THIS MONTH
New technology network
TWI, the materials research centre, has been granted new funds to create and manage the UK’s Health Technologies Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) on behalf of the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry. This KTN builds on the work of the Medical Devices Faraday Partnership. Sue Dunkerton, Director of the new Health Technologies KTN and a senior manager at TWI, said, “The funds will enable us to build a new and more ambitious programme that will benefit the whole of the medical device industry.” All those involved in the UK medical device and health care sector, including business, academia, clinicians and health-care providers, will have the opportunity to meet and network. The KTN will focus on bringing products and processes to market more rapidly than could be achieved with organisations working alone. E-mail: sue.dunkerton@twi.co.uk
COCIR changes
COCIR, the European trade association for the radiological, electromedical and health-care IT industry opened a new and permanent office in Brussels, Belgium, on 2 January 2006. With its move from Frankfurt, COCIR has taken on a new team and has a new-look website. Nicole Denjoy is the new Secretary General. The association says it wants to strengthen its relations with the EU and other organisations and to work with policymakers and expand its health-care IT activities. www.cocir.org
Remote monitoring potential
Huge growth opportunity exists for technology-enabled services such as remote patient monitoring because of governments’ attempts to curb spiralling health-care costs. The sector is predicted to grow at a compound annual rate of 28% between 2004 and 2010, to be valued at US$352.8 million by 2010, according to Frost & Sullivan. Approximately half the hospital bed occupancy in Europe is by patients suffering from chronic illnesses, many of whom require continuous monitoring. A major challenge to the outstanding market potential is governments‘ refusal to reimburse remote monitoring of patient populations. However, there are strong indications that remote monitoring is likely to come under the reimbursement bracket in the near future in the United Kingdom and Germany. www.healthcare.frost.com
Assistive technology funding offer
A budget of e140 million is now available with the European Information Society Technologies’ Call 6. Proposals are invited in relation to ambient assisted living, advanced robotics and search engines for audio-visual content and international cooperation. Submissions must be received by 25 April 2006. www.cordis.lu/ist/
Rising demand for sensors
The chemical sensors market in the US will grow by 7.4% per year to be valued at US$4.2 billion in 2009, says Freedonia. This will be driven mainly by the demand for biosensors for glucose test strips; this sector is expected to grow by more than 8% per year to reach US$2.5 billion in 2009. This will be driven by the growing diagnosed diabetic population and the increasing demand for point-of-care testing and monitoring devices for cholesterol and cardiac health indicators. E-mail: pr@freedoniagroup.com
Portable brain scanner for neonates
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A portable brain scanner that obtains information on brain function at the cot side and avoids the risk involved in moving critically ill babies to scanning facilities is being developed by researchers at University College London. The MONSTIR scanner, now in prototype, uses optical tomography and a novel software package to generate images. A helmet comprising 32 light detectors and 32 sources of low-intensity laser light is placed on the baby’s head. Currently, the scanner is the size of a fridge freezer and takes 8 minutes to generate an image. The aim is to produce a version that is half that size, 5 times faster, more accurate and geared for clinical use; the potential use of the technology for breast imaging is also being trialled. www.epsrc.ac.uk
