The FNR is proud to inform that three FNR-supported projects won Awards at the 2016 Healthcare Awards, part of the 2016 Luxembourg Healthcare Summit. University of Luxembourg spin-off LuxAI took home the Healthcare Facilities Award, while the Luxembourg Institute of Health’s study on national cardiovascular health (ORISCAV-LUX) won the Healthcare Research Award, and Black Swan won the Start-up of the Year.
First held in 2014, the Luxembourg Healthcare Summit is a central event for idea exchange and networking for healthcare professionals and researchers in the country and beyond. The focus of the 2016 edition was ‘the patient experience’.
During the summit, which took place on 6 October, 7 awards were given in different categories, all honouring public and private actors for their engagement in healthcare. Awardees were chosen by an expert jury of more than 20 members.
About LuxAI – winner of Healthcare Facilities Award
LuxAI is a spin-off of the SnT at the University of Luxembourg, specialising in socially assistive robotics. The team, led by Dr Pouyan Ziafati, received funding from the FNR’s Proof of Concept programme to develop a prototype of their socially assistive robot.
Dr Ziafati and co-founder Dr Aida Nazarikhorram’s goal is to make socially assistive robots economical and user-friendly in order to enable all teachers, therapists and care givers to use advanced robots in their everyday work of improving the health and education of people.
LuxAI also won the 2016 Mind & Market Forum.
About ORISCAV-LUX – winner of Healthcare Research Award
The ORISCAV-Lux (‘Observation des Risques et de la Santé Cardiovasculaire au Luxembourg’) study is the first of its kind nationwide large-scale population-based study.
Initiated in Luxembourg in 2007 the main purpose of the first wave of the study was to monitor the evolution of cardiovascular risk factors and their determinants among adults, to provide a rational basis for tailored cardiovascular disease prevention.
The second wave (8-year follow up) launched in January 2016 to monitor cardio-metabolic-cognitive health. This cohort is a dynamic and continuous process of data collection and evaluation, with both a short- and long-term impact on population health, in terms of prevention, healthcare policies and national economy.
“I am grateful for this acknowledgment. This study became real thanks to the financial support from the national authorities and the FNR, the Luxembourg National Research Fund”, Dr Ala’a Alkerwi, project leader and principal investigator of the ORISCAV-LUX study said upon receiving the Award given to her and her team.
About Black Swan – winner of Start-up of the Year award
Black Swan is the second spin-off from the University of Luxembourg, specialising in the area of anomaly detection. The company develops context-aware anomaly detection applications for people in high-risk situations, such as elderly people living independently and rescue workers. The company’s SafeLive solutions enable anomaly detection based on real-time continuous biometric sensor data from wearable devices. Black Swan previously received funding from the FNR’s Proof of Concept programme.