeonDănilă- a Romanian teacher in Bistriţa, Octav Ruleanu- another Romanian teacher in Năsăud andmyself discovered the grave of captain Matei Eminescu, the uncle of the poet, who died the vice- prefect of Bistriţa. We took several pictures that we sent to Gheorghe Eminescu, the nephew of the poet, the son of colonel Matei Eminescu who received the Legion of Honour for his book The Life

of Napoleon and participated, as a young lieutenant, in the coronation of Alba Iulia. He wrote tous: “a corollary of events has been the engine of my life so far. I remember when I was guardingthe borders of our country in Bendec, on the Dniester River, as a young sub-lieutenant or when Itook part in the coronation of Alba Iulia. But it came heavy on my soul, when you sent me the picture of my father’s grave, as I never knew its location. Perhaps the fact that uncle Mihai was buried in Bucharest, aunt Aglaie in Botoşani and my father in Ardeal is a powerful testimony of the enduring strength of the Romanian people”. These were the words Gheorghe Eminescu wroteto us.’

‘The deep respect you hold for your spiritual father Augustin Z.N. Pop forcefullyresides in the head-office of TEMCO, as well. The valuable documents your mentorentrusted you with, for a trusted keeping, are the unconcealed proof of the friendship andappreciation that he held for you, in his turn.’

‘There is a picture of my spiritual father Augustin Z.N. Pop on this wall, alongside one of our unmatched poet, the greatest poet of our people, Mihai Eminescu. It is the picture he took inPrague, at the age of 19. Z.N. Pop entrusted me with two letters, as well, on two of Eminescu’s poems, The Morning Star and Eve on the Hill . Augustin Z.N. Pop, a great Eminescu collector inhis wanderings, came across a few documents related to medical life and presented me with twoitems which I included in my collection and which belong to the museum and to the Romanian people. This is the first doctor’s diploma, issued on 16 December, 1861, 2 years and a half after theestablishment of the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iaşi. This Franciscus Hack was the sonof the French consul in Iaşi. On the left, you can see a very interesting item that my teacher found,a duel record of the 19 th century. Dr. Nicolae Kreţulescu, one of the greatest promoters of Romanian medicine, minister of health and prime-minister for a short while, fought a certainVaillard, a Paris friend. Among the three witnesses of this uneventful duel, we recognize thesignature of the greatest Romanian doctor, Carol Davila. We all know that Professor Davila is theinitiator and promoter of the Romanian medical school, a general and an army doctor, as well. As amilitary doctor, a statue of him was sculpted by Constantin Brâncuşi and displayed within theCentral Military Hospital of Bucharest.’

‘The fruit of your teaching work is reflected, as I gather, on another wall of the roomwhere the leader of TEMCO manages his company. There are all graduation diplomas of thestudents you trained in medical technique along the years…?’

‘It is the first class of medical technicians in Cluj, graduates of the post-high schoolcourses or colleges as they are nowadays called. They graduated in 1974, after I lead a class of the

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college in medical equipment of Bucharest to Cluj. Eventually, some of the classes in Cluj follow.This is one of the first medical equipment technicians Cluj had, Mr. Bartha. He was also a great paragliding instructor and he flew up to the age of 70, in Budapest. Further on, pictures of my participation in congresses on medical and pharmaceutical history in Romania follow. This is myfirst official participation in a meeting of the Medical Sciences Academy, the 13 th scientific sessionof 1984. Radu Deac of Târgu Mureş, doctor Ienătescu of Satu Mare and other academy members

and participants appear in the picture.’‘We are now presented with a set of diplomas that you obtained along the years.’‘Indeed, some of these are acknowledgements of the post-graduate courses I followed

abroad, for various companies producing medical equipment in Germany, Hungary, France whileone of them is one of the first innovator certificates for a bactericide lamp that I created here inCluj. Forth, there are other diplomas of participation in Romanian and international medicalequipment exhibitions.’

‘What is the relation between yourself and a resounding name in the internationalmedical world, Röntgen?’

