Cenamps' NanoBlog

Tyneside firm's Far East venture opens whole new world for diagnostic devices

2007-12-02T19:25:00.000Z

Tyneside firm has joined forces with a leading Japanese electronics manufacturer to develop a new range of ground-breaking, hi-tech devices to provide "nearer the patient" diagnoses of a range of diseases.

With the help of UK Trade & Investment's "Passport to Export" programme, early-stage nano biotechnology firm Orla Protein Technologies Ltd (Orla) has signed an agreement with the Japan Radio Co. Ltd (JRC), in Tokyo, to develop the new devices that can be used by doctors and paramedics to allow earlier and more effective treatment forpatients, without the need for complex equipment.

Simple to use, small, low-cost and portable the devices can provide instant test results for viruses, bacteria and protein markers. Test results will be stored electronically and can be capable of wireless transmission, opening significant opportunities in the multi-million dollar diagnostics market.

Dale Athey, Chief Executive at Orla, explained:"This is a very exciting development for Orla and we are honoured to have a partner such as JRC. Their expertise in mass manufacture and sensor technology, combined with Orla's novel bio surface technology provides a fantastic opportunity to create a leading position in the bio diagnostic market."

Jeff Sanders, one of UK Trade & Investments International Trade Advisers, said: "We have been working with Orla for the past five years and have helped them develop a comprehensive export plan, that helped maximise the support available through UK Trade & Investment, including its Passport to Export programme.

"This carefully planned approach to international trade has been vital element of the company's success and its great to see that their hard work is now paying dividends. The partnership with JRC is an important development and we will continue to offer all the support we can to ensure its on going success."

Cenamps wins contract to manage new government Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network

2007-11-08T12:10:00.000Z

Cenamps, a national centre for emerging technologies, has secured a major contract to manage the newly created ‘Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network’ (KTN), funded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

The Nanotechnology KTN will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and experience between industry and research, offering companies dealing in small-scale technology access to information on new processes, patents and funding as well as keeping up-to-date with industry regulation.

Previously served by a Micro and Nano Technologies (MNT) Network, a pioneer for all subsequent KTNs, the new Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network will build upon an existing network of 700 organisations, working with a mix of well established and young innovative companies such as BAE Systems, Proctor and Gamble, Farfield Instruments and Zyvex.

Dr. Mike Pitkethly, CEO of Cenamps said: “In creating a new KTN for micro and nano technologies, Government has recognised the positive impact that such technologies are having on society.

“Knowledge transfer with scientists from a range of disciplines within the KTN programme will allow us to bring the benefits of these enabling technologies to a far wider audience. The possibilities for new products and businesses are likely to open up dramatically, so this is very exciting for the UK.”
The network has already been utilised successfully by Japan Regional Ventures, a company driving technological investment into two regions of Japan, in its efforts to find potential collaborators. Thanks to the support received, the company is ready to meet with representatives from TWI ltd, a company that oversees nanotechnology applications in welding, which can create more safety and stability in rails and building structures.

Likewise, Dr Richard Thompson of Durham University recently used the network to try and find collaborators for his Patterned Microfluidic Devices project. The venture aims to generate devices that could lead to new applications and improved performance in microfluidic systems; fluids that can be controlled at the nanolitre. Since posting his request, Dr. Thompson has received several responses from professionals with complementary expertise.
David Way, Operations Director at TSB, said: “The aim of this important network is to provide a market-oriented focus to broker collaborations that can allow the UK to exploit these new technologies. The TSB is playing a central role in guiding the development of KTNs to help the business community to interact and develop ideas and build relations with the science base and government.”

Nanotechnology covers a wide range of disciplines that involve using materials whose properties at very small scale differ from those at larger scale and provide opportunities to design products with new and improved performance. For example the use of materials at the nano-scale (the smallest atomic scale in science) is being developed to give flexibility and functionality to the materials onto which they are applied. Its potential markets include aerospace, construction and energy as well as the chemicals, electronics and the healthcare industries. Examples of products already being developed include devices that can diagnose medical conditions and clothing that can detect and respond to a person’s stress levels.

Consultation launch of Responsible NanoCode for business

2007-09-25T10:43:00.000+01:00

A consultation on seven principles of responsible practice for organisations working in the rapidly developing area of nanotechnologies has been launched today (24 September 2007).

The ‘Responsible NanoCode’ has been drafted by a working group established by the Royal Society, Insight Investment, the Nanotechnology Industries Association and the Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network. The working group also includes representatives from companies, scientists, governments, non governmental organisations and trade unions including the chemical company BASF, Unilever, Smith & Nephew, the consumer group Which?, the development NGO Practical Action and the trade union Amicus.

The aim of the ‘Responsible NanoCode’ is to establish an international consensus on what constitutes good practice and to provide guidance on what organisations and businesses can do to demonstrate they are responsibly managing them while the need for further regulation is being evaluated. It is hoped that the voluntary code will contribute to ensuring nanotechnologies achieve their full potential in delivering health, environmental, social and economic benefits at a time when businesses are dealing with technical, social, regulatory and commercial uncertainties concerning these relatively new technologies.

Lord Selborne, chair of the working group, said: “One of the key strengths of the ‘Responsible NanoCode’ is that the working group is made up from, and engaging with, a wide range of businesses, organisations and individuals that are interested in the development of nanotechnologies.

“As a set of high level principles the Code will be aimed at company boards and governing bodies, and we hope they will then be used to inform the whole range of an organisation’s or business’ practices. Because the Code does not primarily focus on operational detail, a wide range of companies and organisations will be able to adopt it.

“We are looking to receive input on the draft Code from a broad range of organisations and individuals from around the world. We would also like organisations to tell us whether they would actually adopt such a Code, how they could be encouraged to do so and how to best evaluate whether those who do sign up are adhering to its principles.”

The Code’s proposed Seven Principles, which will be underpinned by indicators of behaviour a company adopting the Code should display, are:

1. Each Organisation should ensure that responsibility for guiding and managing its involvement with nanotechnologies resides with the Board or governing body

2. Each Organisation should proactively engage with its stakeholders and be responsive to their views in its development or use of products using nanotechnologies

3. Each Organisation should identify and minimise sources of risk for workers handling products using nanotechnologies, at all stages in the production process or in industrial use, to ensure high standards of occupational health and safety

4. Each Organisation should carry out thorough risk assessments and minimise any potential public health, safety and environmental risks relating to its products using nanotechnologies

5. Each Organisation should consider and respond to any social and ethical implications and impacts in the development or sale of products using nanotechnologies

6. Each Organisation should adopt responsible practice in the sales and marketing of products using nanotechnologies

7. Each Organisation should engage with suppliers and/or business partners to encourage and stimulate their adoption of the Code and so assure its own ability to fulfil its Code commitments

More information and a complete draft copy of the Code can be found at http://www.responsiblenanocode.org/

The consultation will run until Monday 12 November. Organisations or individuals interested in being involved should e-mail their comments to consultation@responsiblenanocode.org.

New healthcare technology development project launched to improve patient outcome and the success rate of haematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT)

2007-08-22T16:23:00.000+01:00

€3.5 million research and development programme is launched today to improve the success rate of stem cell transplants, including bone marrow transplants for Leukaemia patients. Professor Anne Dickinson, Haematological Sciences, Newcastle University, leads the programme in partnership with a consortium of 13 leading European clinical research institutes and biotech firms.

Known as StemDiagnostics, the consortium will aim to identify new bio-markers (indicators of transplant rejection and clinical complications) and develop medical diagnostic tests that will help practitioners to improve the success rate of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT), treatments for life threatening medical conditions and cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and inherited immune disorders.

Around 7,000 such transplants take place throughout Europe each year, but the survival rate is low (40 – 60 per cent) and decreases rapidly with patient age. The application of HSCT therapy is also hampered by the lack of suitable matched donors: only 25 –30 per cent of patients find a compatible sibling donor.

