Scientists at the French Medical Research Institute (INSERM) developed a minimally invasive procedure to kill off prostate cancer cells without damaging nearby tissue. Marketed by medical company EDAP TMS, the procedure is used to treat cancer patients all over the world.
Spanish inventor Jorge Blasco and his company Diseño de Sistemas en Silicio (DS2) developed Powerline Communications (PLC), an innovative technology that lets people connect to the internet via standard electrical outlets.
Italian engineer Benedetto Vigna is a pioneer in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) at STMicroelectronics. The Swiss company manufactures the sensors for the popular Nintendo Wii console, among other things, and has become a global player in the MEMS sector.
The metrology industry took a quantum leap with the invention of powerful hand-held 3D scanning systems by engineers Albert Markendorf and Raimund Loser. Their scanners are now successfully marketed worldwide by Leica Geosystems.
Conserve water – save the planet! To stop wastage from bathroom and kitchen taps without compromising on the comfort we have come to expect, German engineers Hermann Grether and Christoph Weis at Neoperl invented a water-jet regulator, marketed internationally by the German-Swiss company.
For decades, the use of enzymes as catalysts for chemical reactions was limited to small-scale applications. But that was before German biochemist Maria-Regina Kula unlocked the catalytic potential of an enzyme called Formate dehydrogenase (FDH), now used on an industrial production scale.
Ordinary magazines or newspapers used to be impossible to read for blind people. Alternatives in Braille are limited - and a significant number of blind people do not use Braille lettering. But a new world of reading material opened up in 2007 when French inventor Raoul Parienti introduced his "Top Braille" reading assistant.
There is hardly a scientist who has done more for the advancement of solar energy than 80-year-old Adolf Goetzberger, who has pioneered solar technology research and founded Europe's largest research institute for solar energy. His achievements as a whole have helped turn a fringe energy source into a multi-billion EUR industry.
American engineer Marion "Frank" Rudy created the world's first shock-absorbing sole system for athletic footwear. Marketed by Nike as the "Air" system, the technology inspired countless follow-ups by rival shoemakers.
The fight against the worldwide Malaria pandemic requires inexpensive, yet effective drugs. Armed with ancient medical wisdom, Professor Yiqing Zhou and his team at the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology in Beijing created a potent new drug in 1996.
