EU-funded research prominent in IST awards
Two of the three winners of the IST grand prizes awarded at the IST2000 event in Nice on October have participated in both the European Union's Fourth and Fifth Framework programmes (FP4 and FP5). Swiss-based XiTact and the German Fraunhofer Institute which developed the TeleInViVo project both won IST grand prize trophies along with a 200,000 euro cheque with e-health products, while MINEit software won with an e-business product Members of the Televivo project and MINEit software have both used European-funded research results to help form their final winning projects. The Northern Irish MINEit project participated in the MIMIC project under FP4 and the University of Ulster, from which MINEit software is a spin off, is still involved in the CERENA project under the IST programme in FP5. The Fraunhofer Institute on the other hand participated in EU-funded programmes to gain the results for both the telematic and ultrasound scanning elements of its winning project. It was involved in the Telematics application programme under FP4 and the Institute, which developed the project with four other European partners, remains closely involved with FP5 projects. Globally, around a third of all entrants had products with some relation to EU-funded research. The European Commissioner for Enterprise and Information society, Erkki Liikanen was one of the dignitaries who presented the final three grand prizes in the European IST competition in Nice on 7 November, along with Sir Derek Roberts, president of the executive jury of the European IST prize. Winning a grand prize means more than just a trophy and a cheque, said Sir Robert. 'A Spanish 1998 IST Prize winner says that collaboration is also reflected in an informal network that is established among the prize winners from various countries and various editions of the prize. In his case, a Greek grand prize winner helped him to enter the market in Greece,' he said. In addition, greater access to venture capital and more international recognition for the product are usually available to the winners. The details of the three winning projects are as follows: - TeleInViVo. This is a transportable three dimensional (3D) ultrasound telemedical workstation. It was developed by the Fraunhofer institute for computer graphics in Germany, along with Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish partners. The apparatus can detect a patient's 3D data by means of ultrasound and then, using the built in telecommunication channel (which includes ISDN, GSM and satellite links) can send this information to a remote expert located anywhere in the world. The major benefits of the system are that it is inexpensive, light, transportable and non-radiating. - MINEit software has produced 'easyminer' which allows e-businesses to find out crucial marketing data about use of their websites. Click streams and behavioural patterns can be monitored, thereby providing a good measure of online advertising, for example. The company is drawn from Irish, British, German, Indian, Spanish and Canadian citizens. XiTact is a Swiss-based company that has produced the 'virtual patient'. This is a reality-based surgery simulator with tools which can provide both feedback to surgeons and help them plan surgery. The competition, the sixth of its kind, had over 200 entries from 26 countries. All countries, including central and eastern Europe as well as Switzerland and Israel, were evaluated on the same basis. The criteria that prizes are awarded on are technical excellence, innovative content, potential market value, capacity to generate employment and contribution towards expanding understanding of information technology by societies.