Such transplants involve the use of bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells and umbilical cord blood as stem cell sources. The project, which follows 3 year’s research by Professor Dickinson and the Consortium, aims to develop tests with the use of the latest bionano and lab-on-a-chip techniques provided by SMEs such as Orla Protein Technologies, also based in North East England. Cenamps, a Newcastle-based centre for emerging umbilical cord blood as stem cell sources. The project, which follows 3 year’s research by Professor Dickinson and the Consortium, aims to develop tests with the use of the latest bionano and lab-on-a-chip techniques provided by SMEs such as Orla Protein Technologies, also based in North East England. Cenamps, a Newcastle-based centre for emerging technologies, will handle commercialisation aspects of the project’s outcomes.

Professor Anne Dickinson, commented: “The project is the first of its kind to bring together research looking at a variety of different biomarkers – or indicators of post transplant complications. These include DNA and proteins. From this work, we hope to be able to develop new diagnostic tools using genomics, proteomics, in vitro bioassays and biochips, to aid in earlier clinical intervention by predicting any complications which may arise in our bone marrow transplant patients.”

StemDiagnostics will develop new proteomic, biological and genomic tests for predicting patient response prior to transplant and subsequently for monitoring of patient response to novel therapeutics for the most severe complication of HSCT – graft versus host disease (GvHD). The consortium aims to bring to the clinic the next generation of diagnostics tests for use in HSCT.
To meet this challenge, StemDiagnostics brings together five of European’s leading small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with expertise in genomic and proteomic testing, diagnostic assay development and biochips, with clinical partners selected for their world-leading research in HSCT and access to clinical samples and patient groups. The SMEs include Mosaiques Diagnostics, Multimmune, IMGM Laboratories, Apotech and Orla Protein Technologies.

Shak Gohir, Business & Programme Manager at Cenamps, added: “We’re extremely excited to see such a life enhancing and life saving research being led from here - the North East of England. StemDiagnostics very much aligns with Cenamps’ core objectives to stimulate and connect research conducted in some Europe’s leading universities and research institutions to resolve issues and challenges that clearly address the real and wider needs of society.”

The programme is funded by the European Commission to the tune of €2.5M over next three years, through the EU Sixth Framework Programme under the Life Sciences and Health theme. The consortium provides for the remaining investment.

Shak Gohir
Business & Programme Manager

The future of China’s economy. Results of a recent survey can be found in Insight 5.

2007-08-19T01:01:00.000+01:00

China has poured about 1.5 billion yuan (about $197 million) into the research and development of nanoscience and nanotechnology over the past 15 years. The number of patents they have filed for has increased from less than 1,000 in 2001 to more than 4,600 in March 2005. China is not just about manufacturing. China is moving up the value chain as is investing in R&D as a key economic and growth development strategy.

During 2006, the world's three largest spenders of R&D where the United States (US$330 billion) and China (US$136 billion) followed by Japan (US$130 billion). A 2006 study on global R&D by the Battelle Memorial Institute indicated that China has increased R&D spending annually about 17% over a 12-year period, compared to 4% to 5% for Europe and the United States. The key issue may not be just the investment in R&D in Europe as R&D alone does not increase profits. It is also converting the the results of R&D into commercialised patents, start-up, products and services.

The Chinese economy has enjoyed four consecutive years of at least 10% growth. China's economy expanded by 10.7% in 2006. New economic research reveals businesses in Europe and the US are very scared of the impact but ill prepared to act and lag behind their Asian counterparts on ambitions for the China (中華人民共和國) market. Over 700 business leaders, government officials, leading academics and futurists from across 60 countries were polled in the first worldwide survey to gather views and expectations of China’s global impact over the period to 2020.

The survey conducted by business think tanks Global Futures and Foresight (GFF) and Fast Future provides rich insight into how business attitudes and ambitions for the China market are evolving across five continents. The report ‘The Future of China’s Economy, The Path to 2020 – Opportunities, Challenges and Uncertainties’ published on the 22 March 2007 provides a ‘wake up call’ to the Western business world, warning that to thrive in the changing global economy action must be taken now to make China a key element in future business strategies.

Graham Leach, Chief Economist and Director of Policy for the UK Institute of Directors says, “For UK and Western businesses to stay competitive in the global marketplace, China has to be a key component of their strategy. This study highlights very clearly that business leaders in the west now understand the scale and long term potential of China’s economy and they recognise the massive impact China will have in their markets globally. Despite this, many are still unwilling to respond, hesitant in their China strategies or simply unsure of what to do. It is now time to act on these concerns, start learning about the Chinese marketplace, drawing on the experience of those already doing business in China and actively embracing the opportunity that China presents.”

Key findings of the survey can be found in Insight 5....click here to read more...

You may also find interesting the results of a study conducted by Booz Allen's - Smart Spenders: Global Innovation 1000. This study and report highlights a small group of high-leverage innovative firms who out perform the industry. They are able to reduce R&D investment and still innovate more successfully than their competitors. "Money simply cannot buy innovation". Information on the study has been published by Booz Allen in Insight 4 .... to read the article click here.

Shak Gohir
Business & Progamme Manager

PETeC ground-breaking marks start of North East plastic electronics revolution

2007-08-14T14:22:00.000+01:00

Cenamps, in partnership with the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for PETeC on 27th July 2007. PETeC, a unique plastics electronics technology centre, is set to establish North East England as a global leader in the application of plastic electronics.

The first spade was inserted into the ground starting construction of the £10m project at NETPark, County Durham, where the new facility is to be based.

PETeC will be established as a national prototyping operation providing world-class facilities, services and expertise at the hub of a UK-wide network in plastic electronics. The state-of-the-art facilities will include high-tech clean rooms and laboratories, as well as production and testing equipment which will be available on an open access basis to meet the needs of industry.

PETeC will offer space, resource and expertise for companies to research and develop new technologies and their applications, prototyping and pre-competitive stage mini-manufacturing of products based on plastic electronics. These will include smart packaging, real-time smart packaging, real-time newspapers, intelligent signage, point-of-care medical diagnostic devices, novel drug delivery devices, printed electronics for consumer products, flexible solar cells and solid state lighting.

Dr Mike Pitkethly, CEO of Cenamps commented: “This centre will provide a bridge between the lab and the factory to facilitate the commercialisation of new products. With ever-increasing competition from places such as India and China, it is crucial that the UK continues to offer the world class facilities for developing plastic electronic products, and PETeC will be integral to the UK’s competitiveness in this emerging group of technologies”.

The project has been funded by One NorthEast, The Northern Way and the European Regional Development Fund.

For further information contact: enquiries@uk-petec.com

Career Opportunity: BioNano Commercialisation Manager with Cenamps

2007-08-08T23:41:00.000+01:00

Cenamps is a unique company. We connect regional and national economic strategies with emerging technological capabilities and market drivers to help businesses to succeed through the innovation of high value processes, products and services. Due to the recent award of major technology projects and our subsequent, and continual, growth we are seeking to recruit four individuals to join our highly talented and dedicated team. We are seeking to hire a NanoBio Commercialisation Manager.

The successful candidate will actively lead the early-stage technology commercialisation activities of Cenamps BioNano research and innovation projects and be responsible for Cenamps IP portfolio and interests. Applicants must demonstrate experience in the innovation and commercialisation of emerging healthcare technologies such as lab-on-a-chip devices, biomaterials and sensors and/or other medical devices ideally gained by working in industry and will be skilled in focusing research and innovation activities in alignment with identified needs and market drivers.

The successful candidate will work on a number of high profile regional and European research projects, engaging closely with our academic and industrial partners to drive forward commercialisation strategies, uncover routes to market, identifying specific technologies requiring IP protection, publishing thought leadership articles and presenting at international conferences. Two of our high profile European projects aim to innovate new medical devices for diagnosing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and improving patient outcomes from haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) treatment.

