by Joel Lane
29. October 2010 15:05
Matt McGrath (32), founder of medical device firm Aircraft Medical, has won the 2010 Gannochy Trust Innovation Award from the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).
The leading personal accolade for innovation in Scotland, the award consists of a gold medal and a £50,000 cash prize that the winner can invest as they choose.
Aircraft Medical has developed the world's first fully portable video laryngoscope, used in over 250,000 operations. The device addresses the risk of failure to deliver oxygen to a patient under general anaesthetic.
Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, President of the RSE, said: "I am delighted to announce that Matt McGrath of Aircraft Medical is the recipient of the 2010 Gannochy Trust Innovation Award of the RSE. His McGRATH Series 5 laryngoscope has already saved lives around the world, and we know that he plans to use the prize money to identify other products which will deal with clinical needs in anaesthesia."
Mark Webster, Chairman of the Gannochy Trust, said: "Matt McGrath has made a huge contribution to medical products. His interest and purpose has been to design and bring to production devices which would improve medical procedures to assist the treatment and therefore the welfare of the patient. He has been tenacious to an extraordinary extent."
"I am very grateful to The Royal Society of Edinburgh and to the Gannochy Trust for this award, and for the recognition of the social and economic significance of the McGrath video laryngoscope," said Matt McGrath. "The prize will be invested in a research project to identify unmet clinical needs in anaesthesia and critical care practice. The project will aim to identify and establish a new development project with global potential."
L-R: Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, Matt McGrath and Mark Webster
Subscribe