Research Utilization

Two Filipino inventions receive gold recognition in Geneva tilt

The winning inventions are a quick dengue detection system and a portable smart surface system

BIOTEK M. Currently still in development, the Biotek M Dengue-Aqua is being designed to expedite clinical dengue testing. Photo from DOST.

MANILA, Philippines – Two Filipino inventions made quite a mark in the 46th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (Geneva Inventions) in Switzerland held from April 11 to 15: the Portable Smart Surface System and Biotek-M Dengue Aqua Kit.

Each won a gold medal in the highly-prestigious competition, while Smart Surface also came home with a "Jury Distinction" to boot.

The Smart Surface, an electronic sensor, is "a system that converts virtually any flat surface into an interactive interface" which then can be used "to enhance the learning...by offering interactive learning environments that increase learning effectiveness through participation," explains the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The DOST through its Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), headed by director Edgar Garcia, brought and presented the two inventions in Geneva, along with a third Philippine entry that did not get recognition.

The Smart Surface project was led by Dr. Nestor Michael Tiglao, and computer engineering alumnus Charles Kevin Verdad, while the University of the Philippines Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (UPD EEEI) developed the interactivity system. The DOST's Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) funded and monitored the project.

On the other hand, UP Manila's Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the National Institute of Health (IMBB-NIH)developed Biotek-M, which is said to be a confirmatory test for use in detecting the presence of dengue infection inside an hour or less in hospitals and stand-alone chain laboratories.

"Biotek-M poses opportunities to early detection of the disease especially in the marginalized communities where dengue cases are most often reported," says a report in the DOST website.

Coincidentally, the Biotek-M receives the recognition at an interesting time as the scandal involving the dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, continues to rage on in the country. (READ: Dengvaxia death? Parents sue Duque for obstruction of justice)

PH REPS. Director Edgar Garcia (right) and Ivan Garcia, Philippine permanent representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, hold the plaques for gold medal winners Smart Surface and Biotek-M at the 2018 Geneva Inventions competition in Switzerland. Photo from DOST-TAPI

DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña lauded the two inventions for the recognition they earned as he cited the new technologies as examples of making good use of research and development (R&D) being supported by the department.

“We are thankful that we are being supported by the national leadership,” he said at the 3rd National R&D Conference held on April 20 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Pasay City.

The Geneva Inventions bills itself as "the biggest international event dedicated to feature the newest creations worldwide." Also serving as a marketplace for licenses for industrialists, distributors, and financial experts, Geneva Inventions receives support from the Swiss government and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

There were 22 categories in the competition, with the Philippines joining in 3 categories: agriculture, health, and information communications technology. The five-day exhibition was attended by 822 exhibitors, displaying a thousand inventions, from 40 countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Continued development

To continue the development of the two winning projects, TAPI chief Garcia said his agency through its Technology Innovation for Commercialization (Technicom) program will assist Smart Surface with P4,997,635.20, including help in protecting their intellectual property (IP). For Biotek-M, TAPI through its venture financing will secure funds amounting to P6 million in support of its commercialization.

While Smart Surface's patent application is still pending, Garcia said, Biotek-M's patent has already been approved.

With the DOST helping in the commercialization, much is hoped for in the viability of the two projects. – Rappler.com

MANILA — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is urging higher education institutions (HEIs) and research and development institutes (RDIs) to send proposals for the department’s 2018 R&D Leadership (RDLead) program.

DOST Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday submission of proposals for the RDLead program is until June 21.

The RDLead program, Guevara said, is part of the DOST’s Science for Change Program (S4CP).

“(It) aims to identify areas that need enhanced R&D investments and innovations,” she explained.

Institutions with approved proposals would be provided with assistance to improve their existing R&D facilities, Guevara said.

Just recently, the DOST announced 6 HEIs that got a grant to build their niche centers through the agency’s Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER) program.

Guevara earlier told PNA that the grant for NICER depends on the HEIs’ requests or needs, as long as the department could afford the amount.

With the RDLead program, the DOST also targets to strengthen the capabilities of researchers in HEIs and RDIs.

According to DOST, the RDLead’s proponent–called RDLeader–will be given incentives, such as PHP159,000 to PHP178,000 per month, depending on the nature and scope of agreed duties and responsibilities for the project, as well as an annual medical insurance.

To be qualified as an RDLeader, one must have at least 10 years working experience in a reputable R&D institution or academe, with a doctorate degree, has made an outstanding contribution in his or her field of specialization, with competent leadership skills, and has several publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Applicants who don’t have a doctorate degree may still qualify if their fields of expertise are aligned with the DOST’s National R&D agenda and priorities.

For proposal requirements, one may contact National Research Council of the Philippines Director Marieta Sumagaysay at the NRCP’s office in DOST, Bicutan, Taguig City. She may be reached at phone numbers 837-6143 or 837-2071 local 2510.

Filipino technologies bag gold at inventors’ meet in Geneva

Filipino technologies bag gold at inventors’ meet in Geneva

Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star) - April 26, 2018 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Two locally developed technologies – one a dengue fever diagnostic kit and the other an electronic sensor system that converts any surface into an interactive system – bagged gold medals at the 46th International Exhibition of Inventions held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Smart Surface electronic sensor system developed by Nestor Michael Tiglao, director of the Computer Center of University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Engineering, bagged a gold medal as well as a jury distinction – one of only 20 awarded during the exposition held from April 11 to 15.