With an established network of contacts, the Commercialisation Manager will be adept at generating, shaping and following through on new project and business opportunities. Experience in proposal development, venture capital, government R&D grants and medical device regulations is strongly preferred, in addition to knowledge of the medical sciences and trends in the healthcare sector. Across a number of key industries including energy, health and chemicals, an important aspect of the opportunity will be to assist and mentor high-tech SMEs on technology innovation, investment sources, partner searching and commercialisation. Candidates with a MBA and PhD in relevant fields, with experience gained from industry, are strongly preferred.

Cenamps on YouTube: Stimulating Innovation and New Ventures

2007-03-21T14:07:00.000Z

Microsoft has visions of bringing the Internet straight to your Wallpaper

2007-03-11T15:32:00.000Z

Whilst Google has visions of bringing a network smart billboards to a shopping centre near you, Microsoft has visions of bringing wide-screen displays that integrate into our everyday lives just like wallpaper.

As digital technologies shapes and flattens the 21st century economy and consumers increasingly embrace the Internet and smarter products, only the high cost of installing unobtrusive displays technology is stopping this from happening today.

Whilst there are greater choices today in emerging display technology, each technology has a drawback. For example, front projection displays have the problem of shadows cast. Rear projection displays take up floor space—one of our most precious resources. LCDs, although a mature technology, require expensive manufacturing processes.

Microsoft believe that whilst some of these problems have been addressed in the lab, the costs of manufacturing displays for the consumer market has yet to be solved. Microsoft are hence exploring ways to build low-cost miniature display cubes that could be tilted together to form any size display. The technology behind this is called MicroElectoMechanical Systems, or MEMS.

Although most of Microsoft's developments are in software, Microsoft Research has indicated that its hardware devices group is currently building micro-devices using MEMS in an effort to build cheaper flat-panel displays with high resolution. "We want displays to become as unobtrusive as wallpaper" the research team says on their Web site.

The group is set to demo their research this week at TechFest 2007.

Just imagine an array of tiny machines, each the size of a human hair or even smaller, spread across the walls of your Smart Home. They could be tilted to display say an image or movie of your choice or tilted to form a computer screen of any seize on your wall - bring a new dimension to home entertainment.

MEMS technology is currently picking up steam for use in of entertainment products, including Nintendo's immensely popular Wii gaming console.

Flexible organic displays offer yet another alternative low cost technology. This is an areas Cenamps is driving with the build of the Polymer Electronic Technology Centre (PETeC) planned to start shortly in Netpark, County Durham.

To read more about PETeC, click here

Shak Gohir

Shell innovating the next generation of solar energy solutions

2007-03-10T17:08:00.000Z

Shell is one of the global giant oil companies investing in renewable energy sources including solar energy. Solar energy is still regarded by many as still too expensive to be a viable widespread electricity source.

Shell appears to have put research focus on one major goal: driving down cost. Shell has pioneered CIS (copper indium diselenide), a new generation of solar technology.

Copper, indium and selenium particles are coated onto a glass sheet in layers 20 times thinner than a human hair, and are heated to form a compound that converts the power of the sun into electricity for consumers. CIS solar modules use 100 times less raw material in the electricity producing layer than their crystalline silicon counterparts.

Shell claims a lower material and manufacturing costs mean the CIS modules promises to be cheaper in high-volume production. They glass panels have a smooth black exterior, which makes them suitable for integration into walls and roofs of buildings.

The biggest European application to date is in Wales, a striking 85-kilowatt installation that forms an entire side of an innovation and business centre.

Shell and leading glass-maker Saint Gobain have formed a joint venture for largescale production and commercialisation of CIS solar technology.

Shak Gohir

Check out the European Stats on Innovation

2007-02-24T15:08:00.000Z

The changing map of Europe, showing member states and would be member states. The information below was release by the European Commission during January 2007:

In 2005 the EU27 spent just over 200 billion euro on Research & Development (R&D)

R&D intensity (i.e. expenditure as a percentage of GDP) in the EU27 stood at 1.84%, the same as in 2004. R&D intensity remained significantly lower in the EU27 than in other major economies. In 2004, R&D expenditure was 2.68% of GDP in the United States, 3.18% in Japan, while it has reached 1.34% in China in 2005.

R&D expenditure in the EU27 rose by 1.5% in real terms on average per year between 2001 and 2005, compared to 1.7% in the United States and 2.0% in Japan between 2001 and 2004.

Check out all the states here.

Shak Gohir

Using Nanotechnology to Improve Health in Developing Countries

2007-02-16T21:50:00.000Z

Millions of people die each year in developing countries from diseases that are preventable and treatable. Moreover, tragically little research is done to prevent or cure some of the world’s biggest killers, such as malaria and tuberculosis.

What if doctors in Kenya could equip cells of the retina with photoswitches that can be flipped on, essentially making blind nerve cells see and restoring light sensitivity in people with degenerative blindness? What if public health workers in Bangladesh could place contaminated water into transparent bottles, which when placed in direct sunlight could disinfect the water and help prevent water-borne diseases like cholera, dysentery or polio?

What if a medical technician in Vietnam could use a tiny "reporter" molecule that attaches itself to specific bacteria or viruses in a patient sample and read with an inexpensive laser device -- no bigger than a briefcase -- whether an infectious disease is present? What if a nurse in Brazil could dispense a gel that would stick to the AIDS virus surface like molecular Velcro and prevent it from attacking healthy cells in sexually active women?

These scenarios are not science fiction. They are just a few examples of the exciting potential of nanomedicine -- an offshoot of nanotechnology which researchers in both industrialized and developing countries hail as enabling the next big breakthroughs in medicine and which they promise to change virtually every facet of health care, disease control and prevention.

Several of the projects being financed by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s $450 million Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative involve nanotechnology including development of a nanoemulsion-based vaccine delivery system that uses a simple nasal swab rather than an injection.

What is nanotechnology? How is nanotechnology expected to transform medicine and health care in the future? How can nanomedicine help the truly needy in developing countries? And what are the challenges of ensuring that nanotechnology meets the specific health needs of Third World peoples? These questions are the focus of an event and live webcast on Tuesday, February 27th at 12:00 p.m. in the 5th Floor Conference Room of the Woodrow Wilson

International Center for Scholars (www.wilsoncenter.org/directions).

*** Webcast LIVE at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/nano ***

What: Using Nanotechnology to Improve Health Care in Developing Countries
Who: Dr. Andrew Maynard, Chief Science Advisor, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies; Dr. Piotr Grodzinski, Director, Nanotechnology for Cancer Programs, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health; Dr. Peter A. Singer, Senior Scientist, McLaughlin Rotman Centre, University Health Network, Professor, University of Toronto, and Distinguished Investigator, Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Dr. Jeff Spieler, Chief of Research, Technology & Utilization, Office of Population & Reproductive Health, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Moderator.

When: Tuesday, February 27th, 2007, 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. (Lunch available at 11:30 a.m.)

Where: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 5th Floor Conference Room. 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004

This event is being organized by the Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Global Health Initiative. The Center's Global Health Initiative provides an important forum to examine critical international health challenges including emerging health technologies and their impact on Third World medical care and economic development.

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies was launched in 2005 by the Wilson Center and The Pew Charitable Trusts. It is dedicated to helping business, governments, and the public anticipate and manage the possible health and environmental implications of nanotechnology.
Media planning to cover the event should contact Sharon McCarter at (202) 691-4016 or sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org.

Organiser: Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Global Health Initiative (http://www.wilsoncenter.org/nano)

Contact details
Sharon McCarter
Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholar
5th Floor Conference Room 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20004
United States
E-mail: sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org
Tel: 001-202-691-4016

Google Hints at Smart Billboards & Digital Display Networks for Advertising in Malls, Hotels, ATMs, Shopping Centres and Outdoors

2007-02-14T23:44:00.000Z

Google may start appearing on digital billboards and displays in a shopping centre near you. The company recently filed a patent application for technology that will allow local stores to connect their stock control systems to a Google-powered network of electronic displays.

