Eight companies have been short-listed for the final of the National Innovation Awards 2001, which will be announced later this month. In the fifth year of the competition, companies involved in the medical area, biotechnology, information technology, mobile commerce and sophisticated manufacturing have been short-listed.
Andrews Surgical Innovations Ltd, Cork, is a small company that has developed the Andrews Conductor, a surgical instrument used to facilitate the difficult procedure of introducing an intercostal drain into the chest cavity. The instrument removes dangerous collections of air or fluid from the chest.
Corvil Networks Ltd (Dublin) is a new international technology company, which aims to become a leading provider of next-generation control and management solutions for broadband networks. Essential Bandwidth Technology is a technique it has invented to enable operators to control its networks effectively and deliver a quality service while maintaining maximum efficiency.
Elan Biotechnology Research (Dublin) was established within the Elan Corporation to conduct research and use advanced biotechnology to improve the efficacy of medicines being developed by the company. The innovation submitted is not a discovery as such, but the development of a research network to reach into the international biotechnology community, dramatically extending its skills base, technologies and product opportunities.
Medtronic AVE (Galway) is a large manufacturer of medical devices. The innovation submitted for these awards is the development and introduction of computer simulation software into the design of minimally invasive medical devices (angioplasty catheters), which are used in the treatment of coronary artery disease.
Network 365 (Wicklow), a mobile commerce company, has delivered the world's first WAP-based mobile commerce, the world's first integration of mobile wallet with internet commerce and the world's first integration of mobile commerce with pre-paid billing.
Skytek Ltd (Dublin) worked with the European Space Agency on the development of WebACT (now re-branded as COReCT), an internet-based software application to assist astronauts undertake procedures on board the international space station. It also has applications across a diverse range of industries, especially where it is necessary to "walk" repair and maintenance crews through complex procedures.
Videsti (Dublin) is a provider of television solutions. It has entered a new editing tool, Newstrack, which would enable a single member of a television news team to compile entire news bulletins including video clips, live inserts and captions.
Xsil Ltd (Dublin) is a start-up manufacturing company specialising in the development of precision lasers and robotics. It has developed a machine capable of developing previously impossible micro-structures for semiconductor, biomedical and sensor device applications. Prototypes of the machine have been tested successfully and production versions are ready to be shipped to a major company in the electronics sector.
