An article in the New Zealand Herald profiles some of the Kiwi companies who are developing interesting technologies – from simple bacteria-testing, to ways of doing multiple tests on one drop of blood, to an improved tissue substitute for wounds.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
Matakina – Ralph Highnam
It was Ralph Highnam’s professor at Oxford University who originally suggested he study breast cancer for his PhD; since then, his aunt and his sister-in-law have both died from it.
An engineer by training, Highnam has helped to develop software that analyses digital mammograms, which are rapidly replacing the old film type. The software, known as Volpara, looks specifically at breast density, giving radiologists an automated, objective and quantitative tool rather than relying on their own subjective skills. The Matakina team is based in Wellington, but thanks to the internet it includes professors in the Netherlands and Canada. Former Oxford University vice-chancellor John Hood, who is now based in the US, is an independent director.