Health work nod for Invergordon firm
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PIONEERING work by a Ross-shire firm, the NHS and local housing association to help the elderly and infirm live in their own homes for longer has been shortlisted for a major life sciences award next month.
Invergordon-based Carbon Dynamic, which designs and manufactures timber modular buildings, is part of the shortlisted Fit Homes project.
This project, which is being led by Albyn Housing with support from Carbon Dynamic and NHS Highland, will work to build homes equipped with sensors to collect health data that can be monitored and responded to.
They will also be sustainable, affordable, highly adaptable and technology enabled with the aim of meeting residents’ needs at all stages of life and supporting independent living at home for longer.
And now the project has been shortlisted in Scotland’s annual Life Science Awards in the innovative collaboration category.
It is one of two Highland nominees in the category, the other being a collaboration between CorporateHealth International – the Danish life sciences firm based on Inverness Campus software company OpenBrolly, NHS Highland and the Digital Healthcare Institute.
Together they have pioneered SCOTCAP to provide a new way of carrying out minimally invasive investigations of the lower gastrointestinal tract. This can be done by local GPs and avoids the need for patients to travel considerable distances to Inverness from rural communities.
Elsewhere, two Highlands and Islands entrepreneurs have been shortlisted in the business leadership category.
Campbell Grant is founder and CEO of Skye based healthcare technology firm Sitekit. The firm is currently leading the development of the eRedbook, an innovative digital application that allows clinicians and parents to monitor a child’s health and development.
Helen Erwood, chief executive of ESPL Regulatory Consulting in Shetland, is also shortlisted. With offices in the UK, Ireland and Switzerland, ESPL provides European Regulatory Affairs consultancy, training, procedural and submissions support to the pharmaceutical industry.
The region’s representation on the shortlist has been welcomed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise head of life sciences James Cameron.
"We are delighted to see high quality finalists from the Highlands and Islands," he said.
"The natural assets, the skills and the ambition among people working for and leading these companies and projects combine to provide tremendous economic opportunities which benefit the region and the country.
"It is particularly encouraging to see a social enterprise compete with business-led entries.
"The social economy in the Highlands and Islands is proportionately greater than other parts of the country and plays an important role in addressing many social issues relating to, for example, the geography of the region.
"We are pleased to have been able to provide support for our region’s finalists and wish them every success on the night of the awards in February."
This year’s awards will take place in Glasgow on February 28.
