NATO and JATEC announce winners of the NATO Innovation Challenge on medical evacuation

The NATO Innovation Challenge “Medical Care in a Transparent and Contested Battlespace” has named the top projects seeking new medical evacuation solutions for modern warfare. The jury included representatives from both NATO and Ukraine.

Participants’ proposals focused on addressing key challenges faced by the Defence Forces in providing field care and evacuating casualties in areas subject to pervasive drone surveillance and strikes.

Among ten international and Ukrainian developers shortlisted for the finals of the 17th NATO Innovation Challenge on medical care, three winners were selected.

First place was awarded to a portable field dialysis device developed by Canadian innovators, which effectively replaces kidney function.

The device uses just 2–4 liters of water per cycle, compared with 200–500 liters for conventional dialysis machines, and its size and weight allow it to be carried in a backpack.

Second place went to the U.S.-developed MiniFuser — a device for controlled intravenous administration of medications that operates without continuous medical supervision and does not require electricity or special operating conditions.

Third place was awarded to an automated casualty data-reading system developed by a U.S. innovator. The microchip enables data transmission without using wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

The NATO Innovation Challenge “Medical Care in a Transparent and Contested Battlespace” was organized and conducted by the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

Among others, the jury included representatives from the Medical Battalion “Hospitallers” and the Charity Foundation “Come Back Alive”. Ukrainian experts, leveraging experience gained on the frontline, contributed to identifying the most effective proposed projects.

Following the competition, the winners will have the opportunity to develop their solutions further, test them under combat conditions, and scale them upon successful validation.