The patent, filed December 21, 2006 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, covers systems and methods for allocating advertising space in a “network of electronic display devices.”

To check out the patent, just click here.

"Advertisers may upload advertisement messages to a server specifying information such as budget, price per impression, preferred billboards and other constraints. One or more keywords or other descriptors are specified for each advertisement message,” according to the filing.

Google's system would then generate an advertising campaign specifying where on the display devices the advertisement message will appear. “The output may consist of various forms, including video, audio, printed incentive, interactive data transfers and/or combinations of these,” the company mentioned in its filing.

If the filing is a sign of things to come from Google, kiosk billboards, ATM machines and other digital displays in shopping centres and hotel lobbies could start promoting products and services directly from a nearby retailer’s inventory and/or service offering. Presently, advertising via similar screens is limited to looped, poster-type advertisements, in Google’s vision, the ads could be pulled directly from a retailer’s stock control system.

In the filed patent application, Google explained that its technology could remove the burden of manually loading looped ads, instead enable retailers to create campaigns from available goods. The adverts can be displayed in rotation and stopped automatically once the product has sold out. Once the product is back in stock, the advertisement can be re-added to the display cycle.

Shak Gohir

Salmon DNA improves OLED performance

2007-02-14T23:16:00.001Z

Incorporating salmon DNA into the structure of a conventional OLED makes it ten times more efficient and thirty times brighter, say researchers in the US.

Salmon DNA could hold the key to more efficient and brighter OLEDs, according to researchers in the US. By incorporating a thin layer of DNA into the OLED structure, the team says its "BioLEDs" are as much as ten times more efficient and thirty times brighter than their conventional counterparts.

The team's idea involves using the DNA as an electron-blocking layer. This improves the probability of electrons and holes recombining and emitting photons, which in turn enhances the device's luminance. "It turns out that DNA has nearly ideal energy levels that allow hole transport to proceed unimpeded while it prevents electrons being transported too quickly," says Andrew Steckl from the University of Cincinnati.

The team tested a green- and blue-emitting BioLED against conventional OLEDs and found that the DNA electron blocking layer improved the luminance in both cases. For a current density of 200 mA/cm2, the green BioLED achieved 15000 cd/m2, whereas the baseline device reached just 4500 cd/m2. On the other hand, the blue BioLED had a luminance of 1500 cd/m2 at 200 mA/cm2, while the corresponding baseline device reached around 800 cd/m2.

Conventional OLEDs are renowned for having lifetime issues but Steckl and colleagues believe the DNA could also play a role here. "Our preliminary results show that the lifetime of the BioLEDs are significantly longer than that of equivalent OLEDs without the DNA layer," said Steckl. "We are working on understanding the difference in degradation mechanisms."

Shak Gohir

The World's Top Innovators

2007-02-09T15:23:00.000Z

Globalisation and global challenges has puched innovation to the top of the agenda for governments. In today's global and connected economy countries have to respond to global challenges to ensure that their national and regional economies remain competitive. All economies are interdependent and interconnected.

Innovation is going to the single most important driver in determining any nation's success in the 21st century. Where once competitive organisations made improvements to optimise efficiency, operations and quality, now whole nations must optimise our entire society and economy for innovation.

Simply doing the same as before is no longer an option for governments and companies. Commercial and economic prosperity urgently demands that businesses shift to creating fresh value from new products and services. INSEAD, one of the world's leading business school based in Europe, and World Business have jointly established a Global Innovation Index or GII, ranking counties by their innovation capabilities.

GII is caluculated from combining scores for a nation's Institutions and policies, human capacity, infrastructure, technological sophistication, business markets and capital, knowledge, competitveness and wealth. What the GII ranking shows is that pressure for nations to remain innovative is already changing the our planet. The 20 innovator:

1 US 5.80
2 Germany 4.89
3 UK 4.81
4 Japan 4.48
5 France 4.32
6 Switzerland 4.16
7 Singapore 4.10
8 Canada 4.06
9 Netherlands 3.99
10 Hong Kong 3.97
11 Denmark 3.95
12 Sweden 3.90
13 Finland 3.85
14 UAE 3.81
15 Belgium 3.77
16 Luxembourg 3.72
17 Australia 3.71
18 Israel 3.68
19 South Korea 3.67
20 Iceland 3.66

The UK is ranked in third place just behind Germany as a global leader. What analysis of the top 100 shows is that developing countries including India, China and African nations are also using technological innovation as a springboard for improving their economies. Since the early 1990s China has boosted R&D invest by 50% and is now aiming to get R&D to a level of 2.5% of its GDP.

New R&D funding opportunities in Europe - FP7

2007-02-08T23:43:00.000Z

The DTI organised a major event to mark the start of the EU's Seventh R&D Framework Programme ( FP7 ), held in London on the 6th February 2007. It was also an event I decided not to miss, especially as Mike Carr, BT's head of research and venturing, was presenting and talking about the commercial importance of Open Innovation.

Entitled "Global challenges and global opportunities" the event was attended by some 500 people from the UK research community, industry and government.

Scientists working in university and other institutional laboratories, research divisions in large companies and even small enterprises can apply for funding from the FP7 pot.

Malcolm Wicks, the UK Minister for Science and Innovation opened the event with his keynote speech. He commented that ".......The UK is good at science. We have an envied record in research and have long been a key player in the Framework Programme. We need to maintain our strong position in the face of increasing international competition for the best researchers and research investments. ...........UK organisations have traditionally done well in the programme and secured significant levels of funding. In the previous sixth programme, FP6, the UK has so far received around 14.5 per cent of the overall funding, second only to Germany"

Ashley Ibbett, from UK's Office of Science & Innovation commented in his presentation that "Britain is involved in more projects than any other country in the EU. In a globalising economy, our scientists are on the front foot in co-operating with their counterparts across Europe".

Most of the UK's projects are based in universities. The UK government wants greater involvement from industry; it wants more corporations to follow the example of BT which now has 10-15% of its research spend tied up in Framework-funded projects.

"If you look at the technologies out there today, the window for exploitation is extremely short," explained Mike Carr, head of BT's research and venturing. "....From our point of view, the only way to succeed is to have a very rapid implementation strategy, and that means you've got to tap into technology from wherever it's from - open innovation. ....In BT we probably only do something like 1% of the world's research in telecoms; 99% is going to come from somewhere else. And FP7 is all about tapping into that wider community of knowledge."

At present the EU spends about 2% of its GDP on research and development, significantly less than the US (2.8%) and Japan (over 3%). Some emerging Asian countries, such as China, are now increasing their R&D investment to a rate where they will soon catch and overtake Europe. Business investment has stumbled of late. As a consequence, Europe is now on track to miss the so-called Lisbon objective of boosting its spend to 3% of GDP by 2010. "We need to do much more and we need to do it quicker," said Janez Potocnik, the European commissioner for science and research.

Shak Gohir

Double-sided LCD screen breakthrough claimed

2007-01-17T21:49:00.000Z

Samsung Electronics claims to have created the first LCD panel that can produce independent images on both sides of a single small LCD display.

Samsung comments,"...our new double-sided mobile display underscores Samsung's commitment to equip our customers with advanced display technology that accelerates the trend toward slimmer mobile products,"said Yun Jin-hyuk, executive vice president of the Samsung Electronics LCD Business mobile display division, in a statement. "We anticipate high demand when we commence mass production in the first half of 2007."

Flexible display technology using organic polymers is also an emerging market, with Plastic Logic announcing on Wednesday that it will open a factory to make e-paper components in Dresden in 2008. Read More ...

Shak Gohir

CO2 emissions, material flows and Ecological Footprint of the North East

2007-01-10T21:55:00.000Z

"......The North East’s total Ecological Footprint is 5.31 gha/cap, the third lowest in the UK. With the exception of food, all the major sectors that make up the region’s Footprint have a below average Footprint.