‘Radiology and Nuclear Medicine were my specialty. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen wasresponsible for one of the greatest discoveries of the 19th century, perhaps even the greatest of all,according to Professor Dimitrie Neagu, Romanian scholar and the first Radiology professor in Clujand in Romania. This was the Röntgen radiations. They were initially called X-rays, as they wereconsidered unknown and eventually they were given the name of their discoverer. Röntgen was thefirst person who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901. When these five prizes (physics, chemistry,medicine, literature and peace) were awarded, King Gustav of Sweden went straight to WilhelmConrad Röntgen and handed him the prize first, acknowledging that his was the most importantdiscovery of the 19th century, a century that abounded in great scientific and technical discoveries.The centenary for the discovery of radiations was celebrated in 1995 and three French authors andtwo Belgian ones wrote an illustrated history of Radiology. The eve was Röntgen’s communicationon the discovery of these radiations, a page and a half in length. He was thus awarded the NobelPrize for a page and a half and no other books to that point. This book includes, on chapter six, thecountries involved in the discovery and development of radiology equipment. It certainly startswith Germany, as Röntgen was German and ends with the last. I anxiously looked for Romania, but no mention whatsoever appears, although we can find Yugoslavia, Russia and others.However, the book contains around 30 references to a couple of Romanian scientists: physicistDragomir Hurmuzescu, of Sorbonne, the collaborator of Professor Benoist and GheorgheMarinescu, of the Pitié- Salpêtriere Hospital, who worked alongside Professor Jean MartinCharcot. Their names, dates of birth and contributions are thoroughly mentioned. Dragomir Hurmuzescu created the first radiation detector, called the Hurmuzescu electroscope, which provedthat radiations ionize matter and discharge the electrostatically-charged foils of the electroscope.This particular electroscope crossed all world laboratories, including American ones, for over 30years. Hurmuzescu was also the scientist who defined the notion of anticathode. As for GheorgheMarinescu, he was the neurologist who performed the first cranial radiography, in a patientsuffering from acromegaly, alongside Dragomir Hurmuzescu and Professor Benoist. So, they areincluded in the breviary as the leading scientists who brought their contribution to the discoveryand evolution of radiations. All personal data, publications are minutely mentioned. However, oneimportant fact is omitted, namely that they were Romanian. They worked in Paris at the time, butthey were originally from Romania and they returned home and were always Romanians. I published these facts and the development of Romanian radiology in the “Magazine for SanitaryEconomics and Management” of 1995. I did not fail to mention other scientists, such as Dimitrie Neagu, of Cluj credited for the oval localizer, employed in radiotherapy and Ion Jovin, awarded

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the French distinction “Antoine Béclère”. I allowed myself to inform the authors on the history of the Romanian school of radiology, so that no such errors are made in the following editions.

‘This “Magazine for Sanitary Economics and Management” is a pertinent magazinefor professional and scientific information, as you have already mentioned. Can you presentthe coordinates of this publication in a few words?’

‘The Society for Sanitary Economics and Management holds judicial personality within

the Romanian Medical Association, which includes 27 such independent societies. I wouldmention surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, radiology, nuclear medicine etc. We have a sanitarymarketing and management society or a society for “sanitary economics and management”. Thesociety and magazine were founded in 1971, and I was granted the honour to be one of thefounding members. Our true regret is that Professor Alexandru Popescu, Doctor in Economics andthe creator and promoter of this society and magazine passed away. He was also the financialdirector within the Ministry of Health for over a quarter of a century. As for me, I have been thevice-president of the association and the chief-editor of this magazine. The magazine has 4 issues per year, it is entirely sponsored by TEMCO and distributed, free of cost, to all hospitals andsanitary services in Romania. It includes three main chapters, covering 120 to 150 pages. Studiesand researches written by doctors, prestigious university professors, chemists, biologists, physicists, economists, and engineers make up the first chapter. The second chapter refers to dataof present interest, opinions and reviews in the field, while the third deals with the legislativedocumentation, including all orders and decisions provisioned by the Ministry of Health. They are practical and employable for medical life, helping economic directors, hospital and sanitaryservice directors, chief accountants and other personnel categories such as the heads of departments, of medical sections, in finding the legislation of the Ministry of Health available andnecessary in all medical activity.’

