2013 Press Releases
OPTODOSE wins UCC BioDesign Award
OptoDose, a novel software tool for measuring image quality in CT medical images, may significantly improve the capability of radiologists to decrease CT dose in patients who undergo regular scans, including patients with Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
The OptoDose team, which was one of six to take part in the module, is made up of Maura Power, Josef Tugwell, James Foody, Adrian O’Sullivan and Jason Dietz, under the mentorship of Professor Michael Maher and Dr OJ O’Connor from Cork University Hospital (CUH). The team will now seek support to extend the tool for future clinical and commercial validation.
This is the second successful year of UCC BioDesign, a pioneering project coupling medical and engineering students at UCC with consultant clinicians across Cork's teaching hospitals to develop innovative solutions to real clinical needs. The award-winning module concept led the interdisciplinary student teams to develop novel solutions in areas such as radiology, surgery, and anaesthesia. These solutions were showcased before a panel of independent experts chaired by the investor, philanthropist and CoderDojo founder, Bill Liao from SOS Ventures.
David Tallon, Head of Research and Development at Stryker Ireland, who also served on the judging panel, commented: “This is a fantastic initiative and other universities should take stock. You have started something quite unique here in Cork and it is clear that the students are very engaged.”
Presenting the John Francis Burke Award to the winning team, Dr Michael Murphy, President of UCC, highly commended the module and remarked that UCC BioDesign could serve as a “model” for the university.
UCC Biodesign is a combined effort led by Dr Padraig Cantillon-Murphy and Mr John McSweeney from the School of Engineering at UCC, and features guests from industry and academia. The module has led to UCC’s leadership in a European-wide consortium of academic and industry partners supported by the European Commision’s Lifelong Learning Programme, under the banner of “Biodesign for Health Applications”. The module was also recognised in 2012 under the President's Awards for Research on Innovative Forms of Teaching and Learning.
The previous winning design, SecuRetract, subsequently secured commercialisation funding from Enterprise Ireland and is now at an advanced development stage with pre-clinical testing scheduled for 2013.
Another device, also developed through the module in 2011, is ProDural, a smart epidural needle, which was recently awarded the Cleveland Clinic/Enterprise Ireland Clinical Innovation Award. ProDural was developed by a UCC student team including Conor O’Shea, John Keane, Kate Keohane, John Delaney and Peadar MacSuibhne, under the mentorship of Dr Peter Lee from CUH. Dr. Lee is now set to work with Cleveland Clinic and Enterprise Ireland on the commercial feasibility of the solution.