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European Inventor Award 2026 winners announced: Honouring the innovators shaping tomorrow

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The European Patent Office (EPO) celebrates inventors whose work is helping address global challenges in healthcare, energy, food systems and digital technologiesThe awards were presented during the European Inventor Award 2026 ceremony in Berlin todayThe winners include inventors from China, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Sweden and the United KingdomGerman engineer Rainer Marquardt received the Lifetime Achievement distinction for developing the Modular Multilevel Converter, a breakthrough that transformed modern electricity transmissionWinners in the four categories are: Angeliki Triantafyllou (Industry); Sir Adrian Hill (Research); Franck Zal (SMEs); Xie Yinghao and Yu Haijun (Non-EPO Countries)The Popular Prize, determined by a public vote, was won by the Chinese inventors Xie Yinghao and Yu Haijun

MUNICH, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The European Patent Office (EPO) today announced the winners of the European Inventor Award 2026 during a ceremony in Berlin. The laureates were recognised for inventions that improve healthcare, support the energy transition, advance sustainable food production and promote the circular economy. The winners were selected by an independent international jury. 

The award winners

This year’s winners represent a diverse range of disciplines and countries. Their inventions address challenges ranging from malaria prevention and organ transplantation to renewable energy integration, battery recycling and sustainable food production.

Industry

Greek-Swedish food scientist Angeliki Triantafyllou received the award for developing a patented enzymatic process that improved the taste, texture and stability of oat-based drinks. Her innovation increased protein solubility while preserving protein structure, helping transform oat drinks from a niche product into a widely accepted dairy alternative. Find out more here.

Research

Irish-British scientist Sir Adrian Hill received the award for developing the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine. The vaccine achieved around 75–80% protection in clinical trials, exceeding the World Health Organization’s target for malaria vaccines, and was recommended by the WHO for widespread use in 2023. Find out more here.

Non-EPO Countries

Chinese inventors Xie Yinghao and Yu Haijun received the award for developing a battery recycling process that converts spent lithium-ion batteries into high-quality cathode materials. Their technology recovers critical raw materials while significantly reducing chemical consumption and carbon emissions. Find out more here.

SMEs

French biologist and entrepreneur Franck Zal received the award for developing a universal oxygen carrier derived from the marine lugworm. His technology helps preserve organs and tissues by delivering oxygen during storage and transport, and is already used in transplantation medicine.  Find out more here.

Lifetime Achievement

Professor Rainer Marquardt received the Lifetime Achievement distinction for developing the Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC), a breakthrough in power electronics that became the global standard for voltage-source-controlled high-voltage direct current transmission systems. His inventions opened the high-power range up to the gigawatt level for electronically controllable power conversion and are now used in modern electricity grids, offshore wind integration and long-distance power transmission.  Find out more here.

Popular Prize

Chosen by a combination of voting by the public and the jury, this year’s Popular Prize was awarded to Chinese inventors Xie Yinghao and Yu Haijun for developing a battery recycling process that converts spent lithium-ion batteries into high-quality cathode materials.

After receiving the highest number of votes cast, they were recognised for a technology that recovers critical raw materials while significantly reducing chemical consumption and carbon emissions.

This year’s award ceremony was held in Berlin and livestreamed to audiences around the world. You can stream the ceremony online here. Find more information about all the inventions’ impact, the technology and the inventors’ stories here.

About the European Inventor Award 

The European Inventor Award is one of Europe’s most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the EPO in 2006, the award honours individuals and teams, who have come up with solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our time. The European Inventor Award jury consists of inventors who are all former finalists. To judge proposals, the independent panel draws on their wealth of technical, business, and intellectual property expertise. All inventors must have been granted a European patent for their invention. Read more here on the various categories, prizes, selection criteria and livestream ceremony held on 2 July in Berlin. 

About the EPO 

With 6,300 staff members, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO’s centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 46 countries, covering a market of some 715 million people. The EPO is also the world’s leading authority in patent information and patent searching.

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SOURCE European Patent Office (EPO)

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Epson to Showcase Collaborative 6-Axis Robot and Integrated Automation Solutions at The ASSEMBLY Show 2026

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AX6 Cobot and Live Demonstrations Highlight Epson’s Expanding Automation Portfolio

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Epson Robots, the #1 SCARA robot manufacturer in the world, will showcase its expanding automation portfolio, including its first collaborative robot, the AX6, at The ASSEMBLY Show 2026, taking place in Rosemont, Illinois from Oct. 27-29, 2026, in booth #331.

