Making Waves

INNOVATORS:Exam marking without the errors; monitoring noise pollution; an integrated online and radio music system; and repairing fractures

Foolproof exam marking

QPERCOM:THE MEDICAL school at NUI Galway has developed a new method of marking student assessments that will save thousands of euro per annum and provide more accurate results.

The concept was developed by Dr Thomas Kropmans, a senior lecturer in medical informatics and medical education, who decided that there must be a more efficient method than paper-based marking, followed by a time-consuming - and error prone - transfer of the exam data into an Excel spreadsheet.

He started work on the project two years ago, with David Cunningham from the School of Informatics at NUIG and they developed an online assessment tool that can replace any paper-based form or checklist.

Kropmans says that as part of their final clinical exams students must perform a series of ten procedures including how to take blood or check a pulse while being watched and marked by an assessor -with 100 students in the class, this process formerly generated 1,000 pieces of exam paper, which took approximately two weeks for administrators to type into the college database.

More worryingly, up to 30 per cent of the recorded marks were incorrect, due to transcription or other errors.

Kropmans says that the online system marking is operated either on a tablet PC or laptop and the results and final mark uploaded almost immediately.

The system reduces administration costs associated with the marking process by 70 per cent and has eliminated many common errors, he says.

Kropmans and Cunningham have spun out the idea into a company, called Qpercom Ltd, which has already sold the product to two Dutch medical training facilities.

Qpercom provides a standard product based around that used in NUIG, or can customise to meet specific demands, as happened with the Medical School at Erasmus University in Rotterdam in The Netherlands.

Keeping sound in check

SONITUS SYSTEMS:A SPIN-OUT company from Trinity College Dublin is taking advantage of a European directive that requires member states to measure and manage noise pollution.

Sonitus Systems began life in TCD's School of Engineering as a generic Enterprise Ireland-funded research project into environmental monitoring.

The introduction of the European Noise Directive in 2002 and its passing into Irish law four years later meant the company decided to concentrate on noise pollution.

The company ran pilots using its technology with the National Roads Authority and Dublin City Council.

Its product includes a central control and monitoring system and robust, low-cost monitors that can be installed at the site where noise is to be measured.

Monitors are connected using a GSM modem, meaning the data produced from each site is available on the internet. The monitors can be situated near roadways, aircraft approach paths, concert venues or near factories or construction sites.

Sonitus Systems co-founder Paul McDonald says the technology is designed to allow for long-term monitoring.

The company has sold the system to a number of local authorities, county councils and the Environmental Protection Agency.

It is also talking to a number of large companies, particularly those near residential areas that are interested in monitoring the noise impact of their activities. Dublin City Council has also deployed 10 units.

McDonald says the Sonitus system is more sophisticated and precise than similar products in the market and added it has "first mover advantage in Ireland".

The company has two revenue streams, the initial sale and follow fees for monitoring and assessing the data. There are five people involved in the company and it is considering adapting the technology to measure air quality.

Catch it if you can. . .

CATCH:CATCH STARTED life as a conversation between two friends who wondered why it wasn't possible to find out the name of a song playing on the radio.

Having previously set up a number of technology companies, serial entrepreneur John Shiel saw the commercial potential if a solution could be found.

He approached the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group in Waterford Institute of Technology and - after over a year's research and development work - Catch was born. In March, the Catch technology was adopted as a key competent of the 2FM website.

Catch allows someone to find out details of a song they like on the radio simply by texting the radio station. They will then be sent a response with the name of the artist, the album and other biographical details of the musician. Users have to register with the website of the radio station first.

The details of the song will also be sent to their "catchlist", which is a list of their favourite songs stored on the 2FM website, where users can listen to the songs again or purchase and download them.

The website also allows users to browse through playlists from recent radio shows and listen to music from previous shows.

It also offers video clips and other background material on all featured musicians. Updating the site is almost completely automated.

Shiel believes the technology will revolutionise how people interact with music, particularly as it is entirely legal. "We have signed licence agreements with the record companies and they are happy with the system." To purchase music, a user registers and buys credit using a credit card before downloading their chosen songs.

Aside from 2FM, the Catch technology is being used by Spin 103.8, Dublin's 98, Cork's RedFM, and a number of patents are pending. Enterprise Ireland has provided funding and is a shareholder. Shiel and the other directors have invested over €2 million in the product and are planning to bring the concept to the US, UK and Europe.

The company has 13 employees, and while technically profitable, is reinvesting the majority of its proceeds to grow the company.

Revenues include a once-off purchase fee and ongoing revenues for maintenance. For the end user such as 2FM, the technology has led to a doubling of web traffic and provides the radio station with a percentage share in revenues from music sales.

Bio-mechanical bone bolting

SOTA ORTHODPAEDICS:ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON Dr Brian Thornes has developed a new technique for treating hip factures which, he says, could potentially save health services millions of euro.

His product, the X-Bolt, has been patented and is in the final stage of tests before being in clinical trials.

The existing method of repairing a hip facture involves using screws and a plate. However, in approximately 5 per cent of cases the screws become loose with the result the procedure has to be repeated. One of the reasons for this is that osteoporotic bone is quite soft.

"In much the same way as screws in plasterboard can loosen and dislodge over time, the same thing can happen to hip screws."

His solution takes its inspiration from expanding bolts he was using to fasten the TV bracket to the wall.

After two years of development work, he has filed a patent and established Sota Orthodpaedics to exploit it.

He says the product has the potential to significantly reduce the number of dislodged hip repairs. The X-Bolt is undergoing bio-mechanical tests before starting clinical trials over the next year. If these are successful, Thornes plans to licence the technology to a large medical devices firm.

The company has raised over €750,000 in seed capital and recently won the regional best emerging company award at the InterTrade Ireland All-Island business seedcorn competition.

The technology will revolutionise how people interact with music, particularly as it is entirely legal

It started life as a conversation between friends who wondered why it wasn't possible to find out the name of a song playing on the radio