HUG Innovation Day: A Pioneer Of New Therapies For Deafness Awarded
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On the occasion of their 17th Innovation Day, held on 19 October, the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), in partnership with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), awarded the 2023 Innovation Prize to the project “The Phoenix platform – a catalyst for the development of new therapies for deafness” and two trophies to the projects “Les affinités (s)électives : the genetic tool for personalising antipsychotic treatment” and “Hairline EEG, mobile EEG to detect epileptic seizures”. Four other prizes were awarded: Best Poster, Best Pitch, Jury’s Favourite and Start-up Prize.
As a bridge between the worlds of hospitals, universities and business, Innovation Day showcases the discoveries made at the HUG and the UNIGE, with the aim of bringing these innovations to life in our institutions and, for some inventions, the possibility of patenting or even industrialising them.
This year, 18 projects have been selected in the fields of biotechnology, digital technology, education and patient comfort. The winners are chosen on the basis of the following criteria: the innovative and creative nature of the project, its development potential (within the institution or commercially), the benefits for patients and for the institution, scientific quality, and the quality of the presentation of the subject to the members of the jury.
2023 Innovation Prize – The Phoenix platform – a catalyst for the development of new therapies for deafness
Francis Rousset – UNIGE, Pascal Senn – HUG and UNIGE
Half a billion people worldwide suffer from hearing loss, with considerable socio-economic consequences. The lack of an effective model for drug development means that there is no therapy for the patients concerned.
The Phoenix platform is a state-of-the-art high-throughput screening platform that offers a solid alternative to existing obsolete technologies. It aims to accelerate the discovery of new molecules and, ultimately, to create new therapies for hearing loss.
2nd Innovation Trophy 2023 – Hairline EEG
Jérôme de Massias de Bonne*, Eric Ménétré*, Stefano Gallotto**, Margitta Seeck* | * HUG; ** UNIGE
Hairline EEG is an EEG headband with a reduced number of electrodes compared with standard EEG. It is intended to be the cornerstone of a mobile EEG device that would enable epileptic seizures to be detected in environments where this is currently difficult (in outpatient clinics, outside normal working hours or in hospitals without a neurologist). Its aim is to meet the triple requirement of being easy to apply, sufficiently effective in detecting seizures and as discreet as possible.
Jury’s “Coup de Coeur” prize
The jury awarded its ‘Coup de Coeur’ prize to the ‘Glossary of domestic psychological violence’ project (project No. 6).
Prize for the best pitch by the public
The “Mentors sans frontières” project (project No 7) was awarded the prize for best pitch by the public.
Startup Prize
The Startup prize, donated by partner incubator Fongit, was awarded to the ‘Plateforme Phoenix’ project, also a winner of the 2023 Innovation Prize (project No 3).
Best poster prize
The prize for the best poster was awarded to “Réadaptation respiratoire au domicile : un programme pour tous” (project No 9).
Source: HUG Press Release
📸 From left to right: Aurélia Weber (HUG Innovation Centre), Prof. Helena Bornet Di Vorgeat (HUG Innovation Centre), Prof. Antoine Geissbuhler, (Head of the HUG Innovation Centre, Dean of Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, President of BioAlps).