A high-definition microscope that lets doctors examine blood vessels during microsurgeries and that boasts an "avant-garde design" was one of three winners in the life science and medicine category for a prestigious international design competition.

A jury of 30 design experts gave Carl Zeiss Meditec AG's Opmi Pentero 900 surgical microscope the "best of the best" prize for product design in the annual red dot awards, a design competition that began in 1955. Standing with the Opmi Pentero at the top were NanoTemper Technologies' Monolith sample analyzer and Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk's programmable insulin pen, the Novo Pen 5.

Although the winners were announced this week, the awards ceremony, taking place in Essen, Germany, won't be held until July.

"The most distinguished products of the respective branch of industry faced up not only to the tough competition this year again, but also to the critical eye of the jury," red dot's CEO Peter Zec said in a statement, according to a press release from Planmeca Group, a Finnish X-ray maker that got two of the 71 red dot awards handed out to products in this category. About 4,515 products competed in all 19 design categories, 62 of which earned the top "best of the best" honors, red dot said.

In its write-up on the Opmi Pentero, red dot praised the microscope's "simple, slender contouring" and the "intelligent arrangement" of its various parts, such as the monitor, swivel arm and storage tray. "The curvatures projecting toward the front of the system invite the user to use them as handles for monitor alignment," red dot said. The judges also highlighted the smooth appearance of the unit, which features "virtually no joints or seams" for easier cleaning.

The microscope was designed for Carl Zeiss, based in the German town of Jena, by a team called designflow///, also based out of Germany, according to a red dot brochure.

Other product design winners

Among other winners of the "red dot award: product design" in the medical category, a few capital equipment makers stood out. Planmeca Group, the Helsinki-based firm, got awards for two cone-beam CT scanners: one for its ProMax 3D ProFace, a cone-beam dental CT system that also generates a 3D face photo; and another for its Planmed Verity, a mobile extremity scanner designed for the orthopedist's office. In a press release, Tapio Laukkanen, an industrial designer with the Planmed division, described the Verity's design as "both welcoming and gentle with a strong personality." The system only received CE Marking - or permission to be sold in the European Union - earlier this year.

Dutch lighting and electronics giant Royal Philips Electronic also picked up two awards, one for it sleek Sparq ultrasound system, and another for its adorable monkey and elephant-shaped tape measures, Trunky & Monkey, designed to measure mid-upper arm circumference of children, typically in poor countries, who are at risk of malnutrition.

And Tokyo-based conglomerate Toshiba Medical Systems brought back three awards: one for its whole-body Alexion CT scanner, and two for ultrasound units in the Nemio and Aplio families. Eleven-year-old, British Columbia-based Ultrasonix also got a prize for ultrasound, for the SonixTablet, a mountable system with a 19" touch screen.

An online exhibition featuring the winning products should go up in July, a red dot rep told DOTmed News.

Read about last year's red dot winners here.

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