We're proud to announce that AXON, the treatment planning system we built together with ZAP Surgical, has won the German Design Award 2026 in the Excellent Communications Design: Interactive User Experience category.
The German Design Award is one of the most prestigious design competitions in Europe, run by the German Design Council and recognizing work that sets new standards in form and function. Winning in the Interactive User Experience category reflects what we set out to do from day one: prove that software for life-critical tasks doesn't have to be hard.
AXON is a radiosurgery planning platform designed for the ZAP-X, a vault-free gyroscopic radiosurgery system used to treat complex brain tumors and other head and neck conditions. Clinicians use AXON to load and align scans, outline targets and critical structures, and generate an optimized treatment plan in minutes. Fast dose calculation and interactive 3D visualization give users the confidence to review and refine every plan before a patient ever enters the room.
The jury put it plainly: “Clarity and orientation take center stage: AXON impresses with an aesthetically structured user interface that brings calm even to complex scenarios. The concise user guidance, paired with expressive 3D visualization, enables particularly safe and transparent planning. This demonstrates how powerfully consistent interaction design can perform, especially in sensitive application areas – an impressive example of outstanding quality.”
AXON is built on modern web technology, making it the first system in its field to embrace this stack fully. Together with ZAP Surgical's clinical expertise, that technical foundation allowed us to develop the product in two years, a timeline that would have been unthinkable with legacy approaches.
This recognition from the German Design Council follows AXON's Red Dot Award win earlier in 2025 and reinforces something we strongly believe: that design excellence and medical rigor are not competing values. With more than 30 active ZAP-X installations worldwide, AXON is already helping clinicians deliver better, faster care to patients in need.
About ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc.
ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc. designs and manufactures the ZAP-X Gyroscopic Radiosurgery platform. ZAP was founded in 2014 by Dr. John R. Adler, Emeritus Dorothy & TK Chan Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology at Stanford University, and inventor of the CyberKnife system. The ZAP-X platform's vault-free design typically eliminates the need for costly shielded treatment rooms and uses a modern linear accelerator in place of Cobalt-60.
About Reaktor
Reaktor is a global technology consultancy specializing in projects that cannot afford to fail. We combine strategy, design, and technology to help ambitious companies gain a competitive edge and become industry leaders. Our expertise spans the full lifecycle of problem-solving, from pioneering data and AI to strategy, design, development, change management, and continuous services, anchored in deep industry know-how and high-performing, multidisciplinary teams. Founded in 2000, Reaktor has offices in Helsinki, Amsterdam, Lisbon, New York, and Tokyo, with over 700 employees. Our customers include Adidas, HBO, Supercell, Cathay Pacific, and Thuisarts.