A.B. ‘If we return to the three health factors: doctor, medicine and equipment, what isthe contribution you bring to the development of hospitals and the modernization of healthassistance in Cluj-Napoca?’

‘We bring our contribution not only to Cluj, but to the whole country and in this respect, itis highly important to state that the paternali of medical equipment importers, producers andservice-providers brought its programme before the Ministry of Health. It thus shows that we wishto bring the contribution to ensuring health, to disease detection towards lowering health costs.These desiderata can only be reached alongside the college of doctors and pharmacists. We alsoaim towards the prolongation of a healthy life, by means of an early diagnosis, an efficient therapyat a lowered price, despite the expensive equipment employed. Minister Bogdan Marinescu, prime-minister after 1990, used to say: “we came across a hole dug by excavator and now we are bound to fill it by shovel”. Medical equipping in hospitals after 1990 was carried on successfully,within functional programmes. The year 1998 was one of the best for hospital medical equipment,while the year 2000 brought about half a billion in medical equipment acquired.

Before 1990, there were two computer tomographs in Romania, one in Fundeni and theother in the Neurosurgery department in the Bagdasar Hospital, one for the entire body while theother solely for the skull. Nowadays, there are 5 computer tomographs in Cluj alone, whereasRomania holds a total of 100 such pieces and fifteen more will be acquired this year.’

A.B.: ‘Therefore, as far as the equipment is concerned, we are all set. Butfurthermore, what intentions do you have for the future development of Romanianhospitals?’

‘The aim of our paternali is multi-dimensional towards the internal and external protectionof Romanians working for other companies on the Romanian market. However, as the president of this paternali, I view the revilement of Romanian medical equipment. We do not have aims of producing it all, the hospital bed and the computer tomograph, and the linear accelerator, but

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ensuring 30%-40% of the medical necessities through internal production is not too assuming atall.’

A.B. “I am entirely inveterate that we are able to produce optimal equipmentourselves and that we can export, and thus balance the scales in this field.’

‘In the years ’57-’60, I was included in the homologation commission for the CGR-Company General in Radiology, licence of the Romanian Röntgen- Eltex 400. It was produced for

over 30 years, but we had only purchased a licence then. What we aim at, nowadays, istechnological export. Therefore, high technological standards must me met with, under ISO 9003.We should not falter upon and come up with all sorts of new Romanian inventions, to thedetriment of technical value. The chief aim is not export, note that, but meet Romanian needs inthe field. This is our leading desideratum.’

‘Sharing your valuable experience, can you tell us what are the conditions for successin a private enterprise?’

There are so many criteria in a private business and the first one is definitely not to spendmore than you produce. Then, not to spend you yearly profit, but reinvest it. Furthermore, punctuality, then professionalism and correctness are required. I often tell my people, if you do notattend an appointment on time, there is no point in attending it at all. It is my medical world Ispeak about. You have to reach a surgeon before eight and a half, as once he enters surgery, there isno certainty upon his return. Furthermore, once he completes a surgery, he could be much tooexhausted to deal with you, in the first place. So, following his guard report, you have to presenthim with everything at once, without wasting the time. Then you can risk seeing him complete anabdominal or a hernia at five or six o’clock and kindness aside, he will be much too tired tounderstand what you say. Further on, if you are not a specialist, don’t go at all. You must realizethat you deal with a specialty university professor, most of the times. As a nefrologist, for example, he knows more about dialysis equipment than a dialysis engineer does. Your either a professional and you prove it, or you are not and then you must quit. Then, do not deceive anyone,for once you do it, you are quickly found out and you won’t be given the opportunity to do itagain. I wish to tell you what I wrote to Mr. Emil Constantinescu once: “Mr. Constantinescu, 90%of us fought in Ardeal to elect you, to make a change, but do not overlook that you can only fool aTransylvanian once, there won’t be a second chance for that”.’

A.B.: ‘How do you envision the training of the personnel in charge of this equipmentyou import and further produce?’

