Medtech company Brandon Medical has won two awards for innovation and business achievement at the National Chambers awards 2009.

At the ceremony, held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the Yorkshire company received £50,000 with the Outstanding Business Achievement award.

The Technology through Innovation award recognised Brandon’s innovative HD-LED medical lighting and Symposia medical audio-visual systems.

John Dunsmure, Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce, said:

“Brandon is a shining example of what a good British business can do in a global market. The company has used its intelligence and experience to develop a set of unique products that is helping the medical profession improve the way it shares vital information. That really could save lives.”

The award ceremony was hosted by BBC news reporter Fiona Bruce and TV presenter Mark Durden Smith. A total of 10 award categories were covered, recognising the success of businesses across the UK.

Brandon Medical is a specialist medical lighting manufacturer. Its HD-LED light source, launched in 2008, aims to provide the best possible lighting during operations. The HD-LED is cheap to produce and highly energy-efficient, potentially reducing energy consumption by half, as well as being recyclable and easy to dispose of.

The Symposia medical audio-visual system, designed for live surgery and surgical training, has been installed throughout the UK. Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, commented: “I am pleased to see surgical training enhanced by smart use of modern technology.”

Graeme Hall, Brandon Medical’s Managing Director, said: “Brandon Medical is dedicated to providing new innovations to improve hospitals and patient care. It’s great to see our investments in research and development recognised in this way.”

Brandon Medical is a family-owned company based in Leeds, with 30 employees across an office and manufacturing site.

HD-LED Medical Lighting

A new biotechnology venture supported by UKTI has seen a British and a Japanese company working together to develop handheld devices for point of care diagnosis of infectious diseases.

New company OJ-Bio is a joint venture between Orla Protein Technologies and Japan Radio Company (JRC) to develop and commercialise next-generation sensor technology in Newcastle.

The two companies have been supported by UKTI’s R&D Globalisation Programme, which is designed to help R&D-based businesses protect and commercialise their IP and develop new products for international markets.

Delivered by innovation agency RTC North, the Programme initially helped both companies to structure a joint R&D programme to establish whether their combined technology could create a platform for fast and accurate detection of diseases.

The new technology, which combines JRC’s mobile telecommunication devices and Orla’s biological surfaces, has proven to be suitable for a range of portable handheld devices that can rapidly detect various infectious diseases. The devices can transmit test results through wireless networks, and so can be used anywhere – even in remote parts of the world.

Following the R&D collaboration, RTC North helped JRC and Orla to form a joint venture, OJ-Bio, which will be based at the Centre for Life in Newcastle.

Dale Athey, CEO of Orla, said: “The assistance provided by RTC North through UKTI’s R&D Globalisation Programme has been invaluable to us, and will likely benefit many more SMEs like us in the region.”

Ray Jones of RTC North said: “It’s been a long process to get the technology to where it is today, but it represents a major step forward in the long-term fight in the detection of diseases.”

OJ-Bio launch

Oxfordshire medical device manufacturer Owen Mumford has appointed two new members to its management team.

Paul Currah has been appointed as Strategic Purchasing Manager in the Operations Division and Nancy Neilson as Site Quality Assurance Manager at the company’s Chipping Norton site.

Reporting to Mark Owen, Operations Director, Paul Currah will be part of the senior management team and will lead the company’s purchasing.

Paul joins Owen Mumford from GSK, where he was Sourcing Group Manager. He has 15 years’ experience in procurement and supplier development, and held a key purchasing role at Abbott’s Diabetes Care business.

Mark Owen said: “As we develop our global business plan, the role of strategic purchasing is one of the key areas of focus and we are confident Paul will play a vital role in our future success.”

Reporting to David Farrier, Corporate Quality Assurance Manager, Nancy Neilson will oversee the management of the site’s quality assurance system and quality assurance team.

Nancy joins Owen Mumford from GSK in Scotland, where she was Compliance Projects Manager and QMS Champion. Her role was to manage the implementation of the quality management system and ensure its success.

David Farrier said: “As a leading healthcare company, quality assurance is our top priority and therefore recruiting someone of Nancy’s calibre and from such a pedigree background to oversee this area of our business is an excellent step forward.”

Based in Woodstock, Owen Mumford manufactures medical devices for the treatment of diabetes and other conditions.

Paul Currah and Nancy Neilson

A private healthcare surgeon in the UK has been sued for compensation by a patient, Mr R. Bloch, who alleges that the surgeon accidentally removed his left testicle while conducting laparascopic surgery to remove a gall stone.

During the initial hearing, the judge asked whether any corroborating evidence was available. The patient’s solicitor produced a small glass jar, placed it on the judge’s bench and declared: “Your Honour, the ball is in your court.”

Diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) could be radically improved by a new method of quantifying sub-regional brain-volume loss using MRI scans.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have compared MRI scans taken over several months to identify changes in the brain’s memory regions, and demonstrated that these measures outperform the available means of tracking the early stages of AD.

Using brain changes for accurate diagnosis and monitoring of the disease has only recently been made possible through computational algorithms that automate identification of brain structures with MRI. This allows change in specific brain sub-regions to be measured across time.

The researchers measured the rates of sub-regional cerebral volume change in nearly 300 patients with mild cognitive impairment, 169 healthy controls and 129 subjects with AD. They found that changes in the brain’s memory regions provide a sensitive measure of the early stages of AD.

“The technique is extremely powerful, because it allows a researcher to examine exactly how much brain-volume loss has occurred in each region of the brain,” said neurologist and study co-author James Brewer, MD, PhD. “The new findings suggest that global measures of brain shrinkage are less sensitive than regional measures for detecting the changes specific to Alzheimer’s disease.”

