Sparc signs distribution agreement for graphene additive
Sparc Technologies has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CLP Group subsidiary Chin Leong Construction Systems Pte Ltd. The parties will collaborate to market Sparc's Ecosparc additive to CLC's coatings customers in Southeast Asia. Sparc managing director Nick O'Loughlin said: “Sparc… hopes to establish this partnership as a means to accelerate the commercial rollout of its market-leading graphene-based additive in the South East Asian region, which is a significant market for marine and protective coatings.”
Cyclopharm's Technegas is used in French imaging trials
Radiopharmaceutical developer Cyclopharm has announced that the first patients have been imaged in a multicenter clinical trial at 13 nuclear medicine centers in France. The PRONOSPECT study is a physician-led study integrating Cyclopharm's Technegas with advanced imaging modalities in recurrent pulmonary embolism (PE).
The study will explore the potential of nuclear medicine imaging using Technegas to provide improved detection of residual pulmonary vascular obstruction (RPVO) as a predictor of venous thromboembolism (VTE), a clinical area currently dominated by CT pulmonary angiograms (CTPA). .
A QUT research team has drawn inspiration from the brains of insects and animals for more energy-efficient robotic navigation, the university said on Monday. Led by postdoctoral researcher Somayeh Hussaini as well as Professor Michael Milford and Dr. Tobias Fischer's research work was published in the renowned magazine IEEE Transactions on Robotics The journal, supported by chipmaker Intel, proposes a novel location recognition algorithm using spiking neural networks (SNNs). Modern robots still struggle to navigate and operate in complex, unfamiliar environments and also often rely on AI-based navigation systems, whose training programs require significant computing and energy requirements. The system developed by the QUT team uses small neural network modules to recognize specific locations based on images. According to the university, these modules were combined into an ensemble, a group of multiple spike networks, to create a scalable navigation system capable of learning to navigate large environments.
AusBiotech welcomes new board director
Life sciences industry group AusBiotech last week welcomed the appointment of Dr. Dell Kingsford Smith to its board. Kingsford Smith joins the board with more than 20 years of clinical and commercial strategy experience in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, with expertise from discovery to full commercialization. Prior to joining Cochlear, Dell spent more than a decade at Janssen, the pharmaceutical company owned by Johnson & Johnson (J&J), in local and global leadership roles in market access, pricing and business strategy. “I am honored to have the trust and support of AusBiotech members in my election to the board,” said Kingsford Smith. “I look forward to working with the broad range of Australian biotech and medical device stakeholders to further strengthen and grow this important, innovative sector of our economy.”
Pacific Green is expanding into NSW
Battery storage company Pacific Green has secured a site in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, where it plans to build its next Australian energy park, the company announced on Tuesday. The property is strategically located close to TransGrid's existing 330 kilovolt Wagga substation and 16 kilometers from the town of Wagga Wagga. “Wagga Wagga is strategically important to the national grid as it hosts a concentration of renewable energy projects and HumeLink – one of Australia’s largest energy transmission line projects, the company said.” The announcement marks its entry into the NSW market and further advances the company's goal of building a 10 gigawatt-hour development pipeline of battery energy parks across Australia, it said. It follows developments in South Australia Limestone Coast North Energy Park and Limestone Coast West Energy Park, as well as the recent submission of a planning application for the proposed Portland Energy Parks in Victoria.
Picture (from left to right): Dr. Tobias Fischer, Somayeh Hussaini, Professor Michael Milford (Credit QUT)