Dr Michael Ebner wants to give surgeons superpowers to see what is currently invisible, with an artificial intelligence-powered imaging device that detects the unseen blood flow in tissue.
To give surgeons a glimpse of any malignancies lurking beneath the skin’s surface, the technology splits light into spectral bands far beyond the conventional red, green and blue that the naked eye can detect.
It reveals the differences in perfusion – between healthy areas that appear brighter, and darker, problematic patches with poor blood flow.
And in addition to making a surgeon’s job easier, Dr Ebner suggests it will reduce complications and increase survival rates.
Being able to better see tissue health during surgery could prevent many complications, says Dr Ebner.
“If the surgeon at the time had a much better understanding about what’s healthy and what’s not this can be game changing, both in terms of precision and also outcomes and to prevent complications,” he adds.
His company, Hypervision Surgical, is one of the first to be spun out of the UK’s new medical tech builder, the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE), which was launched earlier this year and aims to helps academics and entrepreneurs to get their ideas to patients faster.
That is badly needed, according to its head, who says comparatively few life-saving innovations make it patients due to the complexities of bringing MedTech to market.
The approach is very much in line with the approach taken by the UK's new Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, who wants to work with the private sector to reduce the burden on the NHS.
He told The Guardian in a recent interview that the door should always be left open to dealing with the private life sciences and medical tech sectors, adding: “If we can combine our country’s leading scientific and tech minds with the care and capacity of the NHS then the sky is the limit.
“I’m fed up with this binary view.”
LIHE's director, Prof Sebastien Ourselin, says the UK has one of the most prolific lifescience and medical portfolio activity anywhere in the world.
“But if you look at our economy we make out of this with companies it’s much smaller,” he adds, while on a recent tour of the centre attended by The National.
“So there is certainly a need to bring a sense of entrepreneur culture.”
Other innovations the centre is working on include tech that detects abnormalities of babies in the womb using data from ultrasound scans.
“Congenital heart disease in babies is very often missed because it’s such a rare event that the sonographer scanning the lady expecting misses it,” says Dr Nicolas Huber, the centre’s Director of Commercial Operations and Partnerships.
“This technology interfaces with the ultrasound machine completely without interfering in the clinic itself.”
As the sonographer is scanning, the programme is performing calculations in the background and producing a risk score. If it identifies something they may have potentially missed, it is flagged and send it to experts for another look.
Another technology in development is a special bandage with tiny “nano” needles that deliver drugs directly into the skin painlessly.
There is also a micro robot, which can be inserted into the ear canal and inflated in order to stabilise a needle to pierce the ear drum safely.
“It’s going to spin out in the next few months. It has attracted so much attention,” says Dr Huber.
“The inventor is going to join the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows, which is a huge moment for us and for him. It’s one of our top technologies.”
It currently takes 10 to 15 years to develop a medical device. The centre aims to cut that to less than five.
One of the biggest problems inventors experience is where to start.
Academia doesn’t prepare you for being an entrepreneur and fighting the battle out in the market place, says Dr Huber.
That is where LIHE comes in.
“What we are doing here is we are bringing together all of the experts and all of the elements required for our scientists to become entrepreneurs and to start off with robust companies,” he adds.
The centre is located in London on the site of St Thomas’ Hospital, where the technology is tested. A handful of partners, including AI giant Nvidia and Siemens, have a base at LIHE, to make it easier to share their expertise.
“To have all of the experts together in one room, plus, critically from day one, strategic guidance.
“So we will be thinking, yes we have a fantastic innovation, but what is the best country in the world to buy this system globally? Who are the best industry partners to speak to? Who are the best advisers you can have on your company board? Almost none of [this] passes through an academic’s mind.”
Dr Ebner’s company has already been spun out from the centre and is now awaiting clearance to carry out a UK trial using the technology.
He says: “If things go well we should have clearance within the next few months. This would then start a UK-based three-centre clinical trial by the end of the year.”
The impact could be huge.
“What we know based on proxy data is with perfusion understanding of the sort we have, around 50 per cent of potential complications can be prevented,” he adds.
“So this is quite a striking number. It’s a new paradigm.”
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETelr%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E65%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20and%20payments%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enearly%20%2430%20million%20so%20far%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
