Innovation Fund Denmark awarded five new prizes at the EliteForsk award ceremony at Glyptoteket in Copenhagen on 23 February. The prizes covered three categories: Grand Solutions, Innovator of the Year, and Talents of the Year.

Professor Jørgen Arendt Jensen from DTU Electrical Engineering and Erik Vilain Thomas from DTU Nanotech received Innovation Fund Denmark's Grand Solutions prize, DKK 1 million (EUR 134,000) for their research, and a visual work of art by photographer Nicolai Howalt.

The two DTU researchers received the award for developing a new way to perform ultrasound scans—using a portable ultrasound scanner which can be used in hospitals or ambulances, at the doctor’s clinic, or in the patient’s home. It also costs only a tenth of what a conventional scanner costs, is easier to use, and produces better images. This leads to savings, better diagnosis and shorter waiting times.

Innovation Fund Denmark explained their decision as follows:

“The project has developed radical new methods for producing ultrasound images. Professor Jørgen Arendt Jensen has played a key role in the development of algorithms for imaging, while Erik Vilain Thomsen has been responsible for developing scanner heads for row-column scanning. There has also been close collaboration with BK Ultrasound. This has allowed further innovation among other Danish commercial players. Special emphasis was given to the specific and documentable value creation and the effective cooperation between research and industry.�

Read more about Jørgen Arendt Jensen and Erik Vilain Thomsen's new ultrasound scanner:

1. Ultrasound scanner goes portable
2. Pure precision