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Health News
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May 17, 2012 |  |
 BT wins £20m contract to partner Belfast Trust in healthcare transformation
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have chosen BT, one of the world’s leading communications and IT services companies to be the single supplier of voice and data communications in a five-year deal worth up to £20 million. BT will provide 17,000 users with innovative communications technology and an infrastructure that will support the re-provisioning of healthcare across Northern Ireland.
The recently published Compton Review of Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland ‘Transforming Your Care’ outlined the need to push care into the community, a strategy that will require the effective use of communications infrastructure to work.
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Scientists at the University of Ulster are teaming up with Sanofi, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, to research potential new drugs for the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
Innovation Ulster Ltd, the designated technology transfer company of the University of Ulster, has signed a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) to develop therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases.
Under the agreement, scientists at the University will assess the activity of an early stage compound in Alzheimer’s disease animal models and generate new data to evaluate its neuroprotective or neurodegenerative activity. |
May 14, 2012 |  |
 Clinical diagnostics company, Crescent Diagnostics Ltd (Crescent), is to set up a research and development project in Londonderry to develop a predictive test for osteoporosis.
The company is headquartered at NovaUCD, Dublin and has a lab at C-TRIC (the Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre) in Derry.
The project is being supported by Invest Northern Ireland, which has offered over £23,000 of assistance, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. |
May 11, 2012 | |
 A computerised glove designed by University of Ulster scientists is set to improve the assessment of rheumatoid arthritis for many people, a conference of international healthcare innovators in Derry~Londonderry has heard.
Computer scientist and academic Dr Kevin Curran, who is a member of the design team, told the 4th annual Translational Medicine Conference (TMED 4) that a collaboration with rheumatology consultant, Dr Philip Gardiner, of the Western Health and Social Care Trust, is on the point of producing a unique wireless glove that should make the assessment of small joint mobility much more accurate.
Dr Curran, who is based at the internationally renowned Intelligent Systems Research Centre (IRSC) at the Magee campus, said: “This is a custom-made ‘data glove’ which is being manufactured for us at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork and we are expecting delivery of it in August. |
May 11, 2012 | |
 University of Ulster nutrition experts say that one in ten people in Northern Ireland, depending on their genes, could significantly lower their blood pressure and, in turn, their risk of heart disease and stroke by increasing their intake of vitamin B2, which is found in dairy products.
The advice from researchers at the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE) on the Coleraine campus, follows their important discovery that vitamin B2 - also known as riboflavin - reduces high blood pressure which is often linked to a particular genetic factor found in 10% of the population.
High blood pressure is the leading cause of stroke and heart disease which, together, are responsible for about one-third of all deaths in Northern Ireland. |
One of the UK’s leading medical researchers has been recognised for excellence in medical science. Professor Patrick Johnston, Dean of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast has been elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Professor Johnston has been honoured for outstanding contributions to the advancement of medical science and, in particular, his work on cancer research and treatment of patients. |
Almac, a leading provider of contract services to the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a state-of-the-art, high-speed blister line for their new 100,000ft US commercial packaging facility in Audubon, PA.
The versatile UPS 4 blister line will process solid oral dose products, providing primary packaging into a range of materials including PVC, PVC/PVDC, Aclar and Alu/Alu. Complete with an integrated C2206 cartoner, the line will provide a highly efficient packaging solution with an output of up to 12,000 blisters per hour in a wide range of blister sizes. |
The top-rated Institute of Nursing Research at the University of Ulster is showcasing key areas of its work and has harnessed international expertise for a pioneering week-long event at the Jordanstown campus.
The Institute is holding its inaugural annual Research Week, (Monday, April 30 to Friday, May 4) at which academics, students, staff in health and social services and in the private and voluntary sectors will learn at first- hand about the research activity under way at the Institute.
Nine Visiting Professors, each of whom is a well-known researcher or practitioner in their own right, will take part in master classes, seminars and lectures. |
April 26, 2012 |  |
 Intelesens founder and Executive Director, Professor Jim McLaughlin has been appointed Chief Technology Officer for the company, reporting to the CEO. Previously Chief Science Officer Jim now takes over this critical executive role in providing technical and scientific leadership to the Intelesens Engineering group, which includes sensor technology, hardware, software, firmware, systems and biomedical engineering disciplines. Jim's predecessor in the role, Professor John Anderson tragically died earlier this month after a 6 month illness and had provided the visionary technology leadership which helped develop Intelesens’s range of revolutionary wearable, wireless health monitors. |
 University of Ulster experts are involved in an international research project that aims to use emerging healthcare technologies to provide personalised ‘in-home’ intervention strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder.
The EU funded MICHELANGELO Project brings together an interdisciplinary team of eight partner organisations in Italy, Malta, UK and France bridging academia, industry and clinical practice. Each has a specific area of expertise across computer science, software and electronic engineering, medical sciences, developmental psychiatry, clinical psychology and includes therapists, educators and business professionals, as well as associations working with children with autism and their families. |
The Almac Group announced today that its Clinical Technologies Business Unit has made significant progress in advancing its Six Sigma-led quality and productivity initiatives. The program began with the goals of increasing quality and productivity by addressing key issues relating to people, processes and technology. Directed by a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Almac’s program has trained sixteen Green Belts and three Black Belts, and has now advanced to full-scale deployment across the unit. |
 Craigavon-based pharmaceutical development company Almac has signed a multi-million dollar distribution deal with a US company giving it the right to sell their proprietary biomarker discovery platform worldwide.
