BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Optobionics Corporation
Naperville, Ill.

Developed a retinal implant microchip to treat macular degeneration.

Thirty million people worldwide are afflicted with age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, two potentially debilitating eye diseases for which there is no cure. By crippling the retina's ability to sense and process light, the conditions can make a patient's world go from blurry to black. Clinical trial results published this past April confirmed that a microchip developed by Optobionics that is implanted under the retina resulted in significant visual improvement with virtually no adverse side effects. Designed by brothers Vincent and Alan Chow, the chip emits electrochemical impulses to stimulate the remaining healthy retinal cells. It derives its power from light entering the eye and reaching 5,000 microphotodiodes, which allows the chip to function free of wires or batteries. It is thinner than a human hair and can be implanted during a two-hour operation.

CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS
Beng Ong
Research fellow, Xerox Research Center of Canada, Mississauga, Ontario

Created materials for electronics that can be printed like a newspaper.

Plastic electronics should not only be superinexpensive but far more flexible than silicon versions, which would make them great for applications like roll-up computer displays. Ideally, circuitry could be printed onto plastics much as ink is printed on a page. Most ingredients for such devices that are printable as inks degrade rapidly in the presence of oxygen. At an April technical meeting, Beng Ong and his colleagues unveiled air-stable, printable substances that can be semiconductors, conductors and insulators--the three elements needed to print transistors. The semiconductor and insulator are organic polymers, whereas the conductor is an organic-inorganic hybrid. Xerox is working with Motorola to demonstrate circuit printing.

COMMUNICATIONS
British Telecom Wholesale
London

Committed to transfer its voice network to an Internet Protocol-based system.

In addition to rapid data transfer, broadband Internet connections allow for fast, inexpensive telephone service. Transmitting calls over the Internet can decrease a business's maintenance, support and hardware costs by combining voice and data, but reliability concerns have deterred many consumers from making the switch. One way to harness the benefits of voice over Internet Protocol without compromising quality is to use a dedicated, high-capacity IP network instead of the Internet itself. In June, British Telecom pledged to switch its entire phone system to this type of specialized network, an unprecedented move that requires creating a new infrastructure and developing technology to supply special Internet-capable telephones. Implementation is set to begin in 2006, giving customers access to service options such as multimedia calling and better phone directories.

COMPUTING
MagiQ Technologies
New York City

Released a cryptography system that exploits quantum mechanics.

The mathematical "keys" of data-encryption algorithms have long prevented hackers from decoding messages. But recent leaps in computer power and code breaking are making it possible to intercept keys as they are sent. In the 1980s theorists proposed that a stream of photons could create unbreakable keys. According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, if an eavesdropper attempted to observe the photons, that act would alter the key, making it impossible to steal. Furthermore, a receiver would know a breach was attempted. But it took computer scientists until last year to devise a practical system; it was then that MagiQ began selling its Navajo Secure Gateway, calling it the first commercial quantum-key distribution system. This past July, MagiQ unveiled an update, QPN 5505; id Quantique SA and NEC are also offering quantum encryption.