Hi from the SpeechBubble™ team.  We’ve been burning the midnight oil and drinking lots of coffee,  but for the very first time, SpeechBubble™ has reached the iPhone!

The development team have used the NEW BETA of Adobe CS5 with iPhone Packager, to take the existing SpeechBubble™ Engine and deploy it on the iPhone.

Computer technology will have an increasingly important role to play in healthcare services as Northern Ireland and the world’s population rises and ages over the next 20 years, it was claimed today.

BOSTON & BELFAST, Northern Ireland  – January 27, 2010 – Axis Three (www.axisthree.com), the leader and pioneer of 3D surgical simulation tools for aesthetic consultations, today announced the availability of its new XS-200 scanner, designed to capture high quality, anatomically-accurate, 3D images of a patient’s face in order to simulate facial surgery outcomes.

Research shows signalling between cells more complex than originally believed

SPIE Photonics, San Francisco, USA, 26 January 2010 - US scientists have performed an advanced study of structures inside live cells using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF), thanks to a high-speed camera and software from Andor Technology.

The experiment, which was carried out by two postgraduates from Yale University, captured the first time-lapse pictures of the APPL1 endosome, a type of vesicle that carries signals inside a cell from its surface. By tracking the vesicle using time-lapse imaging, they found APPL1 helps cells communicate with each other.

Research at the University of Ulster generated over £29 million for the Northern Ireland economy in the academic year 2008/9 – up almost £18 million on the previous year.

Funding awards were made to each of Ulster’s six faculties and across all four campuses, highlighting research excellence throughout the University, with major research awards going to medical technology, bioengineering, energy efficiency and nutrition.

Ulster’s research teams were awarded grants totalling £21 million, including approximately £3 million from the UK Research Councils, and a further £8million research capital funding was also generated

Professor Norman Black, Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation said that research undertaken at Ulster over the past year has more than fulfilled expectations: 

“Research and Innovation at the University of Ulster continues to grow and to make major contributions to the economic and social wellbeing of Northern Ireland and beyond.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster today announced a £4.4million investment by NaviNet, America's largest real-time healthcare communications network.

In its first expansion outside the US, Boston-headquartered NaviNet is to set up a software R&D centre in Belfast, creating nearly 60 highly skilled, high-value jobs over the next three years.

University of Ulster business and scientific acumen is playing a pivotal role in Ireland’s first “clinical translational research” facility.

‘C-TRIC’ is a £2 million centre that brings healthcare, technology and research under one roof to develop innovative health sector products and services.

Jointly operated by the University and Western Health and Social Care Trust, in partnership with Derry City Council, the project is poised to welcome its first clients - six start-up firms and a major Ulster research project into osteoporosis and other chronic diseases of ageing.

Philips Ireland said it is expanding its healthcare division in Ireland, creating 50 new jobs in Dublin and Belfast.

Philips has been operating in Ireland since 1929 and employs several hundred people in Ireland across three major sectors - consumer Lifestyle, lighting and healthcare.

'Despite the economic downturn and the perennial tightening of belts we see a bright future in the healthcare sector', Philips Director Larry Keaveney said.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the global opportunities presented by the launch of the European Connected Health Campus, in Belfast, today.

The European Connected Health Campus (ECHCampus) is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to bring together the expertise of industry and academia to maximise commercial opportunities arising from healthcare research and development.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister said: “The ECHCampus will position Northern Ireland at the centre of an international collaborative Connected Health network, supporting the Northern Ireland Executive’s focus on developing a strong, knowledge-based economy.

The Sunday Business Post report that healthcare technology company, Biancamed, are to double in size.

Biancamed HQ is in Dublin, with an R&D facility in Belfast. It is not clear from the article where the jobs will be based, but it is positive news in the current climate.

Trade Minister Arlene Foster has announced a major investment, by Philips Healthcare Informatics, which will deliver over £1million annually in additional wages and salaries.

Invest Northern Ireland has offered £420,000 of support towards the expansion which will help the company to take advantage of business in the US and Europe for its core products. This new investment will create 30 new graduate level jobs bringing employment to 49.