[attachment 9327 ScreenShot2013-03-13at11.54.43.png] As the stage is set at the Doha Exhibition Centre for ‘Innovate Qatar 2013’ - the nation’s first dedicated new tech and innovations exhibition, some of the major exhibitors yesterday unveiled their latest inventions which they hope to showcase during the event to be held between March 18-20. Over thirty exhibitors showcasing innovations and new technologies from eight different industries, are expected at the event, which will be inaugurated by the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority Chairman HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah. The Innovate Qatar exhibition is highlighted by Qatar University (diamond sponsor), the QU Centre for Advanced Materials, College of the North Atlantic in Qatar, Qatar Green Building Council (sustainability partner), Al Emadi Hospital, Qatar Skills Academy, Cedar White Bradley (Intellectual Property Services provider), the German Business Council and Red Bull. The exhibition will showcase innovation and new technology in: sports, communication, construction and real estate, education, consumer and home electronics, natural resources and green industries, and future technologies in industrial, medical and analytical sciences. The exhibition will also feature a showcasing zone where exhibitors and other organisations in the community will showcase their latest innovations on stage. The area is also set to be a hot bed for product launches and prototype presentation. Speaking yesterday at a press conference held at the Hilton Doha, Innovate Qatar 2013 exhibition manager Rinal Chaaban mentioned that in a matter of months, the exhibition has attracted some of the nation’s leading institutions. “While industry specific events have been the norm in Qatar till now, Innovate Qatar is aiming to showcase the best of a breed of technologies from multiple industries. The thread linking all the exhibits is innovation and future technology,” Chaaban said. She explained that the idea is to showcase cutting-edge ideas, concepts and products saying: “When inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs as well as established companies from all walks of life come together at Innovate Qatar, we hope to create a dynamic environment for innovation and business in Qatar.” Representatives of all the sponsors and officials from ILoveQatar.net (Entrepreneurship partner) and the Hilton Doha (official hotel) also attended the press conference. Qatar University’s (QU) Electrical Engineering Department head Dr Mohieddine Benammar said QU is establishing itself as a regional centre of excellence, particularly in the fields of research and development. “These areas underpin every aspect of education at the university and are tailor-made to the needs of the nation. At Innovate Qatar, we will showcase some of our key initiatives and discuss how these new technologies can be brought to market,” he said. Benammar explained that the QU’s College of Engineering (CENG) researchers has over the years developed various innovations among which is the recently announced biomedical instrument developed in partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation. “Following surgery on the heart/lungs or other interventions inside the chest, an amount of blood and/or air leak keeps collecting and needs to be drained out of the body of the patient. The air and blood leakage rates are monitored carefully in the few hours after the operation for the purpose of assessing the state of the patient. In most hospitals, assessment of this leak is carried out visually and recorded manually on paper,” he explained. According to Benammar, the digital instrument developed at CENG enables automatic and objective measurement, intelligent data processing, storage and transmission of drainage data. “The system enables simultaneous monitoring of several patients and presents data to the medical personnel in a user-friendly manner. Additionally, it enables medical practitioners to retrieve electronically-stored patient data for research and quality assurance purpose,” he stated. He mentioned that the developed solution has been successfully implemented and tested in the laboratory, while clinical trials will be conducted after receiving clearance from the authorities. “This novel device has been patented and has resulted in several scientific publications,” he added. QGBC Sustainability head Dr Alex Amato said the council’s main innovative undertaking is the Qatar Case Study Passivhaus Project, “Baytna”. “QGBC, Barwa Real Estate (BRE) and Kahramaa, jointly launched this project, which is the first Passivhaus initiative in Qatar. This project includes two villas, a conventional and a Passivhaus that are being built in the Barwa City,” he mentioned. He explained that ‘Project Baytna’ designed after the concept of an ‘air-tight envelope’, will create an ultra-low energy, airtight building that requires little energy for space cooling, reducing its ecological footprint. It will help save 50% power or energy consumption, water consumption and produce less operational CO2, he said. “Baytna has also become a springboard for industry innovation, serving as testing ground for a number of experiments in cutting-edge green technology, including converting sunlight to electricity with a photovoltaic (PV) array, alternative irrigation systems, localised water recycling, and sustainable soft-landscaping using local species of trees and shrubs,” he said. Others, who also spoke about their innovations at the press meet were QU’s College of Engineering’s Centre for Advanced Materials researcher Dr Nesibe Gozde Ozerkan, Cedar White Bradley managing director Halim Shehadeh, iLoveQatar.net founder Khalifa Haroon and Hilton Doha Business and Development director Tamer Farouk. http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/345327/inventors-unveil-work-at-innovate-qatar-2013

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