Creativity & Innovation  

"Creativity is thinking up new things.  Innovation is doing new things".

Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School

 As innovative product designers  strategists and engineers   - we look at things differently and as a result we produce outstanding results and develop long standing relationships with our clients.

 Triteq have extensive experience of working with spin-outs and start-ups, we add commercial reality to early stage projects and our expertise in strategic thinking, research, concept design & prototype development enables us to identify potential problems & manage risks. We add value at each stage and work in partnership with our clients to provide vital support and technical expertise.  

Listening to ideas, making them work and supporting the process takes skill, logic and experience, three things we have in abundance. Market aware design and engineering excellence enable us to simulate an idea and make it a tangible mechanism that solves a problem and becomes a successful profitable product. A user centred design approach takes account of the entire product lifecycle, identifies all users and fulfils their needs. Motivated by passion for our work and united by our collaborative approach to finding the right solutions , our combination of skills enables us to look at every new brief with a fresh approach.

  Innovation and research are critical to secure future job creation and wealth generation. Despite drastic cuts the government has protected the £4.6bn per annum funding for science and research programmes. At Triteq we welcome the opportunity to share our expertise in research and development and have an open door policy to offer an introductory consultancy session -   talk to us today.

 Of course – what we really want is for you to like what we do and keep talking to us – so we can work together to achieve great results. Contact Triteq today call Angela Hobbs on 01488 684554 or email.

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To meet with Triteq and discuss our expertise and technologies please call our Head Office at The Innovation Centre in Hungerford, Berkshire on 01488 684554 or email. Alternatively let us introduce you to Triteq Oxford on 01865 784488

Safe Design

Technical Director Ken Hall is an expert in intrinsically safe design product development and has worked with leading organisations. To discuss your project, talk to us today

Email, Ken.hall@triteq.com, call 01488 684554.  Visit our website triteq.com *Source: BIS Department for Business Innovation & Skills 2010 R& D Scoreboard Report  

Working Partnerships

When you select a partner to develop your product what factors drive your decision?

Triteq brings skills, knowledge and experience to every project and has the proven ability to fulfil varying requirements for clients, from start-ups looking to bring exciting new projects to market, to large corporates who are looking for intelligent partnerships to work with them on demanding and technically challenging propositions.  All of Triteq’s teams engage in external learning opportunities to ensure trends and emerging technologies are incorporated into its working methods.  

The AP@home project is a good example of Triteq’s cooperative working processes.  They form a key part of the consortium which is bringing together world-leading experts in the fields of diabetic medical device development, clinical researchers and modelling and control algorithm experts, including seven academic partners.  Pushing the boundaries of current technologies using an automated closed loop software algorithm, continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and a continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) could help many thousands of diabetes patients around the world lead improved lives by producing an artificial pancreas.    

Quality Assurance

Technical Director Ken Hall wanted an external assurance for clients of Triteq’s rigorous working methods so he devised a process and system of working which received TŰV approval for ISO13485 and ISO9001.  Medical approval and regulatory standards are stringent and achievement of these standards is a clear demonstration of the exacting standards that Triteq works to.   Awareness of new standards is vital to Quality Management. IEC 62034 is a new regulation for developing medical device software, Ken has ensured Triteq was prepared in advance and was invited by emdt magazine to explain the new classification and help other organisations assess the impact to their work. 

“The safety classification has a tremendous impact on the code development process.  It is therefore in the interests of medical device manufacturers to get this right the first time to avoid expensive, time-consuming rework late in a project.”   Ken Hall Triteq Technical Director in emdt magazine 2010

If you would like to register for the next Triteq Innovation event please visit our website or call Ken Hall on 01488 684554. 

Product Design  

Cervical cancer detection

April 17, 2012
 

Cervical cancer affects approximately half a million women worldwide annually, and is responsible for 300,000 deaths. Real time diagnosis could dramatically cut these numbers and reduce traffic in the primary healthcare market.

When medical product design specialists Triteq were approached by a Sheffield University spin out to develop a Cervical Cancer Device, they were quickly able to establish their capabilities and expertise. The brief was to produce an Assessment of Technology Principle and to develop a prototype to clinical trial stage, and support these trials through to production. The technology allows clinicians to offer results immediately, reducing anxiety from waiting periods and potentially have the added advantage of lowering the total number of referrals to colposcopy clinics.

The main feature points include bio impedance measurements, which in biomedical engineering is the term used to describe the response of a living organism to an externally applied electric current, as a measure of the opposition to the flow of that electric current through the tissues. The product requires the capability of contactless battery charging and a full colour user interface display, infra-red PC and USB interface for diagnostic analysis.

