An automated coding system for medical records in Icelandic won the University‘s Science and Innovation Award

An automated coding system designed to code medical records in Icelandic according to an international ICD coding system has won the University of Iceland Science and Innovation Award 2024. The award was presented today at a ceremony in the Celebration Hall in the university’s main building. Three other projects by students and teachers at the university were awarded prizes; one involves a new carbon capture technique; another researching AI through the development of intelligent musical instruments, and the third utilises magnetometers on drones to make faster magnetic measurements on fissures such as those that have formed during the volcanic activity in and around Grindavík in recent months.

The competition for the UI Science and Innovation Award has been held annually and is now in its 26th year. From the very beginning it has been a part of the supportive environment for innovation in Iceland. Supporting innovation is crucial as it can be of immense value for the Icelandic economy. The competition is a collaboration between the University of Iceland, Árnason|Faktor and TTO Iceland; the ceremony is a part of Iceland Innovation Week 2024.

This year there were just under 40 entries and prizes were awarded for the best ideas in four categories: Health and wellbeing, Technology and progress, Society, and the Motivational Prize. An overall winner was also selected from the winners in the above categories. A panel of judges, made up of experts from within and outside the University, reviewed the entries and evaluated them based on ingenuity and originality, execution, and societal impact, e.g. regarding the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and whether the project aligned with the University's strategy and mission.

The winner of the category Health and wellbeing, and the overall winner of the competition, was the project “Automated coding of Icelandic medical records” and was awarded a total prize money of ISK 1.5 million. Behind the project are Hafsteinn Einarsson, assistant professor in the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, and Haraldur Orri Hauksson, a postgraduate student at ETH Zürich.

The project involves developing an automated coding system for medical records in Icelandic by using Icelandic language models. The aim of the project is to increase efficiency and precision when recording medical information by supporting health-care workers in coding and thereby increasing the quality of coding in Icelandic medical records. The outcome of the project is an Icelandic language model that can code medical records according to an international ICD standard with similar accuracy as has been made available for English. The panel of judges believed that this project had an enormous practical potential and demonstrated considerable ingenuity. The project utilises technology in a new way to strengthen the healthcare system, is beneficial for society, and can also produce products that could be used in an international context.

The winner of the Technology and progress category and awarded a prize of ISK 1.5 million, was the project “Integrating Pressure-Retarded Osmosis with Direct Air Capture Process for Electricity Production and Decarbonization”. The people behind the project are Lingxe Guan, PhD student and Bing Wu, professor in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Other collaborators are Xia Huang, professor at Tsinghua University in China; Tzyy Haur Chong, associate professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and Tian Li, associate professor at Tongji University in China.

Carbon capture techniques that are key to reducing carbon emissions and making progress towards climate goals are often energy-intensive.  This project developed a new process that integrates low-emission, compact membrane-based osmosis energy production with a direct air capture, or DAC, process to improve the energy and water efficiency of DAC. With this hybrid process, renewable energy generation and decarbonization can be attained simultaneously. It was pointed out by the judges that this project was highly beneficial for society and demonstrated ingenuity while also an excellent example of strong research activity within the university. The aim of the project also aligned well with the United Nations’ Development goals as innovative and environmentally friendly solutions like this one are needed.

The winner in the category Society and awarded a prize of ISK 1.5 million, was the project “Intelligent Instruments: Understanding 21st century AI through Creative Music Technology. The project is led by Þórhallur Magnússon, a research professor at the UI Institute of Philosophy, and other collaborators are the Experimental Music Technologies Lab and Sussex Humanities Lab at the University of Sussex, Cambridge Digital Humanities, Orpheus Institute in Gent, and Multi-Sensory Devices Group at University College London. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and is in the field of experimental humanities. It investigates how ideas, understanding and discourse form around modern AI through the development of intelligent musical instruments. One of the main research methods is therefore to work with people, making instruments, playing music, and looking at the wider musical environment during these times of technological change. The panel of judges believed that this project was particularly interesting and a good example of interdisciplinary collaboration. It was also an innovative approach to an influential technology where the public would be introduced to diverse ideas and fields of study.

This year, the motivational prize with a cash prize of ISK 500,000 was awarded to the project “Fast analysis of fissures by using drones for magnetic measurements. Behind the project are Sindri Bernholt, an undergraduate student in geophysics, Elisa Johanna Piispa, a research scholar, and Catherine Rachael Gallagher, a post-doctoral researcher, both at the UI Institute of Earth Sciences.

Large fissures and landslides have formed during the recent seismic activity in the Reykjanes Peninsula and have caused danger for people in the area, especially in Grindavík. This calls for new methods in identifying fissures in a safe yet faster way, and this project does so by utilising magnetometers on drones to make magnetic measurements mixed with other methods of measurement and knowledge already at hand. The project improves methods used for the assessment of fissures, both in areas already impacted by current seismic activity and in areas where seismic activity is expected in the future. It was the opinion of the panel of judges that this project had great potential for further development and was particularly relevant in the light of recent events. It also offers opportunities for continued research, aligns well with the University's policies, and supports its activities, as well as offering many opportunities for collaboration with interested parties.