Epson to Showcase AX6 Cobot and Integrated Automation Solutions with Live Demos at The ASSEMBLY Show 2026

“Every automation application has different safety requirements, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach,” said Scott Marsic, group product manager, Epson Robots. “With the AX6 and SafeSenseTM technology, Epson is giving manufacturers more options to select the right solution for their requirements. At The ASSEMBLY Show, we look forward to demonstrating how these offerings complement our broader robotics portfolio and help manufacturers address a wide range of automation needs.”

With Epson’s latest automation technologies, attendees can experience live demonstrations showcasing integrated robotics, vision, and feeding solutions. The live applications will highlight practical, cost-effective solutions for real-world production environments. An educational speaking session will also focus on selecting the right automation approach for each application. Epson highlights at The ASSEMBLY Show 2026 will include:

Speaking Engagement”Automation Isn’t the Answer. Choosing the Right Automation Is.” – Marsic will outline a practical framework for choosing the right automation strategy, from evaluating opportunities and avoiding application creep to balancing critical design considerations such as safety, robot geometry, workcell design and flexibility. The session will focus on solving the right business problem to create automation systems that are easier to implement, scale and maintain while delivering stronger productivity, reliability and long-term ROI. The session will take place Wednesday, October 28 from 2 – 2:30 p.m. at the Learning Theater.AX6 Collaborative 6-Axis Robot – See Epson’s first collaborative robot in action, featuring a lightweight, compact footprint and intuitive no-code software designed to simplify programming and deployment. Power- and force-limiting capabilities and flexible end-of-arm options support collaborative applications where space, ease of use and fast redeployment are priorities.SafeSense Interactive Demo – Experience a hands-on demonstration of Epson’s SafeSense technology, which uses sensors to detect when a person enters the robot’s workspace, supporting safe human-robot interaction while maintaining high-performance automation.IntelliFlexTM Feeding System – See live demonstrations featuring Epson’s latest SCARA and 6-Axis robots integrated with IntelliFlex Feeding Systems for automated part handling and assembly applications.Epson RC+® Development Software – Explore Epson’s PC-based environment with intuitive GUI Builder for custom interfaces along with integrated vision and IntelliFlex capabilities. Developed and supported by Epson, the software is designed to simplify automation development and deployment.

The ASSEMBLY Show 2026 will take place on Oct. 27 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. CDT, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT and Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. To learn more about Epson robot solutions at the show, stop by booth #331 or visit www.epsonrobots.com to contact a robot expert.

About Epson Robots

Epson Robots is a global leader in PC-controlled precision factory automation, with well over 250,000 units sold worldwide1 and a product line of hundreds of models of easy-to-use SCARA and 6-Axis robots based on a common PC-based platform. Building on four decades of experience, Epson Robots delivers robots for precision assembly and material handling applications in the aerospace, appliance, automotive, biotechnology, consumer product, electronics, food processing, medical device, pharmaceutical, plastics, semiconductor, and telecommunication industries. For more information, visit www.epsonrobots.com.

About Epson

Epson is a technology innovation and engineering company whose philosophy of efficient, compact and precise innovation enriches lives and helps create a better world. The company uses technology and engineering ability to implement real-world solutions in precision innovation, industrial and robotics, office and home printing, and visual and lifestyle.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of more than JPY 1.4 trillion. corporate.epson/en/

Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif., is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), X (x.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/epsonamerica) and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

1 Epson internal sales data through April 2026.

EPSON and Epson RC+ are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. SafeSense and IntelliFlex are trademarks of Epson America, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2026 Epson America, Inc.

 

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SOURCE Epson America, Inc.

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Limber Health Launches Recovery Forecast, the First-Ever Predicted Outcomes Solution for Rehab Therapy

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Built on the largest risk-adjusted patient outcomes database in rehab therapy, Limber’s Recovery Forecast replaces traditional single point-in-time forecasts or MCID comparisons with a 90-day outlook

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Limber Health, a Net Health company, today announced Recovery Forecast, the first-ever predicted outcomes trajectory solution for rehab therapy. Built into the Limber outcomes platform, Recovery Forecast maps each patient’s expected path throughout care by comparing them with millions of completed assessments and applying robust risk adjustment. Available to clients this fall, this new clinical capability covers the primary MSK regions of injury.

