Five medtech companies recently won some of the top technology awards in the state of Minnesota, known as one of three major medical device hubs in the U.S.
The companies competed for the Minnesota Technology Association annual Tekne Awards, which included categories ranging from artificial intelligence and machine learning to “technology for good.”
“The Tekne Awards honor the innovators and tech leaders powering Minnesota’s growing science and technology economy,” said association president and CEO Jeff Tollefson in a news release. “This year we were especially excited to honor organizations that showed swift and innovative responses to the COVID-19 crisis.”
3M was one of 10 organizations recognized as finalists for the special Tekne Award for COVID-19 Community Response. A team at 3M researched and developed a testing protocol for the decontamination of filtering facepiece respirators (FFR), such as its N95 masks, in just two weeks. The company’s protocol supported two of the first FDA emergency use authorizations and the team ultimately formed collaborations with more than 35 decontamination manufacturers around the world.
Here are the rest of the medtech winners:
