From data integration to neurotechnology: Meet the winners of the DMEA sparks Award 2026
The future of medicine is diverse, as shown by the top DMEA sparks Award 2026 projects. Graduates drive innovation in AI, robotics, data, and more.
The winners of the DMEA sparks Awards 2026. Photo: Messe Berlin
Today, this year’s winners of the DMEA sparks Award were honoured at the DMEA in Berlin. The award for emerging talent recognises outstanding bachelor’s and master’s theses in the field of digital health and provides a major platform for young talent to showcase innovative ideas.
Bachelor’s category: Innovative approaches to care and data analysis
First place went to Fabian Bürki from Bern University of Applied Sciences for his work on developing an interoperable openEHR prototype to modernise clinical application systems.
Second place went to Kian Hinke (Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg), who investigated methods for evaluating scanner-induced domain shifts in medical imaging.
Third place was taken by Christian Franke, also from Bern University of Applied Sciences, with his work on optimising data integration and analysis of high-cost medicines in the SwissDRG system.
Master’s Category: High-tech for Medicine and Research
Pascal Hansen from Heidelberg University won the Master’s thesis category. His thesis focuses on an online planning system for surgical tasks in autonomous robotic surgery.
Second place went to Mona Irsfeld (University of Lübeck) for her physically based modelling of glioblastoma growth – a type of brain tumour – using neural representations.
Third place went to Laura Michnick from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. She developed a functional electrical stimulation system that uses muscle activity to trigger specific hand movements.
Audience Award: Audience recognises practical innovation
In addition, Laura Michnick also impressed the audience with her video pitch on the DMEA YouTube channel and was awarded the Audience Award. Her work impressively demonstrates how technology-supported approaches can open up new perspectives for rehabilitation and assistive systems.
Supporting the next generation in digital health
Every year, the DMEA sparks Awards recognise young researchers whose work aims to actively drive forward digitalisation in the healthcare sector. The winning projects demonstrate the huge potential of interdisciplinary research for the healthcare of tomorrow.