The Ecological Footprint is measured in a standardised area unit equivalent to a world average productive hectare or ‘global hectare’ (gha), andis usually expressed as global hectares per person (gha/cap) to permit comparisons between countries or regions.

The North East has the largest variation between “producer responsibility” and “consumer responsibility” CO2 emissions of any UK region or devolved administration – a difference of 32 per cent. Emissions from regional production are close to 16 tonnes per person (tonnes per capita or t/cap) – among the highest in the UK – while emissions from consumption are only 11.01 t/cap. This is the lowest in the UK, 7 per cent lower than the regional average and 18 per cent lower than the South East (the region with the highest emissions from consumption).

The North East consumes less energy than the UK average, but even so produces nearly 28m tonnes of CO2 a year. Its emissions from energy consumption are 11 t/cap compared with a UK average 11.8 tonnes. Emissions from production 15.8 t/cap, the highest in the UK. This largest difference in consumption and production emissions of any region."
Emissions from production come from a range of sources including manufacturing, industry and electricity generation. The North East produces some 26,060GWh pa of electricity, which is an estimated 174 per cent of electricity consumption in the region1. This is one of the main factors behind the difference in the region’s consumption and production emissions and means a large proportion of the electricity generated in the North East is consumed by neighbouring regions.

If everyone on Earth had the same Ecological Footprint as the average person in the North East of England, humanity would need the resources of three planets to support itself. Many policymakers, businesses and citizens are aware of this, and share an interest in moving towards a more sustainable use of the planet’s resources......"

Read More...click here.

Shak Gohir

Plastic Logic Receives $100 Million in Funding

2007-01-07T19:18:00.000Z

Plastic Logic, announced that it has secured $100 million worth of venture capital, one of the largest deals in European venture capital history.

The funding was co-led by Oak Investment Partners of Palo Alto and Tudor Investment of Greenwich. Plastic Logic intends to use the venture funds to build a manufacturing facility. This is a strategic shift in its business model away from a licensing strategy to manufacturing its own products. The company expects to begin manufacturing standalone flexible active-matrix display units that include connectivity hardware by 2009.

Mr Hauser, Director of Plastic Logic, believes they could achieve $1bn in annual sales within 5-10 years. The company's first products are to be a series of light, tough and flexible display screens the thickness of a credit card. Plastic Logic, based in Cambridge, is to build the factory by the end of next year in Dresden, Germany.

Plastic Logic, which was formed in 2000 previously received $50m investment rounds.

More information on Plastic Logic's website - click here

You can also view Plastic Logic's videos on YouTube - click here

Shak Gohir
Cenamps, Business & Programme Manager

The Opensource Handbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

2006-12-26T23:29:00.000Z

The Opensource Handbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is a wikibook on nanoscience and nanotechnology gathers information about the various tools, methods and systems to provide students, researchers and everyone else an open-source handbook and overview guide to this vast interdisciplinary and expanding field - a book that can be adjusted as new things appear and improved by its readers.

You may also be interested in reading the section on "Nanotechnology" in Wikipedia.

Shak Gohir

University Researchers Announce Breakthrough in Flexible Electronics

2006-12-23T01:29:00.000Z

At Cenamps we are leading and managing the establisment of a national polymer electronic facility, PETeC, in the North East of England. The facility is to be built at NetPark in County Durham.

So its interesting for us to note that Jennifer Rocha reports in Nano World News ...."this month that a team of university researchers reported that organic single crystals can be patterned over a large area, paving the way for manufacturing of truly flexible electronics.

“We have eliminated the handpicking process of fabricating single-crystal transistors," explains Alejandro Briseno, lead author of the study, and now a doctoral student at the University of Washington. Up to this point, organic transistors have not had the full performance or capacity of being mass-produced. The research team has not only developed a new technology of patterning single-crystal transistors, but has made the manufacturing of them possible--“in certain cases, we demonstrated that in as fast as 5 minutes in an area the size of a human fingernail," notes Briseno.

Mr. Briseno tells NWN, “We were motivated to investigate deeper into single-crystal transistors because their performance is much more superior than that of polycrsytalline films or polymers. But there was a major drawback; it was difficult to mass-produce transistors and very time-consuming as well. In addition, single-crystal transistors were mainly used for fundamental studies and for exploring basic charge-transport in single crystals. There was rarely any other application for them. So for the last couple of years Professor Bao [of Stanford University] and I have been committed in transforming single-crystal transistors to mainstream practical applications.” Briseno began his research collaboration with Dr. Bao several years ago, when she was at Bell Labs and he was an intern. The team for this research paper included researchers from UCLA (where Briseno received his master’s degree) and Stanford University (where Dr. Bao is a Professor). What are the potential applications of this novel technology and its use in flexible electronics? “The possible applications of our discovery include flexible electronics in general,” Briseno tells NWN. “But specifically, our transistors could enable low-cost sensors on product packaging and ‘electronic paper’ displays and even electronic rollable newspaper.” While it may be a while before the technology’s promise is fulfilled, Briseno believes discovery of patterned transistors promises a host of applications never before thought possible.” ..."

Shak Gohir

DVT-IMP project website has just gone live

2006-12-22T23:39:00.002Z

Cenamps is a member of the DVT-IMP project, a Framework Programme Six (FP6), collaborative reseach and innovation project. We are responsible for the management of the project, commercialisation of the resulting technologies and dissemination activities. The website for the project has just gone live:

http://www.diagnosingdvt.com/

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major medical, societal and economic problem. Blood clots such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are the biggest unexpected killers of hospitalised patients in developed countries.

This is one of the many reasons why the European Commission Information Society and Media Directorate General awarded €3.3 million to DVT-IMP, a consortium of ten leading European research groups and high-tech companies, to develop a prototype mobile, medical diagnostic device. The consortium members contributed €2.2 million to the project, bringing the total R&D investment to €5.5 million.

The 3-year DVT-IMP project, which started on 1st September 2006, aims to improve the reliability and accuracy of early-stage assessment of patients suspected of DVT and PE.

Shak Gohir

Survey Shows U.S. Public is Ready To Embrace Nanoproducts

2006-12-22T16:07:00.000Z

Article published in NSTI: "Rice University’s Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN), University College London (UCL) and the London Business School recently released the findings of their comprehensive survey on the public’s openness to using nanotechnology products. The researchers found that consumers in the U.S. are willing to use products containing nanotechnology, and when factoring in health and safety risks, if the potential benefit is high, consumers are willing to take the risk. Study results also revealed that U.S. consumers think nanotechnology is less of a risk than several everyday chemicals including herbicides, chemical disinfectants, and food preservatives"

Shak Gohir

A Nanotechnology Consumer Product Inventory

2006-11-25T17:29:00.000Z

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnology has recently updated its list of nanotech products currently on the market. The organization lists more than 350 consumer products that utlize nanoscale technologies. The list of products has increased significantly (70%) since the group first compiled its list in March 2006. Healthcare and Fitness products by far out number nano-based consumer applications compared to other sectors.

Most products in this inventory satisfy three criteria:
a) They can be readily purchased by consumers, and
b) They are identified as nano-based by the manufacturer OR another source, and
c) The nano-based claims for the product appear reasonable.

To view the list click here.

Shak Gohir

PSFK - global trends collaborative

2006-11-02T02:49:00.000Z

Successful innovation connects new technologies and capabilities with real consumer needs. Innovating useful new small-scale systems and solutions is no exception.

PSFK have an interesting website that explores and provides insight into consumer trends. It also has a section highlighting some interesting emerging new high-tech ideas, products and systems. Find articles on items such as:

Shak Gohir

Nanotechnologies, ethics and the millennium development goals

2006-10-09T21:57:00.000+01:00

As a 2005 The Public Library of Science (PloS) Medicine article outlines, there are a number of nanotechnology fields could benefit the very poorest of nations - for basic needs such as energy generation, storage and conversion, water treatment and disease diagnosis and treatment. The article goes so far as to suggest that the top ten applications of nanotechnology for developing nations could also address the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO in their recent 2006 publication titled "The Ethics & Politics of Nanotechnology" present examples of applications:

UNESCO go further and says "....as public awareness of the dangers and possibilities continues to increase, the involvement of all manner of participants will move further ‘upstream’ – into the heart of scientific work itself".

