HUG Innovation Day: four projects awarded
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On 15 October 2026, the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) held the 20th edition of their Innovation Day. The event connects hospital, academic and economic players to help ideas from the field reach patients, and in some cases become patents or industrial products. From the bedside to the market, four projects were awarded.
Thirteen projects were presented in three categories: breakthrough innovation, practice and usage innovation, and technological innovation. A jury of 11 experts and two patient partners assessed them on innovativeness, scientific quality, benefit for patients and the institution, development potential and presentation. Around 130 attendees also voted. Here are the four winners.
Rocket prize (breakthrough innovation): next-generation cell encapsulation
Led by Rémi Vernet, with UNIGE’s Centre for Translational Research in Onco-Haematology, the HUG spin-off Release Therapeutics and HUG clinical teams. Their implantable cell platform produces and releases human therapeutic proteins for several months. It uses a fusion protein designed to cross the blood-brain barrier. The first target is Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare neurodegenerative disease affecting children.
Booster prize (practice and usage innovation): Flow
Developed by Dr Julie Conconi and colleagues from the HUG Department of Cardiovascular Surgery. Flow is a web app that helps clinicians choose antithrombotic prescriptions in vascular surgery. After a few targeted questions, it gives evidence-based recommendations to harmonise practice and reduce prescribing errors.
Pépite prize (technological innovation): Easy Orthopedic X-ray
Created by Nuno Saraiva and Anatole Tanari from the HUG Radiology Department. This wooden device, built by the winners themselves, allows X-rays of the foot, ankle, leg and knee without repositioning the patient. It also measures load on one side, improving diagnostic precision, patient comfort and workflow.
Jury’s “Coup de pouce” prize: ChronoHUG
Led by Dr Andrea Peloso from the HUG transplantation and visceral surgery teams. ChronoHUG explores circadian precision surgery, treating biological timing as a factor in surgical success. Early results in transplant, pancreatic and bariatric surgery support scheduling operations around the body clock, and adapting work schedules to staff rhythms.
➡️Source: HUG press release, 16 October 2026 | 📸 Centre de l’Innovation des HUG