Innovationpartners

The European Patent Office Thursday announced the winners of the European Inventor Award 2012. The ceremony was held in Copenhagen.
The winners are:
â– Lifetime Achievement: Josef Bille, Heidelberg University (Germany), for his groundbreaking development of wavefront technology for laser eye surgery;
■Industry: Jan Tøpholm, Søren Westermann and Svend Vitting Andersen, Widex (Denmark), for their invention of a computer-aided method to manufacture individually-fitted hearing-aid devices;
■SMEs: Manfred Stefener, Oliver Freitag and Jens Müller, Smart Fuel Cell AG (Germany), for the creation of the first fuel cell for portable use;
â– Research: Gilles Gosselin, Jean-Louis Imbach and Martin L. Bryant, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), for the development of an effective drug for the treatment of Hepatitis B;
â– Non-European Countries: John O’Sullivan, Graham Daniels, Terence Percival, Diethelm Ostry and John Deane, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia), for laying the foundation for today’s wireless networking technology (Wi-Fi).
The Danish winner has contributed to revolutionizing production of hearing aids and increased quality of life for millions of people around the world. Congratulations to Widex and the skilled employees behind the inventions.