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A new set of “Outbound” and “Inbound” materials disclosure forms have been created and are available from the RC&I website as downloads. These forms ask key questions that ensure that the Contracts Manager can draft the appropriate Materials Transfer Agreement, or ensure that an agreement that the provider of the materials sends to us matches with the anticipated use of the material by the UCT Researchers.
Universities are conducive to innovation, as researchers and students dedicate themselves to the act of problem-solving through research. Over the past few years, UCT has been central to an array of practical innovations that have been implemented to better the lives of ordinary people. In many cases, women have been taking the lead.
On 26 April, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day and – importantly – this year, we’re focusing on the women who are driving change through ingenuity, curiosity and courage.
A collaboration between biomedical engineers and a clinician at UCT has led to the design of an assistant device for metered-dose asthma inhalers that will improve ease of use for children and the elderly. Aptly named the Easy Squeezy, the device dramatically reduces the force required to activate the pump. It also aims to minimise the stigma associated with using pumps by adding decorative cartoon characters for young patients.
UCT’s Medical Devices Lab is fostering an ecosystem of innovation.And the fruitfulness of its teaching practices, founded on ideas of Frugal Biodesign, is being proven in the form of biomedical engineering graduates Gokul Nair and Giancarlo Beukes.
Both alumni of the medical device design course, they have teamed up to form Impulse Biomedical – a company presently incubated in the Medical Devices Lab. The pair are working on commercialising the ZibiPen, a reloadable adrenaline auto-injector, along with other technologies that were developed in the lab.