At the today’s ceremony, the Lithuanian businesses that developed the best innovative solutions in cooperation with their US partners were awarded.  The first place and the main prize of EUR 10,000 by the Commission’s decision were awarded to Inovatyvi medicina startup for developing Sentante, a smart robot system for endovascular surgeries. 

The awards were organised by the Innovation Agency jointly with the Baltic-American Freedom Fund (BAFF) and US Embassy in Lithuania. 

”Today our congratulations go to the three strong enterprises for their significant achievements in the field of biotechnology. Lithuanian biotechnology sector is one of the fastest growing in Europe – about 90 per cent of its products is exported to over 100 countries. The largest export market of the sector is the USA, by joining forces with their American peers our innovators can make their own contribution to the technological breakthrough and create high value added for the economies of both countries,” said the Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė.

The first place was won by Inovative medicine startup for creating Sentante system in cooperation with their partners in North America. It is fitted with highly sensitive sensors empowering physicians to perform surgeries that require high precision and accuracy remotely, thus protecting medical staff from harmful x-rays. In the future, the system will probably make endovascular surgeries with the surgeon and patient located in different hospitals possible.

The second place and EUR 5,000 prize went to Ligence, a company which collaborating with American researchers and health care professionals developed artificial intelligence based solution Ligence Heart for automated analysis of echocardiographic test results. The solution that is currently at the stage of clinical trials has the potential to make cardiologists’ work much easier, help diagnose cardiovascular diseases faster and more accurately, and potentially save lives.

This year, the special social impact award for contribution to epigenetics was given to Vugene, a bioinformation company. In cooperation with their US partners, the company carries out research and develops solutions that may prolong life expectancy and improve the quality of life.

“The Lithuanian and American cooperation in the development of cutting-edge solutions is growing more active and covers an increasing number of fields: from medicine to defence industry. This year, very strong companies were competing for the awards, compared to 2022, we noticed that innovative solutions are much more technology-oriented. I would like to thank all the companies competing for the awards. I believe many innovative solutions that were introduced at the awards will be talked about on a numerous occasions in the future, while their success will encourage new partnerships between Lithuanian and US researchers, startups, well-established companies and public organisations,” said member of BAFF Board of Directors Dr. Asta Sendonaris.

Ekspla, manufacturer of innovative laser technology, received separate mentioning and appreciation at the awards ceremony. The company is one of the Lithuanian innovative sector leaders, while its developed innovative solutions are recognised on the international market. According to Ms. Sendonaris, the fact that recognised market players, such as Eskpla, participate in the awards is very important.