‘When I first took the competition test for General Electric Medical System, on 1998, tworepresentatives were present. One was Colin Jonson, the company’s head of service and the other was Michael Garnier, the head of the Paris servicing department. It was I who acquired the servicefor General Electric. Production or sale without service is impossible, for service, in my opinion, isthe prolongation of production for the entire functioning of the equipment. An adequate servicecan stump an ill result, while a poor service can compromise a great product.’

A.B.: ‘Hence you had to pass a brunt exam? Would you like to tell as how this licensewas obtained? I believe you are the only person in Romania in possession of such a license.’

‘During a 2-hour discussion with Colin Jonson and Michael Garnier, while trying to provethat I have formed skilled young men who are aware of everything there is on medical equipment,they said: Mr. Manea, find us young men under the age of 30, fluent speakers of English,specialized in Electronics, and with no previous public employment record. We will teach themeverything they need to know.’

A.B.: ‘And did you manage to find the appropriate candidates?’‘There were only four of us when we started in 1990, while today we employ almost one

hundred specialists in TEMCO. They are either doctors, biologists, physicists, economists and thegreat majority, electronic engineers. They pay over 12 billion in taxes to the Romanian

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government, the equivalent of 250 average yearly salaries of 50 million per year andcorrespondingly 4 million per month. They are paid an average of 800 euros a month, meaningthat almost 100 people can live off a dignified salary and support their families. Furthermore, theyare responsible for 250 average salaries in the national economy.’

‘On an athletic level, what activities were you engaged in?’‘In ’52-’53, I was a flying enthusiast, due to the flying course I took in engine flying-

sportive aviation, within the “Gheorghe Lazăr” High school in Bucharest and due to the practicalflying classes on the Sportive Airport Clinceni- Bucharest. In 1952-1957 I was a professionalcyclist for the “Olimpia” Club in Bucharest and in 1955-1968, I was an athletics referee, 3 rd rank,for the Physical Culture and Sports Committee in Bucharest. Finally, in 1980 I participated in theMoscow Olympic Games.’

‘Mr. Pompiliu Manea, to end this dialogue, what would be the leading question thatyou would ask yourself, had you this opportunity? What question troubles you?’

‘There are so many questions on my mind, but I would ask myself why I did not do morethan I have done.’

‘What is it that you have to remonstrate yourself?’‘That I was perhaps born at a bad timing. I could have been born 40 years earlier, and

mould myself in the inter-war period. However, this is not a regret per se, and it doesn’t have to be. If this were the case, I would have probably accompanied my dear ones in communist prisonsor even worse, I would have died there, as many of our country’s heroes did. It would have been probably better off if we had been born in the same period and start off in a world providing equalopportunities to live.’

‘Unfortunately, our post-1989 leaders lack the appropriate management and the inspiringfeelings to validate us as honest people, able to perfect a change and access Europe on the frontdoor. Along the years, I have appealed to 4 prime-ministers and many other ministers for thatmatter, but not even one lends an ear to our country’s problems. During their electoral campaign,everybody promises the world, but once they reach the top, they realise that their predecessors dida good job. A good job in emptying the budget, while the middle class pays taxes to fill this budgetfor them. Society can be divided into two categories: tax payers, budget-fillers and budget-eaters. Ieven showed a prime-minister that an owner and an employer who pays taxes to the budget,amounting to over a million euros a year, might well deserve a card at the end of the year, signed by the prime minister of the country himself.’

‘Small and medium private enterprises lack any help whatsoever, they are even severelyfaltered in their development. I want to sincerely confess that if I had to start over again, I am notsure if I would be able to face the harsh requirements of the business environment.’

‘This is truly my last question, what are the ambitions, the wishes of PompiliuManea, the business man, the professor and the man?’

‘This is not a matter of ambitions or wishes. It is a matter of duties. Pompiliu Manea, the business man wants the production of medical equipment in Romania, in Cluj-Napoca. The plantalready initiated the production of radiology equipment for general horizontal and verticalradiographies, as well as for chest and pulmonary radiographies, according to the acuterequirements of the health sector nowadays. We also produce, even before radiology, sterilizingequipment- antibactericide UV lamps and aim at developing an anaesthetic equipment line, with aBelgian partner- Medec Benelux N.V. In this respect, we offered the lowest price in a Ministry of Health auction, for the acquisition of three hundred performant pieces of anaesthetic equipment for Romanian hospitals.’

