SPARC member Dr. Lennart Karstensen has been awarded the Anton Fink Wissenschaftspreis für Künstliche Intelligenz 2026, together with Caroline Haslebacher. The prize, endowed with 10.000 Euro, is awarded by the Technische Hochschule Deggendorf to individuals whose doctoral research makes groundbreaking contributions in the field of artificial intelligence. Dr. Karstensen’s doctoral thesis focused on simulation-based control learning for patient-specific autonomous navigation in endovascular interventions, addressing the challenge of transferring learning-based control from simulation to real-world medical robotics applications. The work aims to make life-saving endovascular procedures more accessible to patients in regions where specialist physicians are scarce. The award was presented by THD President Prof. Waldemar Berg on May 5, 2026, at the Technische Hochschule Deggendorf.

Prof. Dr. Franziska Mathis-Ullrich

Professorship for Surgical Planning and Robotic Cognition