Neuron supported Transfera Technology Day; cleaning tablets won
The second year of the national competition Transfera Technology Day was won by tablets for cleaning contaminated water. Second place went to a microemulsion for cleaning historical materials and third to a project for determining the presence of bacteria in amniotic fluid. The audience prize went to special inserts for fish tanks. Representatives of the Neuron Foundation sat on the jury that assessed the commercial potential of research projects from universities and other research organisations.
"At Neuron we were glad to support the second year of the Transfera Technology Day competition, because it has the same goal as we do: to connect science with business so that research helps as many people as possible," says our patron Jaroslav Řasa. He was a jury member in the competition's final on Neuron's behalf, as was our Neuron Founder Václav Novák.
The aim of Transfera Technology Day is to connect business and science in order to obtain feedback on projects' commercial readiness and, in future, to obtain funding for promising research projects.
"Czech science and research has many promising talents. But they need to be motivated and supported further. That is why we are glad we are managing to connect the world of money with ideas from research circles. Especially at the beginning, practically no project can do without support," said Eva Janouškovcová, chair of the association Transfera.cz, which co-organised the event.
Thirteen research projects were selected for the final (besides the top three, they included the electrostatic separation of plastics for better sorting, a mat for monitoring a patient's weight distribution and position, and a device for treating wires for implant surgery). Research teams took part from the Czech Technical University in Prague, the National Institute of Mental Health, the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Palacký University in Olomouc, the University of Hradec Králové, Brno University of Technology, the University Hospital Hradec Králové, the VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Masaryk University, the Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. The jury then selected the three best from them all.
The winning project, from Palacký University in Olomouc, is intended above all for natural disasters or industrial accidents. The new special effervescent tablets for cleaning contaminated water are easy to store and are applied simply by dropping them into the contaminated water. Thanks to the effervescent effect they act very quickly. The tablet dissolves completely within 30 seconds so that the active substance can take full effect. They also contain no toxic substances and are environmentally friendly.
Notional silver went to microemulsions and gels for cleaning the surfaces of historical materials, from the team at the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences. These maximally gentle yet effective microemulsion cleaning systems serve to remove dirt from a wide range of valuable historical artefacts. Their main component is water; the content of active components is very low but effective.
Third place in the competition went to the University Hospital Hradec Králové with its project Determining the presence of bacteria in the amniotic fluid of patients with preterm labour and rupture of membranes.
The new method makes it possible to determine the presence of specific bacteria in patients' amniotic fluid within a few hours. That will make it possible to start effective antibiotic treatment in time and reduce the possible harm to the foetus.
The audience prize went to an aeration and oxygenation insert for fish tanks from the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. It should improve conditions for fish stored in tanks, for instance during pond harvests or before Christmas. The new insert ensures sufficient oxygenation of the water without the need to anchor air hoses with weights, which complicate the harvest and often injure the fish.
Projects that qualified for the final may use the designation TRANSFERA TECHNOLOGY DAY 2021 finalist, and the winning project the designation TRANSFERA TECHNOLOGY DAY 2021 WINNER. The certificate is a mark of quality and can help secure support, financial and otherwise. The finalist projects will also receive an invitation to the Technology Incubation programme of the CzechInvest agency, which can release up to 5 million crowns for each project.