The Biotek-M Dengue Aqua Kit developed by Raul Destura, of UP Manila’s National Institutes of Health, on the other hand, was the country’s gold medal winner in the invention conference.

The Smart Surface provides an innovative, interactive and fun way of learning for students with a portable platform that can convert virtually any flat surface into a tap-sensitive device.The system is composed of a number of sensors and a central controller.

Tiglao’s research and development for the Smart Surface received funding support from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) line agencies Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development as well as the Technology Innovation for Commercialization (Technicom) program implemented by the Technology Application and Promotion Institute.

Destura’s Biotek-M Dengue Aqua Kit is an affordable rapid diagnostic kit that uses the polymerase chain reaction technology to detect the virus in less than an hour.

Destura received funding grants while conducting research and development for the diagnostic kit from the DOST Grants-in-Aid program, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development and Technicom.

Destura and Tiglao are both members of the DOST’s National Research Council of the Philippines.

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said the country’s gold medal haul showed that the inventions and innovations being developed by Filipino scientists and engineers are world-class.

Dela Peña said that the achievement also validated the DOST’s support of R&D efforts of scientists and engineers.

“We had limited our entries to three because of the cost of sending them to Geneva. But we managed to get the two gold medals,” Dela Peña told The STAR in an interview.

The IEI of Geneva is said to be the most important of its kind with 1,000 new inventions and products, 700 exhibitors from 40 countries, 57,000 visitors, 650 journalists, and benefits from the most extensive support and privileges that can be granted to an exhibitor. It is under the patronage of the Swiss Federal Government, the state, the city of Geneva and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

There were 226 entries in three categories and only 20 gold medals with jury distinctions given out, and 95 gold medals without jury distinction.

Destura, in a phone interview, expressed his happiness over the international recognition given his Biotech-M Dengue Aqua Kit.

“I’m simply honored that our Filipino technology has been recognized by the international scientific community as relevant and important, and that it addresses a very common health need such as access to early diagnosis for dengue infection,” Destura told The STAR.

Read more at https://www.philstar.com/business/science-and-environment/2018/04/26/1809380/filipino-technologies-bag-gold-inventors-meet-geneva#f0UMbdyyJC4iFkIS.99

ComVal rubber plantations to expand

By PAUL ICAMINA

April 26, 2018

Compostela Valley is ideal for planting rubber.

Comval for short, it used to be part of Davao del Norte until 1998 when it became a province. With a total area of 4,479.77 square kilometers, the province borders Davao del Norte to the west, Agusan del Sur to the north, Davao Oriental to the east and Davao Gulf to the southwest.

It is rich in rice, coconut, cacao, coffee, papaya, mango, pineapple, durian, banana, gold and now, rubber.

A third of Compostela Valley has a high potential for planting rubber, according to a study conducted by the Institute of Renewable and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Zamboanga Sibugay currently has 66,484 hectares of plantation farms, the largest area planted with rubber. It is followed by North Cotabato with 59,387 hectares, according to the study funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

DOST’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) recently teamed up with government and private groups to push for the optimal use of old rubber wood trees in Zamboanga Sibugay. FPRDI’s three-year, P57-million initiative is funded by DOST’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

Senile rubber wood trees are currently used for making low-value products such as fuelwood, pallets and crates. In Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, however, the material is made into higher value items for housewares, housing components and composite boards.

With 210 hectares of old rubber wood trees, plantations of the Tambanan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative are expected to yield 31,500 cubic meters of valuable lumber.

The Philippine Statistics Authority estimates that rubber production grew by 8.9 percent from October to December last year.

The growth in production was due to an increase in the number of tappable trees and more tapping activities due to the high price and adequate rainfall in SOCCSKSARGEN (North Cotabato); more tapping activities due to less rainfall compared last year in Caraga (Agusan Sur); and an increase in tapping activities due to more productive trees in Davao Sur, Davao City and Compostela Valley.

The top-producing region during the period is Zamboanga Peninsula, accounting for 42.7 percent of the total rubber production of the country. SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato City, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) came in close with 41.8 percent contribution while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had 6.7 percent share in the national production.

According to the ARMM Regional Board of Investments, rubber planters in the Philippines are predominantly smallholders. It estimates that a farmer owns an average of three to 10 hectares of rubber farm.

About 70 percent of rubber produced in the country is absorbed by the tire and footwear industries.

Rubber grows best at tropical places with temperatures ranging from 20-28° Celsius and a well-distributed annual rainfall. It grows on almost all types of soil provided that the drainage is adequate.

Mature rubber trees are usually 20 meters to 30 meters high. Depending on local conditions, the rubber would usually take five to six years to reach maturity when tappers could start collecting the latex or the milky sap. The yield is around 1 ton per hectare per year to almost 2 t/ha/year dry rubber.

The Philippines isconsidered a minor player in rubber production in Southeast Asia and in the the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). Among the ANRPC, the Philippines ranks 8th in terms of natural rubber production, behind Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, China and Sri Lanka, from 2006 to 2011.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Philippines produced 200,000 metric tons of rubber in 2015. Approximately, 80 percent of productions are processed for the domestic end-users and 20 percent are exported to foreign rubber companies for high-grade processing.