Triteq worked to successful completion of the initial development and we are now carrying forward the design for manufacture. To discuss our work in this area and how we help organisations develop medical innovations please contact Ken.Hall@triteq.com

Challenges and Solutions 

STOP LLC is a provider of technology managing and supervising offenders in the community. It offers a range of solutions employing the very latest technology to suit the authorities supervision requirements, offender risk profile, programme reporting and available budget.

Our brief at Triteq was to develop a product for this niche market application. The challenge was to stretch the performance of an extended battery life while offering the reliability of connection to the device. This was met by providing independent control systems for the mobile communication and satellite tracking to manage the power usage and reporting cycle of the system.

The Triteq designed GPS offender tag has been used in US for 10 years.  The BluTag continues to evolve with additional functions being added to the device. Triteq have an ongoing development programme with STOP LLC  and to discuss  the project in further detail or to find out more about our work, technologies and achievements please contact steve.lane@triteq.com or call 01488 684554.

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Beat the Ancestors

Jackie Berry, Triteq Managing Director and Allison McKenzie, Principal Hardware Engineer have recently become members of WES, the organisation  for people who work in the field of engineering, science and technology at all levels (and with any type of qualifications), students on engineering and related courses, companies and others.The Society and its members are involved in many different activities, almost all of them in the United Kingdom where it is based.

It was through the wes website that Triteq heard about an exciting new TV series by Dragonfly productions who have recently been commissioned by Channel 5 to make a six-part popular history and engineering series called “Beat the Ancestors”.  The series will challenge a group of male and female engineers to rebuild iconic inventions that have changed history. Examples might include siege engines to gunpowder mills, early automobiles to invasion crafts. Key to the challenge will be to see whether their modern knowledge can improve on the original design.Dragonfly are in the process of trying to find the right history and engineering experts and enthusiasts who are capable of taking on this challenge.  for more details pleaseemail- beattheancestors@dragonfly.tv   or Tel- 020 3487 1214 

Working in partnership, WES campaigns to encourage women to participate and achieve as engineers, scientists and as leaders.

WES:

• Promotes the education, training and practice of engineering among women
• Increases public awareness of the contribution women can make to engineering
• Provides a forum for the exchange of opinions and experience respecting education, training and employment for women with interests in engineering
• Sustains contacts with women engineers on career breaks and facilitates their return to paid employment by keeping them informed of progress within the profession
• Ensures the voice of women engineers is heard during the deliberations of Government and policy-making institutions
• Raises the profile and effectiveness of women engineers by forming links and networking with other women's organisations 

WES was formed in 1919 when women engineers were a new breed in a male-dominated environment. Because of their own sense of isolation, early members wanted to help other women engineers to meet and exchange ideas on common interests, training and employment. WES today is a growing, vigorous organisation for those interested in engineering.

If you would like more information about WES contact:

The Women's Engineering Society, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 2AY  

Ground breaking  

Hard to Heal

Healthcare providers in the developed world spend $40bn per annum on wound management, a figure set to rise with aging populations and an increasing number of diabetes sufferers with related wound conditions. There are approximately 38,000 patients in the East of England alone treated at home for diabetic, leg and pressure ulcers.Eykona approached Triteq to help develop an entirely new 3D imaging system that would use a 3D camera and imaging software to record, layer and manipulate wound images. Far-reaching reforms are required to improve the efficiency of wound management; healing more patients in less time, for less money providing a breakthrough in the specialist field of wound care. 

Triteq was tasked with developing a technologically advanced 3D camera system,which brought together several cutting-edge technologies within the design.  The system was designed with three main components: a proprietary camera, a PC software package, and a small optical target, which has to be placed next to the wound during image capture.  The use of the optical target is fundamental to the design and the camera will not work without it.  The optical target allows the camera to ‘know where it is’ in space and provides a colour  calibration for processing by the software.  The use of a target for 3D imaging is robustly patented and exclusively licensed to Eykona for global commercialisation. The 3D camera needed to be a hand-held unit, which could be easily deployed in routine clinical practice.  Although designed to be non-invasive and not in contact with the patient’s skin, the device had to be designed for optimum cleanliness.  The shape and surface had to be smooth, without grooves that could potentially trap dirt and bacteria.  Another consideration was the material that the unit was made from; which had to be able to withstand chemical use for decontamination and cleaning.

Eykona will make its product the gold standard for clinical assessment and characterization of wounds. the product can also be used in other clinical areas, including cosmetics and dermatology, where dermal imaging can deliver specific problems. Eykona, has now opened an office in North Carolina as it aims to break the US market . The move to open an American base comes after Eykona won more than £500,000 of funding from the Small Business Research Initiative, a competition organized by the Technology Strategy Board to allow companies to work with the public sector to tackle specific problems.

Triteq is involved with Eykona on ongoing support and a development programme. Talk to Triteq Commercial Director Steve Lane, 01488 684554 or email steve.lane@triteq.com for news, latest developments and hwo we can help you.

