Dr. Béla Molnár from Semmelweis University’s 2nd Department of Internal Medicine has been nominated for the  2011 European Inventor Award for his work on digitising the pathology process.

By fusing the traditional microscope with digital image processing, Dr. Molnár and his company 3DHistech (Hungary) created a virtual 3D microscope, which allows doctors and remote  experts to make diagnoses quickly and with precision, based on the scanned tissue samples.

Virtual 3D microscope and Dr. Béla Molnár

The European Inventor Award was established in 2006 by the European Patent Office and the European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry, and has since grown to become one of the most prestigious distinctions in the field. Awards are presented in five categories, the winners of which will be announced at a ceremony to be held on May 19 at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Molnár’s nomination marks the first time a Hungarian has been nominated for the European Inventor Award.

(Translated by Gina Gönczi)