A study undertaken by the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health (CPGGH), at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) during 2005, suggests that nanotechnology applications could help "people in developing countries tackle their most urgent problems - extreme poverty and hunger, child mortality, environmental degradation and diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS"

Whilst technology alone cannot solve extreme poverty, it can nevertheless play a vital role. As with all applied research, specific and clearly idenitfed needs will have to be targeted and solutions developed that tackle the real problems and needs.

Imagine for example, one day in the future in a remote village in Africa, a health worker places a drop of a patient's blood on a piece of engineered plastic about the size of a coin: lab-on-a-chip. Within minutes, a full diagnosis is complete including analysis for infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, hormonal imbalances and even specific cancers. Such as a possibility shows that today's emerging point-of-care medical diagnostic technologies are relevant to the needs of the poorest and not just rich nations.

Issues relating to IPR and funding will need to be resolved upfront by the international community - that is by influencial governments, business leaders, scientists and NGOs to help avoid the previous pitfalls and ethical issues that impeded such progress - as we all saw and still see with AIDS treatment for Africa, IPR issues and lack of sufficient funding/resources has caused painful and fatal delays.

Shak Gohir
Business & Programme Manager

Factors and Trends Transforming the Chemical Industry…and How to Survive

2006-09-25T14:36:00.000+01:00

This is an interesting read.
Speaker: Lee McMaster, Chemicals Business Group President Event: North American Chemical Distributors Annual Conference, Date: 12/04/2003

Lee McMaster's discusses:
Industry Summary: North America Chemical Distribution
Why is our industry in this state?
Chemical Industry is undergoing another historic and permanent shift
Where is the industry headed?
What will our industry look like in 10 years? The producer prospective
What will our industry look like in 10 years? The distributor perspective
How to Survive: Collectively reduce the total cost to serve
Our Future…Together

Lee indicates that "Distributors and producers need to move to a low cost-to-serve position. We will need to find ways to take advantage of those opportunities we mentioned before – improving capacity utilization...".

Shak Gohir

Cenamps secures funds for Plastic Electronic Technology Centre

2006-09-13T15:34:00.000+01:00

ONE NorthEast today approved a £10m project that will put the region at the forefront of revolutionary plastic electronics technology. "Flexible" technology only previously seen in science fiction movies like Minority Report could soon be manufactured in the region with the creation of the Plastic Electronics Technology Centre (PETeC).

One NorthEast and County Durham Economic Partnership is investing a combined £6.2m with ERDF making up the rest of the investment for the facility, based at NETPark in County Durham and managed by Cenamps - a national centre for emerging small-scale technologies. The DTI is contributing a further £2.1m to be invested in the first platform installation in the Centre.

The centre, the first of its kind, will establish the region as a global leader in the application of plastic electronics research, making specialised facilities and expertise available to companies seeking to develop new products and services for use in a wide range of markets.
PETeC is a major facility that will provide hi-tech clean room, prototyping facilities and laboratories for a range of projects emerging from Newcastle Science City and for companies and universities carrying out pioneering work in the field of plastic electronics, a revolutionary new technology that independent forecasts predict will be a £30bn industry by 2015 and balloon to a £250bn industry by 2025.

PETeC also provides space-enabling companies to engage closely with the universities, conducting collaborative research as part of Science City.

The research and development facility will house scientists developing innovative printing technologies including "inkjet" and "screen printing" technology - techniques that enables electronics to be printed directly onto paper thin plastic sheets, which are manufactured locally by DuPont Teijin Films in the Tees Valley.

This technology will complement the work being carried out by the Centre for Process Industries (CPI) in the Tees Valley and form the basis of a new generation of thin flexible display monitors and televisions, the development of low energy organic lighting, large-area electronic displays, low cost flexible solar cells and even disposable small-scale technology for children's toys.

One NorthEast Director of Business and Industry, David Allison, said: "North East England is home to many established and growing advanced manufacturing companies in electronics, substrates, photonics and materials, and the creation of PETeC will add to the support provided to these businesses.

"This project ensures the region is a world leader in the research and development of plastic electronics. Exploring this exciting new technology for market-led research and development, and strengthening the regional skills and knowledge base through shared research and networking opportunities, are some of the key aims of One NorthEast."

The first phase of the project will involve the construction of a 3,000sqm facility at NETPark, Sedgefield, equipped with state of the art class 10 and 100 clean room, laboratories, offices and seminar rooms. The project will see the recruitment of a 10-strong staff to operate the facility and the creation a business development and planning team.

Chief Executive of Cenamps, Mike Pitkethly, said: "Identifying and supporting the development and adoption of new emerging technologies is one of the core activities of Cenamps, and plastic electronics is a technology that will revolutionize many aspects of peoples' lives.

"International interest in plastic electronics is growing rapidly and Cenamps is extremely pleased that the North East will now host the UK Centre for the prototyping and scale-up of the technology and have the opportunity to compete on the world stage."

Key partners with Cenamps in PETeC will be the CPI, another of One NorthEast's Centres of Excellence and the Universities of Durham and Newcastle.

Chief Executive of CPI, Nigel Perry, said: "This is an extremely important project for both the North East and UK Plc. The UK has a world-leading position in this technology, and PETeC will transform our ability to drive this exciting technology toward commercial exploitation. I am delighted that the Centre for Process Innovation is a partner in the project: our existing work has already achieved international renown in the industry and this project considerably enhances the ability for the North East to work with the industry".

The University of Durham plans to develop organic displays and lighting based contract research activities of the Photonics Materials Institute over to PETeC. Professor Andy Monkman, Director of Photonic Materials Institute, University of Durham, said: "As part of our growing activities in organic displays and lighting we are being asked more and more to provide state of the art measurement services for industry.

"These contract research activities would be ideally situated at PETeC and will add to the growing activities and metrology we plan to put in place to support research and development activities in organic displays at PETeC."

The centre will also provide a base for Newcastle University. Prof. Nick Wright, Dean of Business Development, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture, at Newcastle University, said: "PETeC provides an excellent opportunity to increase the interaction between Newcastle University's world-class research teams in electronics and industrial companies.
"There are many exciting research and commercialisation possibilities unlocked by the centre and the Newcastle University research teams are delighted to be involved in such a major way with this very exciting project."

Dr Roger Carline, Deputy Director of the UK MNT (Micro and Nanotechnology Network), said: "PETeC is an important strategic addition to the UK MNT infrastructure. Technology of this type will be seen in many consumer products on the high street as well as in medical and industrial systems within the next decade. This makes access to the capabilities unique to PETeC essential for UK companies to compete in the future."

The centre, which forms part of the DTI's Technology Strategy, will boast facilities to allow companies to develop prototypes and then "mini-manufacture" products to test manufacturing processes.

Cenamps Press Release
Shak Gohir

€5.5m mission to develop DVT detector small enough to fit in a pocket

2006-08-26T19:40:00.000+01:00

To read the article published by Roger Highfield, Science Editor for the Daily Telegraph, on the 28th August 2006, please click here.

Our full news release:

The European Commission Information Society & Media Directorate General has awarded €3.3 million to a consortium of eleven leading European research and high-tech firms to innovate a digital, handheld, highly accurate medical device for diagnosing Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism. This adds to the consortium’s contribution of €2.2 million, bring the total R&D investment to €5.5 million.

From 1st September 2006, Cenamps, a national centre for emerging small-scale technologies, based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Helena Biosciences, a medical devices firm based in Gateshead; and the University of Teesside will lead a team of talented scientists to develop a prototype device for DVT/PE diagnosis. The consortium also includes Haptogen, a leading bio-pharmaceutical spin-out from the University of Aberdeen; the Fraunhofer Institute (Germany); the Pac Cientific de Barcelona (Spain); Claude-Bernard University-Lyon (France); Comenius University (Slovak Republic); Budapest University of Technology & Economics (Hungry); and Universite Paris-Sud (France).

