[news 2007 - 2008]

Queen’s researchers are first recipients of new PARTEQ Proof of Principle Fund

Oct. 22, 2007

For immediate release

KINGSTON, ON -- Queen’s University researchers developing novel technologies in the fields of environmental decontamination, health, ergonomics and digital advertising have been awarded a total of $200,000 to advance their innovations to market.

The grants, ranging from $25,000 to $85,000 each, are the first to be awarded to Queen’s researchers under a new, $900,000 Proof of Principle Fund financed by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation and managed by PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen’s.

The funding enables researchers to embark on more commercially oriented development and validation of their projects. Recipients are as follows:

• Dr. Stan Brown (Chemistry) and Alexei Neverov (Chemistry) received $75,000 for further work on a “green” method for deactivating contaminants such as chemical warfare agents, pesticides and insecticides. The funding will support testing of his technology on live chemical warfare agents by a certified, third-party testing facility, a crucial step towards enhancing the market readiness of Dr. Brown’s discovery.

• Dr. Andrew Pollard (Mechanical and Materials Engineering) and a team from the departments of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and Anaesthesiology received $35,000 to integrate emboli detection software into hardware in the cardiac treatment centre of Kingston General Hospital. (Emboli are potentially life-threatening air blockages in arteries that can occur as a result of open heart surgery.) The Pollard team's DETECTS (Detection of Emboli using Trans-esophageal Echocardiography for Counting, Total volume, and Size estimation), when combined with the appropriate ultrasound equipment, will give doctors a tool for quantitatively assessing the effectiveness of current air removal techniques during surgery. The work of Dr. Pollard and his team is also being supported by Siemens Medical Solutions, which is supplying an ultrasound system for the project.

• Dr. Joan Stevenson (Physical and Health Education) received $25,000 to support design modifications to a Personal Lift Assist Device (PLAD), a wearable device that offloads muscular forces on the lower back during lifting tasks, and potentially reducing a worker’s risk of lower back injury. The modifications will allow the PLAD to meet manufacturing facility standards, leading to a trial at a major Canadian automotive manufacturer.

• Dr. Roel Vertegaal (School of Computing) received $85,000 to complete product refinements to his eyebox2 long-range eye-tracking technology, which enables the emerging digital advertising industry to measure and collect accurate viewership information. This funding will support the completion of validation studies, software optimization, and the development of eye analytics software for tracking viewer statistics. Dr. Vertegaal’s technology attracted worldwide interest following its demonstration at web giant Google in May, and his spinoff company, xuuk Inc. continues to receive orders for his product.

“We are excited about the avenues that this funding opens up for these projects,” says Anne Vivian-Scott, Vice-President, Commercial Development. “We are continuing to seek projects that may fit this commercially focused proof-of-concept fund, and we urge researchers to bring their discoveries to us. Researchers frequently find that obtaining funding to develop commercial applications of their research is difficult and time-consuming. This fund enables us to respond quickly to the commercialization needs of our faculty.”

About the PARTEQ Proof of Principle (POP) Fund:
The PARTEQ Proof of Principle Fund was funded through the Ontario Research Commercialization Program to support the development of commercial applications for technology developed at Queen’s University. Eligible projects must meet the acceptance criteria of PARTEQ, which will manage the commercialization of the projects. Projects are eligible for up to a total of $135,000 in development funding.

Contact:
Anne Vivian-Scott
Vice-President, Commercial Development
PARTEQ Innovations
P: 613. 533. 6000 ext. 75513
E: avivianscott@parteqinnovations.com