EPO celebrates Europe’s top inventors

For the 11th time, the European Patent Office (EPO) has honoured Europe’s top inventors with the European Inventor Award. The award ceremony in Lisbon was opened by EPO President, Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa and European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas.

Germany physicists Bernhard Gleich and Jürgen Weizenecker and their team received the Industry award for “laying the foundation for a new category of medical imaging solutions”. Magnetic particle imaging, developed by Philips Research Hamburg, offers real-time images of body tissues in unprecedented quality. The magnet-based imaging method is currently in pre-clinical evaluation.

The SME award went to a Danish research team “for the ground-breaking application of ammonia in solid form to reduce air pollution from diesel engines and act as an emissions-free fuel.” The Research award went to French physicist and neurosurgeon Alim-Louis Benabid, for  “revolutionising the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions with the use of high-frequency deep brain stimulation.” Benabid’s ‘brain pacemaker’ has become the standard treatment for Parkinson’s.

The non-European price went to US chemical engineer Robert Langer, who invented implantable bio-plastic wafers containing anti-cancer drugs to be implanted at the location of the tumour for maximum efficacy.

Engineer Anton van Zanten was honoured with the lifetime award for his landmark contributions to automotive safety systems, while the Popular Prize – which is selected by the public – went to Cambridge University researcher Helen Lee, who invented diagnostic kits for resource-poor regions of the globe.

"Today’s award ceremony is a tribute to the spirit of innovation and the work of dedicated individuals who, through their inventions, advance the state of the art for all of us," said EPO President Benoît Battistelli. "The inventions recognised with this year’s award give new hope to people suffering from disease, increase diagnostic efficiency, protect the environment and save thousands of lives on the road. The significance and impact of the work of these inventors underlines the importance of the European patent system for the benefit of economic strength and technological progress in Europe," said Mr Battistelli.