More specifically:

• The Computational BioMedicine Laboratory (CBML) of the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH received a Gold Award in the category "Research Centers", for developing an innovative method of aligning intracoronary ultrasound images that can contribute to faster diagnosis and evaluation of the course of coronary heart disease (atherosclerosis) and its treatment, as well as physio-anatomic changes in the arteries. Also, due to the faster diagnosis, with this proposed method the treatment procedures can be accelerated, thus contributing to the reduction of cardiac incidents. The work was carried out in collaboration with the Unit of Medical Technology and Intelligent Information Systems of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Ioannina (Scientifically supervised by D. I. Fotiadis) in the framework of the European project InSilc: In-silico trials for drug-eluting BVS design, development and evaluation (GA number: 777119).
• The Information Systems Laboratory (ISL) of the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH received a Gold Award in the category "Digital applications for the support of the Health professional", for developing an ICT Ecosystem aiming to provide integrated digital services to Cardiology Clinics and Diagnostic Laboratories for Precision Medicine Actions. The Ecosystem was designed and developed in the context of the "Flagship Action to Support the National Network for the Research of Genetic Cardiovascular Diseases and the Prevention of Sudden Death in the Young on the Basis of Precision Medicine" (icardiacnet.gr), funded by the Public Investments Program of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI). The Ecosystem is installed in the infrastructure of GRnet and is operational since November 2020. It is used by cardiologists of the Greek National Health System and laboratory analysis personnel to record clinical and genetic information of patients, respectively, feeding a National Registry. The data is then used to create the epidemiological map of the country which highlights nests of diseases and pathological variants.
• The Center for eHealth Applications and Services (CeHA) of the of the Institute of Computer Science, together with the PRAXI Network of FORTH, received the Bronze Award in the category "National / Regional Health Initiative", for the establishment of an innovation cluster under the name "Hellenic Digital Health Cluster - HDHC" (hdhc.gr). The Hellenic Digital Health Cluster (HDHC) aspires to make Greece one of the leading countries in the field of digital health. The cluster comprises of twenty innovative companies in the field of digital health and FORTH. The action is funded by EPANEK.

The Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) also received the Top Research Foundation Award as the research institution that received the most awards.

The awards were received by Mr. Dimitrios G. Katehakis, Head of the Center for eHealth Applications and Services, and Dr. Irini Fundulaki, Principal Researcher of the Information Systems Laboratory of FORTH-ICS.

The Director of the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH, Prof. Dimitris Plexousakis, stated: "We are very happy and proud as the importance of the results of the applied research conducted at the Institute and the innovation that introduces these results in the wider field of Health have been recognized".

For more information:

Katehakis Dimitrios, Head of the Center for eHealth Applications and Services of the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH, Tel. +30 2810391453, E-mail: ehealth@ics.forth.gr

Tsiknakis Nikos, Computer Engineer of the Computational BioMedicine Laboratory of the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH, Tel. +30 2810391447, E-mail: tsiknakisn@ics.forth.gr

Fundulaki Irini, Principal Researcher of the Information Systems Laboratory of the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH, Tel. +30 2810391725, E-mail: fundul@ics.forth.gr