‘We thus mention that for the radiology equipment we started to produce, we importedtechnology from Germany, Erlangen in particular- the cradle of European radiology- where wecollaborate with Pausch and K&S Röntgenwerk Bochum, as well as the Italian producer of

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Röntgen tubes, IAE Milan. Therefore, Romania should make a comeback, evolve in this field, onevery branch and in every structure, in diagnosis, therapy and medical research.’

‘As a teacher, a professor, I intend on creating viable laboratories, capable to supportthemselves through their activity. I would start with a dental office where technical students couldinstall the dental unit and its accessories and permanently service it and that medical students andtheir teaching staff could use for diagnosis and treatment. The students of the two universities

could be the patients, or students of any other university in Cluj, for that matter. We will then proceed with a Cardio-respiratory exploration office of ultrasound diagnosis and even radiology.There are no such laboratories in the world that would practically justify there existence for thosewho employ and exploit them in the medical field.’

‘The professor also wants to edit his fundamental book, “Radiology Equipment and

Medical Imagistics”, 500 pages in length and also initiate a group of students in MedicalEquipment Marketing, Management and Service.’

‘Pompiliu Manea, the man, is tempted and somewhat indebted to enter politics. I haven’tdone it so far, and wasn’t even tempted to. But if I take this step, it is only out of duty for mycountry and the society that should be otherwise.’

‘If any final thought crosses your mind, please share it with us.’‘There could be many thoughts on many occasions, but we are only satisfied when we

manage to accomplish what we set our mind for. I am an integrated part of the medical team, ineffect and so I want it to be stronger for humankind. I can never forget the time I was a chief-engineer for the Health Service and used to say to my colleagues: “Guys, every time you see ataxi-cab leaving the hospital with a “new born” you should be proud as you made your contribution, but every time a “coffin” leaves the hospital, ask yourselves if you performed your duties to the fullest, or was there more to do still?”’

‘Mr. Manea, we hereby thank you, and hope we shall get the chance to extent ourdialogue on a further occasion.’

‘I thank you, in my turn. We shall have this opportunity some other time and we will haveto mention the issue of the museum collection of medical equipment, which was a hobby, a whim,a desire or a tint of wisdom, I cannot possibly know. But I surely know that it will be my greatestaccomplishment, the life shrine of many generations. Remember that it was included in the world patrimony, in Leeds and therefore passed from the Romanian patrimony to the universal one. Andthe Transylvanian History Museum and I were praised on this account.’

A few years ago I wrote a book on this collection “The Pompiliu Manea Medical

Equipment Collection”, I also completed a Ph.D thesis at the Technical University of Cluj-Napocaon the topic of “The History of Medical Equipment as a Means of Control and Measurement” andam writing my second doctoral thesis at the Technological University of Belfort- Montbeliard – France, on the history of medical equipment technicians in Romania, from 1860 (the beginnings)and to the day. My Ph.D coordinator is Professor and engineer Alexandru Herlea, Ph.D, the former minister for European integration in Romania and the first who set his mind on Romania’saccession into the European Community. The National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activity (CNCAN) entrusted us with the organization of the “Post-graduate course inRadioprotection”, in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, which was attended by over 350 doctors, physicists, engineers, biologists and chemists and organized with the support of the “IuliuHaţieganu” Medical and Pharmacy University, the Technical University and “Babeş-Bolyai”University in Cluj-Napoca. All graduates were tested by the CNCAN commission, acquiringoptimal results and being granted the second level practicing license in the nuclear field, whichallows them to perform their activity in the field.’

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‘We also finance the Post-graduate Course in Laparoscopic Surgery in partnership withthe “Iuliu Hatieganu” Medical and Pharmacy University in Cluj-Napoca, graduated by tens andtens of young surgeons in many Romanian hospitals, either of Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi, Iaşi, TârguMureş, or Craiova, Focşani, Miercurea-Ciuc, Hunedoara, Făgăraş, Târnăveni, and even OdorheiulSecuiesc and Moineşti.’

cristian colceriu -personalitati clujene prof.dr.ing.pompiliu manea

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