The Medical Inspirator award: The nominees

On Monday 12:00 hr. the 23rd of October a new voting round for the Medical Inspirator award 2017 started. Until Monday 12:00 hr. the 20th of November every person is able to vote for one of the three nominated research proposals via www.zonmw.nl/stemnu. The nominees for this year are:

• Category eHealth: Course ‘Partner in Balans’ by dementia                                             Researcher Lizzy Boots (MUMC) and caregiver Jenny Tillie-Hecker                                      
  The course Partner in Balans helps caregivers to deal with insecurities and questions after the diagnose dementia. With this price we want to make Partner in Balans available to every partner and relatives in the Netherlands. Everyone deserves to be in balance! Will you help us to make this possible?
   
• Category Innovative Instruments: IV-Wear makes an infusion wearable
  Researcher Bart Verkerke (UMCG), Melcher Frankema, Niels Weijermans, Max Heintzen (UMCG) and patient Dave Keijzer
  IVWear develops a wearable infusion whereby patients can walk around freely through the hospital without an infusion pole. Movement during a hospitalization is essential. Patients will recover faster and can leave the hospital sooner. The most important thing is that patients will feel less patient. Will you help us to achieve this dream?
   
• Category tools: A smart self-test for Breathing
  Researcher Erik Bischoff (Radboudumc) and patient Joep Fleuren
  When you have the chronic disease COPD, a lung attack can make you so stuffy that a hospitalization is necessary. With our smart self-test it is possible to recognize such a lung attack on time and respond to it. This way you can prevent a hospitalization. If we win, we can develop our self-test further for all COPD patients.

With the Medical Inspirator award, ZonMw wants to stimulate the cooperation between patients and researchers. An independent jury of experts have nominated three research proposals from 21 submissions. A requirement for participation is that the cooperation between researcher and patient has to be clearly visible. Then the three nominees are guided in making a promotional video in which they can explain how their research proposal looks like or works. By involving patients and caregivers in the research process you’ll get a more complete image of what is needed in practice. Patients and caregivers are well able to point out what they need medically and this way the innovation is question-driven.

It appears from previous editions that participation in the Medical Inspirator award has brought the participants a lot. They gained more awareness for their disease or disorder, new partnerships have originated, they gained more moral support, many new members for patient associations and new financial donations or loans for medical research.

For more information about the three research projects please click here and for the possibility to vote please click here. On Thursday the 23rd of November it will be announced on the VSNU Impact festival who is the winner of the first (€75.000), second (€50.000) and third price (€25.000)