Technologies for remote monitoring, wound imaging and infection prevention in ICUs are among 11 medtech innovations from the East of England to receive up to £100,000 funding.

The investment is part of the Small Business Research Initiative East funding programme, backed by NHS East of England, the East of England Development Agency and the Technology Strategy Board.

Companies submitted ideas for products and services that can improve healthcare in the areas of long-term condition management, patient safety and keeping children active, as well as achieving a low-carbon environment.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson commented: “The level of interest is very high, with 11 SMEs awarded Phase 1 contracts. The proposed solutions were in many cases new and genuinely innovative. And all the more important in the current environment is that the potential savings to the NHS run into the hundreds of millions.”

Companies awarded Phase 1 funding will be considered for further funding to evaluate their products in a second phase.

Winners of ‘Managing Long-term Conditions’ grants include Docobo, which has developed a telehealth system that provides decision support for home-based care, and Eykona Technologies, which has developed a 3D imaging device to characterise diabetic ulcers.

‘Patient Safety’ grants have been secured by ABMS to develop a drug delivery device with an integrated disposable drug container, Anaxsys Technology to improve its electrochemical sensor technology, and Cambridge Design Partnership to develop a technology to reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in ICUs.

Keith Pearson, Chairman of NHS East of England, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of entries we have received, highlighting the highly innovative work that is happening all around us.

“It has been particularly gratifying to receive so many strong entries from small businesses in the East of England; the innovation vibrancy of this region is particularly impressive in these difficult times.”

Lancashire company Radal Technology has been appointed as exclusive distributor for a cleanable pull cord system.

Sanipull is widely used across the USA and Canada in hospitals, care homes and public buildings as a cleanable alternative to nylon pull cords.

With the expectation of an H1N1 epidemic in the UK this winter, points of infection risk in hospitals are being carefully examined. Nylon pull cords have been identified as being of particular risk, as they are difficult to clean and almost impossible to sanitise.

Made from vinyl ribbon, Sanipull provides a cleanable replacement compatible with all types of fittings. It is available on a reel or pre-assembled and ready to attach to fixtures.

Brent Dunleavey, Managing Director of Radal Technology, said: “Sanipull is a simple yet cost-effective replacement for all pull cord applications. The healthcare industry has tried a number of expensive methods to make traditional cords cleanable, from adding an external sheath to replacing cords every 2–3 months. Sanipull additionally offers an anti-ligature safety option that cannot be matched by current nylon cords.”

Radal Technology Ltd is based in Burnley, Lancashire.

Sanipull

Cambridgeshire scientific and medical recruitment agency Delta Consultants has appointed Sue Ward to its specialist recruitment team as a Senior Account Manager. The appointment will support future growth in the agency’s UK and European operations.

Sue rejoins Delta after nearly a decade’s absence, during which time she has continued her career in executive headhunting and recruitment across the scientific (and especially life sciences) field. With over 14 years’ recruitment experience, and having also worked in field sales, Sue brings further market knowledge and experience to Delta.

Sue will be recruiting across all areas of laboratory and scientific, with an emphasis on life sciences. She can be contacted on 01480 495047 or sue@delta-consultants.com.

Ann and Ian Pinn, Directors of Delta Consultants, commented that Sue’s return brings new ideas and proven recruitment skills at a time when business is buoyant for Delta.

Based in St Ives, Delta Consultants is now 21 years old.

Sue Ward

Manchester company Byotrol has seen sales of its biocidal cleaning agent soar due to the swine flu outbreak, and has agreed a distribution deal with leading retail pharmacy Boots.

Byotrol’s anti-bacterial cleaning agent has been confirmed as an effective weapon against MRSA, but its potential to help control swine flu infection has determined its recent commercial success.

The cleaning agent’s residual anti-bacterial action helps to protect surfaces in clinical and other environments.

Sales of Byotrol products rose from £387,852 in 2008 to £1.9m in 2009, while losses fell from £1.4m to £590,000. The results would have been stronger still had margins not been affected by the need to source more bottles quickly in order to meet demand.

In the six months to the end of September, Byotrol also saw positive data from a product trial at Manchester Royal Infirmary and new product patents filed in the UK and Canada.

Byotrol’s consumer products division has agreed a deal with Boots, which will stock its products by the end of 2009.

Chief Executive David McRobbie called the last few months “very encouraging”, and added: “Progress at Byotrol has been notable across every stage of our product cycle, with further innovation breakthroughs, new patent applications lodged, patents granted and commercial agreements reached.

“The significant increase in sales is in part due to the concern regarding swine flu; however it can also be attributed to a greater appreciation of the qualities, efficacy and broad applications of Byotrol.”

Byotrol’s Azo Max

Siemens Healthcare has appointed an experienced radiographer as MR Product Manager.

Jane Kilkenny will head the team of product and application specialists and lead growth in this important area of the company’s business.

Jane has 20 years’ MR experience. She worked as a Senior Radiographer at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery and Preston Royal Infirmary, then went on to work as MRI Superintendent Radiographer at Blackpool Victoria Hospital before joining Siemens as MR Applications Specialist.

In her new role, Jane will be responsible for growing the Siemens MRI installation base in the UK and keeping customers informed of new products and applications.

Jane said: “The field of MR is continually evolving, offering more clinical pathways to help develop procedures and uncover deeper information for diagnosis and research purposes.” She added that she looks forward to “working closely with existing NHS, independent and research-based customers, plus building new relationships to grow market share.”

Jane Kilkenny