Impact of research
KTH’s second comprehensive research assessment exercise sends a clear message. Research at the School of Electrical Engineering has a major impact in society: Health innovations like ultra-miniaturized pressure sensor catheter for blood pressure measurements sold in 100 000 each year; commercialization of the world’s largest pure-play micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) foundry; development of high efficient drive systems for railway traction through engagement with large company; influencing standardization in smart grids, and providing vital infrastructure like space electric field measurements systems that allows for innovations at NASA.
Health
An ultra-miniaturized pressure sensor catheter for blood pressure measurements was developed by KTH and commercialized by Radi Medical Systems AB in the late nineties. The product has become a huge clinical and commercial success. In 2008, the Fortune 500 company St Jude Inc. acquired Radi Medical Systems AB for 200 MEUR in cash to incorporate the technology into their world-leading cardiovascular product portfolio. In 2009, the New England Journal of Medicine published trials that confirmed that routine use of the device in a sensor-guided minimally invasive surgical procedure reduced mortality and myocardial infarction after one year by approximately 35 percent compared to the standard procedure, while being cost-saving, contrast agent saving, and reducing the number of stents used. Today this pressure sensing system is common medical practice and sold at a rate of more than 100,000 units per year. The Swedish production unit has approximately 200 employees and a turnover of more than 65 MEUR.
Commercialization and job creation
Silex Microsystems AB is the world’s largest pure-play micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) foundries providing large-volume advanced MEMS and heterogeneous packaging production services. The company was founded in 2000 by former PhDs at KTH. The success of the company very much relies on the technology skills developed by the founders when they were staff members at KTH in the late nineties. The business is based on the very same fabrication techniques that constitute the core of the research activities at KTH. Several of the products manufactured by Silex have their origin from research at KTH. Silex has more than 190 employees and a turnover of 35 MEUR.
Engagement with large companies
A very successful collaboration was established between KTH and Bombardier Transportation AB within the Swedish Centre of Excellence in Electric Power Engineering (EKC2) financed by the Swedish Energy Agency. The development of high-efficiency permanent magnet drives for railway traction was started in 2007 and is still on-going. In the collaboration, KTH was carrying out research focused on the development of early stage prototypes, later stage prototype systems as well as control and system related research on prototypes very close to series production. The company has had two record orders of permanent-magnet equipped trains to be delivered to France and Switzerland. In summary, the research collaboration has resulted in a substantial contribution to Swedish industry and to the development of high efficient drive systems for railway traction.
Infrastructures for innovation
KTH researchers hold a front-line position in space electric field measurements enabling KTH to build complete electric field instruments in-house, tailored for missions of variable sizes. NASA selected the KTH measurement system for its Magnetospheric Multi-Scale mission, to be launched 2014, with a budget of 1,000 mUSD. NASA is financing fabrication and tests of 16+2 flight units. The Swedish National Space Board funding of the KTH participation, which amounts to about 2 mUSD, constitutes 0.2 percent of the mission budget, which is a modest cost for participating in the most advanced magnetospheric mission ever flown.
Influencing public policy
Research at KTH within the general area of power systems, and especially the work on renewable production and the importance of power system information models, has made it possible for KTH researchers to take an active role in bodies having an impact on national and international policy making within the ‘smart grids’ field. For example, KTH researchers have actively articipated in the drafting of mandate 490 on standardization for smart grids later issued by the European Commission, the Swedish legislation concerning how to handle peak load capacity and different rules/tariffs for integrating new renewable energy such as wind and solar power, in the development 63 of the IEC Standardization Roadmap for smart grids, in work within the International Energy Agency concerning wind power integration and through these activities also contributing to Swedish policy making within the smart grids field.
Public outreach
KTH researchers participate in the first international space mission for multi-probe exploration of the Sun-Earth connection, Cluster. The mission involves over 60 research groups from Europe and USA. The KTH contributions have improved the understanding of key space plasma processes producing aurora on Earth and other planets, of benefit for space science and of great interest for the general public eager to learn about the phenomena behind, for instance, the northern lights. The results were published in Nature with follow-up articles in Science, Nature, New Scientist, Der Spiegel and in the daily press including USA Today, DN and SvD. The cluster aurora research at KTH has been recognized to a wide community by invited lectures, press conferences, popular articles and lectures.
Read more about KTH's effort to remain competitive internationally, and ensuringt that future research strategies maintain a global perspective, in RAE2012 Research Assessment Excercise.