Global Solutions

Diabetes affects over 220 million people worldwide, so working to find the right solution is a big challenge.Leading product design and development company Triteq, is part of the AP@home consortium  (link) that is pushing the boundaries of current technologies to bring a positive change to the lives of diabetics all over the worldPushing the boundaries of current technologies using an automated closed loop software algorithm, Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and a Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (CSII) could help many thousands of diabetes patients around the world lead improved lives by providing an artificial pancreas. Leading product design and development company Triteq, is part of the AP@home collaboration a European research project funded by the European Commission and is responsible for developing the system for Clinical Evaluations across six European sites.The main objective of the project is to improve how patients manage diabetes in a home environment, by developing an artificial pancreas that allows automated glucose control for patients with insulin treated diabetes.Earlier this month Triteq's Commercial Director Steve Lane and Project Manager Ian Fowler joined the consortium of academic and industrial partners at the 5th International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes in Barcelona. The conference brought together leading researchers, clinicians and general practitioners from all fields of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism.

AP@home would allow automated glucose control for people with type 1 insulin treated diabetes. Normally, insulin is given either by manual dose injections (MDI) or via continuous subcutaneous infusion pumps (CSII) based on self-medicated blood glucose (SMBG) readings. However, blood glucose levels can be greatly affected by many factors such as diet, physical activity, illness and stress to name a few, so that it is difficult for patients to manage their insulin needs particularly around meal times and the risk of hypoglycemia overnight, in addition each individual patient has a different tolerance and reaction to varying insulin doses. An advanced AP system that combines a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), an insulin infusion pump (CSII), and an automated closed loop software algorithm that calculates how much insulin to deliver at any time in response to the calculated blood glucose level, could not only improve the quality of life for people with type 1 diabetes, but also reduce the escalating healthcare cost burden.

The cost burden could be addressed by this system as a secondary function/feature is to introduce remote monitoring (for the clinical evaluations), but could be extended to remote treatments i.e. Telemedicine, providing the clinical support infrastructure is in place.

The AP@home consortium brings together world-leading experts in the fields of diabetic medical device development, clinical researchers and modeling & control algorithm experts, including seven academic partners (Universities of Cambridge, Padova, Pavia, University Hospitals of Amsterdam and Montpellier, Medical University Graz, EPF Lausanne) and five industrial partners (Profil Institut für Stoffwechselforschung GmbH, Sensile Medical AG, STMicroelectronics, 4a engineering GmbH, as well as Triteq). The project is funded with a €10.5M grant from the European Commission's Framework Programme 7 as it is now entering its third year of a four year project. The forthcoming months will see Triteq piece together the system component parts, and start the verification activities and regulatory requirements need to meet the required safety cases and performance characteristics to support the first automated clinical evaluations with support from the various institutions.

One of the differing approaches Triteq has taken with this Framework 7 programme is to look at delivering a system that could be commercialized and has ensured the correct methods and processes have been followed such that the step to CE mark and potential 510k Submission would be formalities.

Triteq's Ian Fowler, who has been responsible for the Project Management of AP@home gave a presentation at the Conference, detailing the regulatory approval process and the steps required to obtain approvals of medical devices in Europe and the USA.

Being familiar with the regulatory processes required for medical devices for clinical submissions, CE marking and FDA approvals, Triteq has proven itself to be a valued member of the consortium.To discuss Triteq’s work in this field please contact Steve.Lane@triteq.com or Ian.Fowler@triteq.com who work directly with the AP@home consortium and have in-depth knowledge of the project and our capabilities.

Medical Software

Developing Medical Device Software

Medical software design standard IEC 62304 came into force in June 2010 and is now regulatory. Triteq Technical Director Ken Hall, was asked to share his views by emdt magazine and his article describes how this change will impact on the software development process for medical device manufacturers.

 “Until recently, safety regulations for medical device software, at least formally, were not exceptionally rigorous across the board. In addition, software was not formally classified as a medical product by the Medical Devices Directive. This has now changed. A new regime is in force governing all medical device software development for all classes of device. ”

Triteq offer a comprehensive advice and regulatory service and look forward to meeting with potential and existing clients to discuss requirements, please contact Ken Hall on 01488 684554.

Triteq Oxford  

Triteq in Oxford

Triteq is a growing business,working with existing and emerging technologies to help customers get their products to market on time and within budget. As members of ISIS we have an extensive network of contacts and clients in and around Oxford and to enable our contacts in this location to meet with us easily and frequently we have opened  an office in The Oxford Science Park, within the Magdalen Centre.

To meet with Triteq and discuss our expertise and technologies please call our Head Office at The Innovation Centre in Hungerford, Berkshire on 01488 684554 or email. Alternatively let us introduce you to Triteq Oxford on 01865 784488