AntiCoagulation Europe (ACE), a charity providing information and advice to people on oral anticoagulation therapy, will work closely with the consortium as both advisors and observers.

Medical tests currently used to detect the illness in patients at the point-of-care can be unreliable. Healthcare workers are referring suspected patients for expensive diagnostic imaging, with only 20 – 30 per cent of these patients actually being diagnosed with a blood clot. This places a heavy burden on healthcare resources. Anticoagulation drugs, which can have other unwanted medical side affects, are also administrated to suspected patients whilst they wait for diagnostic imaging.

The device promises to revolutionise the speed, accuracy and reliability with which DVT and related blood clot conditions can be diagnosed - at the point of first-contact. The handheld device will be the size of a mobile phone, enabling clinicians to use the device anywhere at any time: hospital, local clinics, A&E departments, doctors’ surgeries, home visits, outpatients and by paramedics on the move. The accuracy and reliability of its results will also help reduce related healthcare costs.

Deep vein thrombosis is a medical condition resulting from the formation of internal blood clots in the calf. If the clot becomes free and reaches the lung, it can lead to pulmonary embolism – an often fatal condition. Cramped conditions and the formation of internal blood clots have been shown to be closely linked.

DVT can occur after prolonged periods of travel on planes, trains and cars. It can also occur as a result of prolonged Internet surfing – a condition increasingly referred to as e-Thrombosis. Many factors increase the risk of blood clots forming, including: age, pregnancy, genetics, oral contraception, obesity, recent surgery and dehydration. Recent research has also suggested a person’s height may increase the risk – being very small or tall – and that people shorter than 1.6m (5ft 3in) and taller than 1.9 (6ft 3in) are five times and four times, respectively, more likely to suffer from DVT during and after a flight.

Blood clots such as DVT/PE are the biggest unexpected killer of hospitalised patients in developed countries such as the UK, France, Spain, Germany, US and Japan. During 2001, the number of reported incident cases of DVT/PE totalled 1.2 million in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, UK, Japan and the US alone. This figure is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2011.

Using the latest advancements in polymer electronics, bio-molecular engineering, lab-on-a-chip, wireless ICT and nano-biotechnologies, the consortium will develop a prototype device that will detect D-dimer levels in blood. D-dimer is one of the smallest antigens found in human and animal blood. A positive D-dimer test is used to identify DVT and PE in at-risk patients.

Shak Gohir, Business and Programme Manager at Cenamps, commented:

“We’re extremely proud to have formed and now manage the DVT project, which promises to significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of DVT and PE. The project is very much part of Cenamps’ remit to bring forward new enabling technologies - for example, through our establishment of a national Polymer Electronic Technology Centre in North East England - and demonstrates its importance to the UK research-base and economy.”

Professor Zulf Ali of University of Teesside, commented:

“As lead partners we are excited by the benefits and opportunities the project will create for improving healthcare systems in Europe and worldwide. North East England is a hotbed for emerging technologies and our consortium partners represent some of the most talented scientists and technologists in their field.”

Professor Andy Porter, Chief Scientific Officer at Haptogen, commented:

“Our consortium approach is to combine the latest developments in biotechnology with advances in materials science and computing. Haptogen’s science facilitates this fusion of biology with technology to allow rapid diagnosis of DVT at a patient’s bedside or possibly, in later versions, even in their own home.”

Eve Knight, Director, Anticoagulation Europe, said:

“This is a very exciting development in the fight against DVT, which claims the lives of thousands of people in the UK, every year. In recent years we have seen a number of high-profile cases involving young people who have been struck by the illness while receiving routine hospital treatment, and scientific evidence suggests that more people than ever are at risk. It is therefore extremely encouraging to know that scientists are now developing a point-of-care device that promises to save lives and healthcare resources across Europe. AntiCoagulation Europe is delighted to be working with the consortium on such an important and inovative project.”

Nano-Regulation, towards a sustainable regulatory framework for nanotechnologies

2006-08-20T16:38:00.000+01:00

During the spri ng 2005 an international forum was started in Switerzerland, comprising of stakeholders from industry, insurance, research, retail, government and NGO organisations with the goal to:

establish an international multi-stakeholder network on regulatory issues
characterise stakeholders attitudes and expectations towards safety and risk issues
address safety, risk and regulation needs of nanotechnology from different perspectives
facilitate proactive solution oriented dialogue processes on safety and risk issues
identify and prioritise the fields of action
propose forthcoming activities

The Innovation Society has completed a DELPHI-study looking at the regulation needs of nanotechnology, involving the various stakeholders. Its findings and recommedndations were recently published during March 2006.

".....Based on the key-results of the performed activities it can be stated that a dialogue forum about safety and risk-issues is broadly welcomed as a powerful and efficient instrument of information, coordination and cooperation1. A dialogue on regulatory issues was judged to be valuable in terms of an increased security of action for all stakeholders. The importance of early engagement of the public in order to prevent a sudden backlash in terms of lacking trust was stressed to be important by all parties.

Due to the fast technological development, the fast increase in products, containing nano-components and the rapid and broad application of nanoparticles and nanomaterials in manufacturing processes, there is an urgent need to clarify safety issues of nanotechnology and to identify gaps in either occupational health safety, product and consumer safety or environmental regulations.

There was also a common understanding that most countries of Western Europe (incl. Switzerland) should develop or adopt internationally compatible frameworks or standards. In order to overcome trading barriers an EU-wide or even global harmonisation of frameworks and standards would be appropriate. The question on which specific properties of nano substance (diameter, toxicity, surface characteristics, scope or exposition) the regulation should look at, remained open. However a thoughtful case-by-case risk analysis is required with potentially hazardous nanomaterials and a proactive risk-management system has to be established...."

Ten recommendations have been made including establishing clear terminalogy, moving from risk-assessment to proactive risk management and greater communication and public dialogue.

Read the report ... click here

Shak Gohir

Googling for nanotechnology

2006-08-08T13:30:00.000+01:00

Who is googling the world wide web for nanotechnologies?

This is a question that I put to Google Trends. When I tapped in the word "nanotechnology" into Google Trends during the afternoon of 8th August 2006. I was surprised by the answer. The answer that Google Trends threw out was India - it was not China, Europe, South Korea, US or Japan. What is more, people in India are googling for online nanotechnology content at a level that significantly exceeds any other nations.

Google Trend also indicates that the top language in which "nanotechnology" is searched for is Korean and not English. So India and the rest of the world must be searching South Korean websites for nano content more than sites from other regions and nations?

This is not to say that today India is a leading player in the nano field. As it happens, India is a late starter when it comes to nanosciences and nanotechnologies and still needs to build critical mass. India started its Nano Science and Technology Initiative just five years ago, during 2001, and has invested just around $24 million to date.

What it does indicate is the increasing inner passion of individuals studying and/or working in India to strengthen their nation's global economic position through high-tech R&D and not just services and information technology.

An article published recently during June 2006 by the Science & Development Network "Preparing for take-off: Indian nanotechnology" says:

".... Brij Mohan Arora, a materials scientist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai points out that, overall, India does not have many achievements to showcase yet. "Much of it has been small table top research, but nevertheless it has created an awareness about techniques," he says.

If India wants to catch up with the best of the world's nanoscience researchers, and apply the technology to developing world issues — such as energy, water and health care — it seems that far greater investment is needed.

Fortunately for India, it is one of the few countries whose leader is pushing to improve funding for the sector. President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, a former scientist in the space and defence sectors, was one of the first to point out that the country's nanotechnology research was sub-optimal.

