Cardiff innovations win MediWales Awards

Two of Cardiff University's most innovative enterprises have received top honours at the MediWales Innovation Awards 2014.

The award for the NHS' Collaboration with a Welsh Company was presented to Aneurin Bevan Health Board for its work with the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre. The centre, a subsidiary of Cardiff University, helped develop a new mattress surface which would conform to a profiling bed with no loss of mattress length to avoid the problem of heel pressure ulcers.

The Innovation Award was won by Asalus. The company received its award for developing Ultravision, a device which clears surgical smoke produced during keyhole surgery. Asalus was established to commercialise the inventions arising from Cardiff University's Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT).

The Welsh Wound Innovation Centre combines the expertise of Cardiff University, the NHS, private sector and higher education with backing worth £2.5M from Welsh Government and the NHS.

Both WWIC and Asalus are part of a growing stable of Cardiff University enterprises that have grown from original research projects to improve patient care and create jobs.

Professor Hywel Thomas, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Enterprise at Cardiff University said: "This is an outstanding achievement which recognises our growing commitment to developing innovation and translating ideas which have real impact on the Welsh economy. These successes add to a growing list of achievements which are anchored in our drive to put Cardiff at the forefront of new products and processes, driving growth and prosperity across Wales and beyond."

The MediWales Innovation Awards celebrate the achievements of life science companies, the NHS in Wales, and academic institutions which significantly contribute to the health and wealth of Wales.