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NCS Research Award 2025 to Lasse Løvstakken

ProCardio is proud and delighted to congratulate Professor Lasse Løvstakken at NTNU on receiving the Norwegian Society of Cardiology’s (NCS) Research Award 2025. The award honors researchers who have made outstanding scientific contributions in cardiology – and Løvstakken is a highly deserving recipient with groundbreaking research that combines technological innovation and clinical relevance.

Published 12/8/2025
Last updated 12/9/2025
Portrait photo of Lasse holding the award certificate

Photo: Privat

Professor Lasse Løvstakken was awarded the NCS Research Award 2025.
For more than 15 years, Professor Løvstakken has been a driving force in the development of echocardiography and ultrasound technology for cardiac diagnostics. He is recognized as a leading international expert in ultrasound technology, particularly for his work on quantifying blood flow and tissue motion, as well as applying artificial intelligence for automated image analysis in cardiac ultrasound.

Research-Based Innovation

Professor Løvstakken has collaborated closely with key industry partners and contributed to the implementation of several innovations in clinical practice. He is the inventor of Blood Speckle Imaging, an advanced method for blood flow imaging that is now implemented in GE HealthCare ultrasound systems and used daily in clinical practice both nationally and internationally.

Bridging Technology and Medicine

At ProCardio, Professor Løvstakken plays a central role, both as work package leader and in general administration. He is a key figure in our center and actively contributes to realizing our vision of better diagnostics and treatment for patients with heart disease. His unique ability to combine technological innovation with clinical relevance makes him an invaluable partner.
 
We congratulate Lasse on the well-deserved research award and thank him for his significant contributions to cardiology research in general – and for all his valuable contributions to ProCardio in particular.
Professor Kristina Haugaa, ProCardio Center Director

An Impressive Academic Career

Løvstakken has an impressive academic background with an MSc in Cybernetics from NTNU (2002) and a PhD in Medical Technology (2007). Since completing his doctorate, he has led groundbreaking studies in cardiology focusing on the development and evaluation of new echocardiographic methods. Since 2018, he has headed the ultrasound group at ISB, NTNU – an internationally leading research group with around 60 scientific staff – and he played a highly central role in the former CIUS SFI at NTNU.

Throughout his career, Løvstakken has published  more than 100 scientific articles, many in leading journals such as JACC Cardiovasc Imaging, European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging, and Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. He has also contributed to international guidelines for the use of machine learning in cardiac imaging and has supervised a large number of MSc and PhD candidates. In total, he has supervised 27 PhD candidates, 16 of them as the main supervisor.

Congratulations, Lasse – we look forward to continuing our great collaboration and together develop future solutions for cardiac care
Kristina Haugaa

Source: Nomination letter for the NCS Research Award. Text proofread with assistance from Microsoft Copilot (AI assistant).