Engineering Professors shine at 16th International Invention Fair in the Middle East Magnetic micro-robot breaks surgical boundaries to claim Grand Prize

2026-03-02
Media Release

Engineering Professors and their research teams achieved remarkable results at the 16th International Invention Fair in the Middle East (IIFME). Three projects led by Professors from the Faculty of Engineering won 8 accolades and scooped the event’s Grand Prize. The awards included three Gold Medals with the Congratulations of the Jury.

Developed by Professor Zhang Li from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professor of Robotic Surgery in the Department of Surgery, and their team, the project “Magnet micro-/nano-robot for endovascular treatment” garnered the IIFME Grand Prize (which was the first time for CUHK), a FIRI Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury. As traditional surgical tools have limited adaptability and are not small enough to reach many of the human body’s tiny, torturous and distal locations, their invention allows surgeons to access these locations and deliver treatment using magnetic micro-/nano-robots.

Professor Raymond Tong from the Department of Biomedical Engineering and their team won the Prize of the International Federation of Inventors’ Association (IFIA) Award, Special Prize of the Iranian Delegation (FIRI Award) and Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury for their project “Bionic artificial muscle for robotic systems: XoMuscle and XoBrace”.

Professor Lu Yi-chun from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering and their team secured the Special Prize Awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury for their project “Safe, low-cost and sustainable sulfur-based flow battery”.

The IIFME, which was held in Kuwait this year, is the largest specialised exhibition of inventions and innovations in the Middle East, as well as the second largest international invention exhibition in the world. A collaboration with the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, the event aims to promote the culture of invention and innovation while strengthening connections among inventors, enterprises and investors worldwide.

 

More details: CUHK wins 10 accolades at 16th International Invention Fair in the Middle East

CUHK team wins IIFME Grand Prize.

CUHK’s innovation projects have won 10 awards at the 16th International Invention Fair in the Middle East (IIFME).

Research team comprised of members from the Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Surgery and Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology wins IIFME Grand Prize, FIRI Award and Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury.

Research team from the Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering wins the Prize of the IFIA, FIRI Award and Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury.

Research team from the Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering wins the Special Prize Awarded by UNESCO and Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury.

Group photo of CUHK teams with Mr Hu Hanming, Counselor (Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait (6th right), Dr Mohammed Alsaffar, Head of Development and Competitiveness Programs Sector of the Higher Committee (middle), Mr Alireza Rastegar, IFIA President (6th left) and Ms Guo Yan, Director of the International Department of the China Association of Inventions (1st left).