The prize for innovation and utilization
The prize recognizes one or maximum three researchers/research students who have distinguished themselves through outstanding utilization of research results that have led to innovation. Anyone can nominate one or more candidates.
The prize winners 2024
Professor Jacob Hollenberg, associate professor Mattias Ringh and adjunct professor Leif Svensson are awarded the Prize for innovation and utilization, in 2024.
Together with the research group at the Cardiac Arrest Center and KI Innovations, they have developed the SMS lifesaver app. The app, which is now operated by the company Heartrunner, alerts volunteer so-called "lifesavers" to the place where someone has suffered a cardiac arrest.The volunteers initiate life-saving measures, which increase the chances of saving the life of the person who has suffered the cardiac arrest.
The prize committee's justification:
Jacob Hollenberg, Mattias Ringh and Leif Svensson have conducted research in the area of cardiac arrest for 20 years. They developed an idea to alert civilian volunteers to the scene of a cardiac arrest using an app on their mobile phones. The purpose of the alarm system was to increase the proportion of patients who receive early life-saving interventions in the form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, thereby significantly improving the chances of survival. Through curiosity, initiative, entrepreneurship and perseverance, they have succeeded in proving the usefulness of the system, and through the company they started - Heartrunner - have succeeded in implementing it in large parts of Sweden and throughout Denmark. Their innovation affects thousands of people every year who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. More than 250,000 participants have joined the project and they have presented research data in prestigious journals. Their data has also led to international recommendations to alert volunteer lifeguards across Europe.
Earlier prize winners
The 2023 Prize for Innovation and Utilization
Karolinska Institutet has decided to award Johan Hartman and Mattias Rantalainen.
Johan Hartman is a professor of tumour pathology at the Department of Oncology-Pathology and Mattias Rantalainen is an associate professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Both are co-founders of Stratipath, a private spin-off that aims to improve the diagnostic of cancer patients using AI.
They are rewarded for improving cancer diagnostics with innovative research and inspiring working methods,
The prize committee's justification:
"Johan Hartman and Mattias Rantalainen have a long track-record of innovative research within tumor pathology, machine learning and statistical modelling, with the aim to improve cancer diagnostics. They have succeeded in developing and commercializing a method for artificial intelligence-based analysis of microscopy images, which is now in clinical use for determining the risk for relapse in cancer after surgery. The product has a large potential in precision diagnostics in other diseases. Hartman and Rantalainen continue to combine academic research and entrepreneurship in an exemplary and inspiring manner and fulfill all criteria for recipients of the Prize for Innovation and Utilization."
Staffan Holmin was awarded the Prize for Innovation and Utilization, 2022
Starting in 2022 Karolinska Institutet awarded a prize for innovation and utilization.
The prize will be awarded to one or more active researchers/research students (employed, adjunct or affiliated with KI).
If an individual cannot be considered to be behind the innovation on their own, a maximum of three people can share the prize.
Anyone can nominate one or more candidates. Self-nominations are accepted.