NCAD Receives Government Grant for Development of Innovative Medical Device
The National College of Art and Design (NCAD)’s Product Design department is part of a consortium which has secured €3.2m funding for the development of a new medical device.
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, 11th December 2019
NCAD receives Government grant for development of innovative medical device
Partnership project allocated €3.2m funding over three years
The National College of Art and Design (NCAD)’s Product Design department is part of a consortium which has secured €3.2m funding for the development of a new medical device. The funding has been awarded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF), and was announced by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphries TD, together with Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty TD, last Saturday (07.12.19).
The EyeVU project will deliver a disruptive, miniaturised ‘eyeball’ endoscope camera, which will allow clinicians to see around corners with unparalleled precision. The consortium is led by Galway-based MedTech start-up Tympany Medical, and includes NCAD, the UCD Centre for Micro/nano Manufacturing Technology (UCD-MNMT), and Shannon-based Gentian Services.
As part of the project, NCAD’s Product Design department will be involved in three work packages, which include contextual inquiry, human factors validation and sustainable design of the device for the circular economy. UCD-MNMT will lead the development of the optoelectronics and miniaturisation of the device, while Gentian Services will be responsible for designing the device for manufacture.
EyeVU is one of 16 projects for which funding has been allocated under the DTIF. The eligible projects received by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation went through a rigorous and competitive evaluation process, involving screening and interviews by panels of international experts. Of the total funding for the EyeVU project, more than €480,000 has been allocated for research to be conducted at NCAD.
Commenting, the course coordinator for MSc in Medical Device Design (MDD) at NCAD, Enda O’Dowd, said: “We are delighted to have been granted funding by the Government under this important initiative, which brings the higher education sector together with enterprises to deliver new technologies that benefit society. EyeVU builds on the experience of NCAD Medical Device Design in leading human centred research and innovation in the medical device sector and we look forward to working with our partners on this exciting project.”
ENDS
Contact: Sebastian Enke / David O’Donnell, DHR Communications, Tel: 01-4200580 / 087-3239496 / 086-1081139
Read the report in Silicon Republic
Read the report on Fora.ie
