Innovation awards: the shortlist

THE SHORTLIST for The Irish TimesInnovation awards, in association with InterTradeIreland, has been announced. Out of a total of 282 companies and organisations that initially registered, 17 have qualified across the six categories.

During the first phase, applicants were required to complete detailed descriptions of their organisation or product and its innovative nature. In most instances these were supplied with supporting background material and independent references.

This was followed by a day-long assessment of the entries by a judging panel that included Irish Times Innovation staff members along with: Prof Patrick Gibbons of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School; Aidan Gough, strategy and policy director at Intertrade Ireland; Edel Lynch , senior executive of Accentures health and public service practice; and Dan Murphy, consultant at BCM Hanby Wallace.

In the product and/or service innovation category, three firms qualified from an impressive field of entrants.

Medical technology firm BiancaMed was shortlisted for its non-contact sleep sensor that has already attracted significant commercial interest. InTime Media made it through the assessment process for its audience interaction application for mobile devices. Finally, Mcor Technologies was shortlisted for its printer that allows three-dimensional models to be created using regular A4 paper.

In the category for green-tech innovation, eco-towel developer Easydry made it through to the final three in this category. Initially targeted at the hairdressing, beauty and healthcare sector, it offers an eco-friendly alternative to cotton towels. The eco-towels are recyclable, biodegradable and help cut laundry bills. The firm claims its eco-towels are 25 per cent cheaper than buying and laundering cotton towels.

Solarprint was shortlisted for its patented Dye Sensitised Solar Cell (DSSC), which is fully printable and can be applied to glass, metal or plastic surfaces. The company is currently at advanced stages of collaboration with a number of companies which include an automotive manufacturer, a home appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer.

Finally Treemetrics made the final round for its commercial forestry measurement system, which has already collected several accolades since its creation.

Under the award category for innovative application of research and development, NUI Maynooth was shortlisted for the RD development of its Blue Box Sensors, which are implantable brain sensors used in the development of new drugs for neurological conditions, to test their efficacy in real time.

Medical device firm Medtronic has been shortlisted for its zerofold balloon catheter, used during angioplasty procedures to combat coronary artery disease (CAD). Other balloon catheters are moulded to the desired dimensions and then folded down. Under the zerofold design, Medtronics claims the reduced catheter diameter makes insertion easier for the surgeon and less injurious to the patient.

Finally, Sigmoid Pharma made the final cut for its development of an orally-administered drug for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, that causes severe inflammation of the colon.

In the organisational systems and processes category, Bausch Laumb impressed the judges with its production line innovation that significantly reduced stoppages on the line. The process, developed at its Waterford facility, has now been patented and introduced at the firm’s other plants.

Bgate Technologies attracted the interest of judges in its innovative transaction system that is already used by several major companies and claims to deliver impressive savings.

Finally, the joint entry from aid agency Concern and Valid International for their innovative approach to tackling severe malnutrition caught the judges’ attention. The new system significantly reduces the number of patients required to seek support from over-stretched medical centres while creating viable, locally sourced food supplies.

In the public service sector, three candidates stood out. First, was a new online processing system for handling neurological cases. Developed by St Vincent’s University hospital in conjunction with Healthlink, the Neurolink system allows GPs to make neurological consultancy appointments and queries online, dramatically reducing waiting times for patients.

Another practical innovative response to the current situation came from Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) with its shop-and-collect system that lets passengers buy on the way out and collect when they return.

Finally, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Northern Ireland was shortlisted for a new unique software solution benefitting the pig industry by providing processors and producers with a facility to analyse and benchmark their data on carcases in real-time, within processing plants or via the web.

Finally, in the category for North/South collaboration, the Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre (C-TRIC) led by the University of Ulster, Western Health and Social Care Trust, and Derry City Council is one of the finalists.

The centre facilitates clinical research and the streamlining of new developments from the laboratory to the market place through a focused “bench to beside” approach. Located within the Altnagelvin Hospital complex, C-TRIC provides access to collaborative academic, business and clinical research in a bespoke environment for the island of Ireland and the UK.

The other entrant to qualify in this category was a new online patient recruitment and screening database for clinical trials for multinational biotech and pharma companies has been developed by Clinical Conduct Associates, with assistance from Intertrade Ireland’s Fusion programme.

The shortlisted firms will now go on to present to a panel of judges, with the category winners and an overall “innovator of the year” – chosen from the category winners – announced at an awards event to be held in late March.

PRODUCT/SERVICE

BiancaMed

Mcor Technologies Ltd

InTime Media

GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Easydry Ltd

Solarprint Ltd

TreeMetrics Ltd

APPLICATION OF RD

Sigmoid Pharma Ltd

Medtronic CardioVascular

NUI Maynooth – Blue Box

ORGANISATIONAL SYSTEM/ PROCESS

Bausch Lomb

Bgate Technology Ltd

Concern

PUBLIC SERVICE

Agri-Food Biosciences Institute

DAA

Department of Neurology, St Vincent’s University Hospital

NORTH/SOUTH

University of Ulster

Clinical Conduct Associates Ltd