hemotune AG wins the Red Dot Design Award in Singapore
hemotune AG has won the internationally sought-after Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2022. The award went to hemotune’s revolutionary HemoSystem.
In contrast to conventional blood filters, the HemoSystem is based on specially developed, nanostructured magnetic particles. In the HemoSystem, these are mixed with the blood, specifically bind to toxins, and are magnetically separated before the purified blood is returned. The first application of the blood purification platform is being developed for restoring adequate immune responses in cases of sepsis. Sepsis is the most severe form of infection in which the body’s own defence reaction damages its own tissues and organs, resulting in life-threatening situations. Sepsis is an underserved global health problem. In addition to mortality rates of up to 45% for septic shock, sepsis also results in surging healthcare costs. The Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2022 highlights the technical solution behind the innovation, and also the user-orientated design and potential positive impact on society. Thus, the aim of hemotune’s HemoSystem is to increase the survival chances of those affected, and also to reduce the treatment costs of sepsis.
Cooperation with doctors and nursing staff is crucial for the product’s user-orientated development
Lukas Langenegger, CEO and co-founder of hemotune AG, explains: “Winning the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2022 is major recognition for our team and partner. Well-conceived design plays an important role in successfully implementing any new technology. We worked closely with doctors and nurses during development to ensure that our therapy can be used easily and safely in any ICU despite the radically new technology. The appearance should embody both the ground-breaking technology behind the HemoSystem and have integration quality in terms of other medical technology devices in ICUs.”
Wolfgang Meyer-Hayoz, CEO of Meyer-Hayoz Design Engineering AG, a company that was involved in designing the device, adds: “Companies demonstrably have a greater chance of market success and perform better when design is strategically and holistically integrated in, and becomes an active and integral part of any company. Mr. Langenegger was aware of this from the beginning, and it simplified all communications."
Red Dot Label is one of the world’s most sought-after quality seals
The Red Dot Design Award can look back on more than 60 years of history: In 1955, a jury meets for the first time to evaluate the best designs of that time. In the 1990s, the name and brand of the award was developed by Red Dot CEO Prof Dr Peter Zec in conjunction with the internationally renowned designer Peter Schmidt (known for developing perfume flacons for Jil Sander and Hugo Boss, among others). In 1993, a separate discipline for communication design is introduced. In 2005, the Red Dot Award: Design Concept is introduced. This award is given exclusively to product concepts and “ready-to-launch” products. The award ceremony will be hosted in Singapore by Red Dot, in an architecturally transparent building on Marina Boulevard, Singapore’s hotspot and financial district. The Red Dot Design Museum’s award-winning exhibits will also be displayed there. As of now, the HemoSystem will also be showcased there in miniature to the whole world, in the form of a high-quality 3D print.
The Red Dot Design Award: Product Design is awarded to series products that are already on the market. Today, the Red Dot Award is one of the world’s largest and most renowned design competitions, with more than 18,000 annual submissions from designers, companies and organisations from over 70 nations.
“The Red Dot Award: Design Concept is at the forefront of discovering and celebrating innovations that stand out thanks to their excellent design. This ground-breaking blood purification machine will help save the lives of sepsis patients all over the world, and has already won the Swiss Technology Award, Switzerland’s highest technology prize. Red Dot is pleased to be able to highlight the conceptual and design excellence of the HemoSystem that Hemotune AG has developed together with design partner, Meyer-Hayoz Design Engineering AG”, says Ken Koo, President Red Dot Design Award, Asia.
This month, hemotune AG is celebrating its fifth anniversary and is well on schedule with the milestones that it has achieved so far. The company is currently preparing the clinical trial to obtain marketing authorisation so that the HemoSystem can be used to treat sepsis patients. This year, hemotune AG received CHF 7.75 million to complete the development and verification work for the HemoSystem. The first patients are intended to be treated in clinical trials in 2024.
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