“Current solutions show a point-in-time measurement, but rarely provide context or insight into the score,” said Nirav Modi, president of Limber Health. “Recovery Forecast shows clinicians how a patient is progressing through their plan of care, so they can assess, adjust, and guide them toward the best possible improvement.”

Because Limber Outcomes follows patients from evaluation through the full episode of care, the expected path stays visible between visits. At intake, the feature predicts each patient’s path; then at each reassessment, clinicians compare the actual score with the prediction for real-time context. This gives clinicians an opportunity to adjust the course of care.

“Being able to predict a patient’s outcome trajectory is a game changer,” said Brian Kelly, Vice President of Innovation & Clinical Excellence at Ivy Health. “It transforms outcomes data into real-time clinical intelligence that enhances patient engagement, empowers proactive clinical decision-making, and ensures every patient is positioned for an optimal recovery.”

A newly developed progression indicator, the Predicted Moderate Clinical Improvement (P-MCI), marks where a patient is expected to reach clinically meaningful improvement. P-MCI is already part of commercial payer quality programs. It underpins five functional improvement measures in the CMS proposed rule for the 2027 Physician Fee Schedule, with Limber Health and Patient360 as measure stewards. For more information about Limber Recovery Forecast, click here. 

About Limber Health

Limber Health, a Net Health company, extends in-person musculoskeletal (MSK) care into the home with Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM), Home Exercise Programs (HEP), and Limber Outcomes, which helps practices measure patient progress and predict recovery using the largest risk-adjusted patient outcomes database in rehab therapy. Limber’s solutions are developed by physical therapists and physicians. Learn more at www.limberhealth.com.

About Net Health

For over 30 years, Net Health has gathered specialty knowledge shaped by human expertise and informed by patient outcomes. Today, this depth of knowledge is the foundation for an AI-native specialty platform that delivers intelligence to clinicians across the care continuum, enabling them to be present with patients during the moments that matter. Net Health is a trusted source of specialty solutions for more than 34,000 healthcare organizations, and is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, Level Equity, and Silversmith Capital Partners.

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SOURCE Net Health Systems, Inc.

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Asuri.ai Launches Multi-Agent AI Platform for Persistent Business Workflows

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The agentic platform helps nontechnical teams save time, eliminate redundant work and deploy specialized AI agents across more than 1,000 existing applications

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Asuri today announced the launch of its multi-agent enterprise AI platform, designed to help businesses move beyond copilots and deploy persistent AI workflows across complete business processes.

As AI models become more capable, the challenge for businesses is shifting from generating answers to safely giving AI the context, system access and autonomy required to perform real work.

Asuri brings those pieces into one platform.

Nontechnical teams can define a business process, connect the applications involved, assign specialized agents to different responsibilities, and control what each agent can access, recommend or execute. By coordinating work that would otherwise require employees to repeatedly move between systems, gather information and perform routine follow-ups, Asuri helps organizations save time and remove redundant manual work.

“The model itself is becoming less of the bottleneck,” said Artem Bespaloff, CEO and co-founder of Asuri. “The harder problem is coordinating agents across real business systems while giving each one the right context, permissions and level of autonomy.”

Unlike traditional AI assistants that primarily respond to prompts, Asuri is designed around persistent multi-agent workflows.

Asuri combines multi-agent orchestration, workflow logic, persistent context and agent-level permission controls in a single environment, with more than 1,000 integrations connecting agents to the software businesses already use.

This allows companies to automate processes across existing systems instead of replacing their technology stack, reducing repetitive administrative work and freeing employees to focus on higher-value decisions and relationships.

As part of its launch, Asuri is introducing prebuilt customer intelligence workflows that consolidate information from multiple business systems, analyze client activity against company-defined rules, and automatically alert employees to significant developments. By eliminating the need to manually track client activity across different platforms, these workflows reduce the workload on sales and research teams, helping them stay informed, identify opportunities, and focus on higher-value activities.

The same architecture can support workflows across sales, operations, finance, customer success, research and internal compliance.

Businesses can learn more and request access at Asuri.ai.

About Asuri

Asuri is a multi-agent enterprise AI platform, built by Sprouter Technologies, for persistent, governed business workflows. With more than 1,000 integrations, Asuri helps organizations connect specialized AI agents across their existing applications, reduce repetitive work, save employee time and automate processes while maintaining individual permissions, autonomy boundaries and human oversight.

For more information you can contact team@asuri.ai

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SOURCE Sprouter Technologies

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