Hoping to emulate such global successes as the first ever mobile heart defibrillator - originally dreamed up by Belfast heart specialist, Professor Frank Pantridge - the centre will identify and explore opportunities to obtain, protect and use these Intellectual Property (IP) assets, using methods such as patents and design rights.
Economy Minister Nigel Dodds launched the Health and Social Care (HSC) Innovations Centre of Excellence which he explained will provide innovation management services and exploit the assets developed from employee innovations and ideas arising from research and healthcare delivery.
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The initiative will identify new technologies and services to create commercial opportunities, possible collaborations with local businesses and spin-out companies.
This will ultimately bring potential products to market that will improve patient care. The Centre of Excellence will also create a culture of IP awareness and innovation through an integrated staff-training programme.
The training will look at IP assets and how they have been successfully applied to such equipment as the world’s first mobile defibrillator which was created in Belfast in 1965, novel therapies and diagnostic procedures and new medications.
Speaking at the launch event, the Minister said: “The ability to identify new products and bring knowledge based research to commercial viability is key to Northern Ireland’s economic competitiveness.
“Working with Invest NI, the HSC Innovations Centre of Excellence will harness the research and technology strengths of the Health Service, creating potentially lucrative international trade opportunities for local businesses.”
(BMcC)
