Gentian Services Shannon to pioneer the development of a revolutionary medical device – EyeVU

Aidan McMahon , CEO, Gentian Services Ltd, Shannon and Liz McGloughlin, CEO, Tympany Medical, Galway on the recent announcement of their successful Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund Award. Other members who are part of their successful consortium are NCAD , and UCD.

 

Gentian Services to partner with Tympany Medical Ltd, University College Dublin and the National College for Art and Design (NCAD) to deliver the €3.5 million project

 

Shannon Chamber is delighted to announce that one of its member companies, Gentian Services, which operates from Shannon Free Zone, will be involved in one of the 16 ground-breaking projects that have been successfully awarded funding under the second round of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) administered by Enterprise Ireland.

The 16 projects cover life sciences, medical devices, ICT, artificial intelligence, blockchain, manufacturing and environmental sustainability, including in the waste and energy sectors. They all involve collaborations of between three to seven partners, with at least one SME being involved in every project and 13 being led by an SME. The other partners include other SMEs, as well as multinationals and academic institutions. The Fund, which was announced as part of Project Ireland 2040, will see an overall amount of €500 million of Government funding allocated over the ten years from 2018 to 2027 alongside enterprise co-funding.

In a consortium led by Galway-based medical device company Tympany Medical, Gentian Services will partner with Tympany Medical Ltd., University College Dublin and the National College for Art and Design (NCAD) in a €3.5 million project, named ‘EyeVU’, which will deliver a disruptive, miniaturised ‘eyeball’ endoscope camera, enabling clinicians to see around corners, with unparalleled precision.

Outlining what a project of this nature will mean for Gentian Services, managing director Aidan Mc Mahon said: “The project will require a dedicated research and development (R&D) team at Gentian Services for three years, in addition to our current R&D team of 8 design and development engineers. The initial team for this new project will consist of 3 engineering R&D roles and will lead to a total team of 6 over the life of the project. It will add greatly to our innovative competency which we have been developing since we set up in Shannon in 2007.

“Over the past decade, we have been involved in numerous innovative R&D projects with our customer base which have given us a capability to offer high-end development and engineering services as well as turnkey medical device manufacturing services in an ISO 13485-certified and FDA-compliant environment. We also deliver projects and products for non-medical applications for the broader Internet of Things (IoT) sector. We also have a specialism in animal health and agri-tech.

“This DTIF project will enable us to build on our existing expertise in medical device development while building a core capability in the development of products in the minimally invasive medical device sector,” added Mc Mahon,

Congratulating Gentian Services on this tremendous achievement, Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes said: “As the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, said when announcing the successful projects, ‘These projects are ground-breaking and will bring significant changes and benefits across all sectors of society, both at a national and a global level. Ultimately, they will change how we work and live, enhance the competitiveness of the Irish economy and help us to create the jobs of the future’.

“To see a Shannon SME involved in the development of a disruptive technology in the medical device sector is an endorsement of the level of skills and knowledge that we have in Shannon and the wider region. I wish Gentian Services a successful journey with its collaborative partners and look forward to the release of the amazing technology when developed.”