By request of the dermatologists at VUmc, Ruud Verdaasdonk has developed a ‘UV-mirror’. It enables people to see whether UV-light has damaged their skin and helps them to assess their sunscreen application skills.
“The mirror is a very effective instrument for education and prevention purposes”, says Verdaasdonk, who is not only professor of Biophotonics and Medical Imaging but also heads the department of Physics and Medical Technology at VUmc. He developed the mirror by tweaking an existing digital camera and combining this with a safe UV light source. Showing the camera image on a regular flat screen computer monitor effectively results in a digital UV-mirror.
The set-up already generated lots of attention at public awareness events to which the VUmc hospital contributed. This spawned the idea to develop an integrated system for general use, for instance at beaches and in drugstores and pharmacies. Verdaasdonk is now pursuing product development in cooperation with an SME company. “Find a business partner as soon as possible, make a satisfying Intellectual Property agreement, and license the technology. That’s the fastest way to make your idea a reality”, is his advice.
About three years ago orthopaedic surgeon Olivier Temmerman approached the Physics and Medical Technology (FMT) department of VUmc. He had an idea to improve the surgical chisel for removing old cementing layers during hip prosthesis revisions. It was ‘a real pearl’ according to Micha Paalman, head of the development group at FMT. “Olivier had worked […]
To make innovations in health care quickly accessible for patients, it is vital to assign value and significance to inventions (=valorization). One way to valorize is to protect the novel intellectual property by a patent. The patent underlines the importance of the finding and grants value, which is necessary for clinical development and implementation. Have […]
How to make impact with your research and what does it take to go from an idea to a product or service. Melvyn Roerdink is Associate Professor Technology in Motion at the Department of Human Movement Sciences (FGB) at VU and tells about the augmented reality queuing application, Holocue, he developed for people with Parkinson’s. […]