The agreement will enable Affymetrix, which makes genomic analysis tools, to sell the Almac Xcel™ array, a tool for analysing the genetic behaviour from historic (paraffin embedded) patient samples, which will advance research into personalised medicine.
Almac’s array is uniquely designed to enable researchers to obtain information on genetic behaviour from historic patient samples. |
CIGA Healthcare, the Ballymena-based specialist in self-diagnostic tests, has won a second contract in Libya which strengthens its position in this developing market in North Africa.
The company, which has taken part in a series of Invest Northern Ireland missions to markets in Africa and the Gulf states particularly Saudi Arabia, gained its first contract in Libya in 2011 for its SureSign range of diagnostic kits, now on sale in over 40 countries worldwide.
The kits are used for home tests for conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure and are now being sold in pharmacies throughout Libya. |
The Southern Heath & Social Care Trust has won a national award for their remote tele-monitoring pilot scheme for patients with long term conditions.
Today Health Minister Edwin Poots congratulated the Trust at a special celebratory event in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings. Mr Poots said: “These awards are testament to the Southern Trusts commitment to do things differently through innovation and enterprise. |
 With more children and people under the age of 40 dying of a brain tumour than any other cancer in the United Kingdom, a leading researcher at Queen’s University Belfast is calling for an increase in spending on vital research.
Currently 16,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year in the UK. In Northern Ireland alone, approximately 200 – 250 brain tumour cases are operated on annually. |
 US-owned CVS Caremark Corporation is to set up an Information Systems Development Centre in Belfast that aims to create 50 high quality jobs.
The joint announcement was made today by Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry.
A Fortune 50 company with approximately 200,000 employees, CVS Caremark, is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the U. |
March 15, 2012 |  |
 Training for science careers in Northern Ireland is set to receive a boost thanks to a partnership between Almac and Southern Regional College announced today.
The Craigavon-based pharmaceutical development company has said it will create eight scientific apprenticeships for SRC students, starting in September this year.
The announcement was made at the opening of a new state-of-the-art science laboratory at the Portadown campus of the College and will see Almac providing two year apprenticeships to16 to 24 year olds studying NVQ laboratory technician courses to Level 3. |
A new research network which hopes to deliver better health benefits in Northern Ireland is being launched by Queen’s University and the Public Health Agency (PHA) tomorrow.
The Northern Ireland Public Health Research Network aims to tackle significant public health challenges such as rising levels of obesity, sedentary living, alcohol and substance abuse.
The new network will see scientists and public health researchers engaging more closely than ever before to improve policy and practice and contribute to better public health outcomes.
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 The University of Ulster is carrying out the first research study to examine the role of daily exercise in children at risk of developing diabetes in the United Arab Emirates.
The Gulf country has the second highest prevalence of diabetes in the world with almost 20 per cent of the Emirati population suffering from the disease.
Dr Gareth Davison from Ulster’s Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute at the Jordanstown campus, is running an eight week exercise programme with overweight children at the American International School in Dubai. |
March 01, 2012 |  |
 Malignant melanoma (MM), the most dangerous type of skin cancer, is caused mainly by intense episodes of UV exposure and originates in the pigment-producing melanocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis. Early detection and complete excision of the primary lesions is crucial for reducing melanoma-related deaths but current diagnostic practice is highly subjective. This leads to unnecessary surgical procedures, which are highly-invasive and expensive. |
 Queen’s University scientists working on a vaccine to combat Pseudomonas have received a major financial boost from Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke (NICH&S).
The local charity has awarded Queen’s Centre for Infection and Immunity a grant of £91,000 to help with their hunt for a vaccine.
Pseudomonas, which can be a killer in vulnerable adults and children, commonly infects the lungs of people suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). |
 Connected Health research at universities could be the driver for high tech economic growth in Northern Ireland, according to Stephen McComb, recently appointed Technology Leader for the NI Connected Health Innovation Centre (CHIC).
Based at the University of Ulster’s Nanotechnology and Integrated BioEngineering Centre (NIBEC) at Jordanstown and funded by INVEST NI, his role is to create industry led collaborations in the evolving area of connected health, supported by market focused research.
He explains that an aging population, coupled with changes in disease prevalence, have led to shifts in health care demands. |
 Despite the rising incidence of cancer in Northern Ireland, the number of people surviving the disease here is increasing significantly year on year.
Each year there are between 50-60 men and women who survive the deadly effects of cancer who previously would have died.
The survival rates in Northern Ireland for cancers including breast and colorectal are among the best in the UK, and its patients are benefiting from improved treatment outcomes by up to four per cent better than those for England and Wales. |
February 24, 2012 | |
 The reputation of C-TRIC, Northern Ireland’s healthcare innovation hub looks set to be further enhanced through its involvement in a ground-breaking initiative by Randox Laboratories and University of Ulster scientists that aims to bring relief to people with severe rheumatoid arthritis and save the health service millions of pounds each year.
The collaborative approach will focus on the development of a simple personalised test that should enable life-changing drug treatment to be tailored to the needs of individual suffers of the chronic inflammatory disease.
Fifty percent of this funding has been awarded through the UK-wide Technology Strategy Board and the Medical Research Council, and will be matched by funding from Randox.
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February 22, 2012 |  |
The Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Edwin Poots, MLA, today announced funding of almost 1 million pounds, to be utilised by Randox and the University of Ulster Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, to develop a test to rapidly determine which patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis will respond to particular drugs. If successful, this will be a marked advance for arthritis patients, enabling those patients to receive specifically tailored treatment.
Fifty percent of this funding has been awarded, after rigorous scrutiny, through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB; www. |
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