In April 2004, Kalam organised a meeting of nanoscience experts to devise a national mission plan. Its recommendations include spending US$22 million each year for the next five years on five new national facilities specialising in complimentary areas of nanotechnology and ten 'mini centres' across the country. These centres would each receive US$5 million, and would focus on one or two areas of nanoscience and technology.

Overall, the experts recommended that US$200 million be spent on nanotechnology over a five-year period. India's finance ministry has now cleared these funds for use in 2006-2011. From later this year, the new national mission will oversee activities currently under the Nano Science and Technology Initiative.... "

Setting aside nanotechnology for a moment, a survey conducted by INSEAD and Booz Allen Hamilton, indicates that R&D is moving east. It suggestions that by the end of 2007, India and China will account for over 30% of global R&D staff, up from 19% during 2004.

Shak Gohir
Business & Programme Manager

Thinking ahead to avert a Nano Tragedy

2006-07-27T09:23:00.000+01:00

Technology Review, published by MIT, 27th July 2006 reports the following:

Although there is no proof of health risks to humans from nanoparticles, studies do show that materials at this scale behave in some worrying ways, for example, by slipping from the lungs into the bloodstream, and infiltrating other organs, possibly even the brain.

But current efforts at assessing the risk of nanoparticles, including ones already used in sunscreens, face creams, and food supplements, are unfocused and leave gaps in our understanding that "at best...create uncertainties -- and at worst, dangers -- for workers, companies, consumers, investors, and insurers," according to Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for the Project on Emerging Technologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.

Today, the center released a new report calling for a systematic approach to risk research into nanotechnologies that would include research in a number of areas: the toxicity of substances, how to handle them in the workplace, possible links to specific diseases, and the long-term ways to predict what nanomaterials are likely to be dangerous -- and how to design them to improve their safety.

The report also calls for more funding: a total of $50 million per year for two years, with more to follow.

The report can be downloaded from the Project's website.

Posted by Amanda McMurray, Cenamps' Commercialisation Manager

Quantum Dots Pose Minimal Impact to Cells

2006-07-19T08:36:00.000+01:00

Berkeley National Laboratory, CA, USA has presented data demonstrating that some of the current and understandable concerns about the risks of damage or disruption to living cells by nanoparticles may well be unfounded and opening the way to their being used to monitor cellular processes or the effect of pharmaceuticals in the living cell.

Posted by Amanda McMurray, Cenamps Commercialisation Manager

NanoMed 2006, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

2006-07-04T09:23:00.000+01:00

With keynote presentations from UK and international industry and academia, NanoMed 2006 took place on 27th and 28th June 2006.

We were treated to a fascinating discussion of emerging technology for an aging population on Day 1 and, that same afternoon, we heard presentations on a range of new medical technologies, all based on emerging nanotechnologies, and a fascinating discussion of ethical issues relating to the use of energing technologies.

Day 2 began with presentations of research from international speakers and moved on to presentations of technology and business opportunities from regional small and large healthcare companies.

The conference ended with a business plan competition, "Angels' Den", in which three entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to present their business ideas to a panel of venture funding professionals and to the audience. All entrepreneurs received valuable feedback on their inventions and suggestions for next steps towards funding, and, after much discussion, a winner was chosen.

The winner, Profesor Sudipta Roy, presented "EnFACE", a new technology to be applied to development of new replacement joints and implants. The panel complemented her on her clear focus on the market opportunity, whilst still continuting to develop the technology. She won coaching sessions with two of the panel members, a free journal subscription and entry to next year's conference.

EnFACE was funded by Cenamps, as part of its BioNano Programme, which funded scientists in the 5 NE of England regional Universities to develop innovative solutions to biomedical industry needs.

Nanomed 2006 was sponsored by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, with partner Cenamps and endorsed by The Institute of Nanotechnology. Additional sponsors were the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (CELS), Harrison Goddard Foote, Newcastle City Council - City Technology Office and media partner, Dove Medical Press.

Dr. Amanda McMurray
NanoBio Commercialisation Manager.

EU research budget 2007 - 2013, FP7

2006-06-29T20:16:00.000+01:00

The Europe Union is finalising its budget for Framework Programme Seven. So its time to check the figures.

To those who are not in the know, FP7 is the programme through which the European Commission will manage the allocation of its budget for R&D in scientific research and technology development - with the strategic aim to strengthen the European economy and global competitive position. Aligning R&D investment with societal, business, global and economic needs and challenges sits at the heart of the Commissions objectives for FP7.

Today Cordis released a news article indicating that the Commission will be adopting "an amended proposal for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which seeks to incorporate amendments made by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in their first readings"

FP7 will run for a period of 7 years, from 2007 to 2013. During 2005 the Commission's proposed budget was around 72 billion euro. The budget for FP7 now stands near 48 billion euro, as indicated by EARTO in their news release during May 2006.

The budget for FP6 was 16.3 billion euros and ran over a five year period from 2002 to 2006, for 15 member states. FP7 will be running over 7 years with 25 member states all seeking to participate and access to their share of the funds.

If you have been following the progress of FP7, you will already know that it includes the establishment of a European Reseach Council (ERC) . The ERC will focus on leading edge frontier reseach, with its activities been very much independent of the themes segmented in "Cooperation". ERC will have the ability to conduct its own strategic studies to help direct its operations and activities.

When the Commission initially put forward its proposal for FP7 during April 2005, it requested 11,826 billion euros. Since then the figure has been reduced significantly to 7,460 billion euro.

MEPs have requested a review of the ERC during 2008. The Commission requires more time before a viable review is possible. Janez Potocnik, the EU Commissioner for Science and Research has agreed with the European Parliment that the ERC review will be no later than 2010.

Shak Gohir

Business & Programme Manager

Useful small-scale technologies

2006-06-27T14:59:00.000+01:00

I would like to welcome you to Cenamps' blog.

This is Cenamps first online blog. Just as blogging enables new ways of communicating and is changing the future of news, information and publication sectors, Cenamps is about creating and commercialising new technologies that will utimately enhance the quality of our everyday lives, improve our health and establish smart work and home environments. Technologies that benefit society and create value for businesses.

We are a not-for-profit organisation established by One NorthEast during 2003 as a national centre for emerging small-scale technolgies, we are based in one of the UK's fast growing science cities - Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Situated in the North East of England, Newcastle is a city famous for its bridges and is no stranger to science, technology and engineering. It is home also to the Sage. Recently opened during 2005, the Sage houses two of the world best concert halls - just the venue for relaxing and listening to modern, contemporay and classical music.

Technology is the bedrock of economc development. At Cenamps we focus on stimulating technology research, development and commercialisation. We are about tiny or small-scale technologies often refer to as nanotechnologies and microtechnologies or collectively known as MNT. By stimulating technological innovations our aim is to strengthen the regional economy. In doing so our projects and activities are national and international in focus.

Hence, want really interests us are useful small-scale technologies. The emphasis here is on the word "useful". These are technologies that have potential to help solve known problems and global challenges as well as technologies for innovating new products and processes. So we are very much into collaboration, responsible innovation and market-led R&D. Gaining insights into business, economic, government and consumer trends and needs is crucial to us in identifing useful new technologies.

Polymer electronics is one such technology. Polymer electronics will transform the next generation of consumer electronic products - for example in innovating a plamtop with a flexible screen or an electronic newspapers that can simply be folded into your pocket.

Another useful set of technologies are mobile medical diagnostics and genomic technologies. These technologies have the potential to transform healthcare service to one that is more patient-centric, shifting the focus from "cure" to "prevention". They can also shift healthcare away from central hospitals to one where healthcare services are more pervasive and customised to our individual genetic makeup.

In all there are four interralated specific areas form our technology footprint:

Flexible Function Materials - including Polymer Electronics
Ambient Instelligence - smart objects and environments
technologies that improve the quality of our everyday lives at home, work and during recreation
Healthcare technologies for preventative, early-stage diagnosis and personalised medicine

These four technology areas are set to transform the world we lives at home, work, city spaces and environment.

Shak Gohir
Business & Programme Manager