RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — The Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s annual InfoTech conference serves as a showcase for emerging technology across North Carolina, and this fall’s event should be no different.

The CED unveiled its first five invitees on Tuesday, and they represent an interesting mix of emerging and established firms.

“These five demo participants represent the diversity of technologies in North Carolina, at all stages – with two North Carolina universities represented in this group, two commercially active companies and one early-stage entrepreneurial company, they are a small sampling of the tremendous amount of innovation that exists in this space,” said Brooks Malone, chairman of the InfoTech 2005 demo selection committee and a partner with Raleigh-based Hughes Pittman & Gupton LLP.

Advanced Diagnosis, Automation, and Control Lab:

Web site: www.adac.ncsu.edu/iSpace1/home.html

Six students and their faculty advisor, Mo-Yuen Chow, are developing a network system based on mechatronics. Mechatronics is the combination of precision mechanical engineering and control systems in the design of products or manufacturing processes to achieve balance between mechanical structure and control.

The NCSU team is pursuing a concept called Intelligent Space, or iSpace. Their goal is “to effectively use distributed sensors, actuators, robots, computing processors, and information technology over communication networks.”

They define iSpace as a “large-scale mechatronics systems” that integrates sensors, actuators and control algorithms in one communication system.

Chow has taught at NCSU since 1999 as a professor in the departments of electronics and computer engineering.

Biotigen:

Web site: www.bioptigen.com

Bioptigen, which is based in Durham and is a spin-off of Duke University, has developed a “non-contact, non-invasive” imaging system that provides high-resolution views inside animals. The company also believes its technology has industrial applications.

Its technology is called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), and it is designed for whole-body imaging, tissue imaging and non-invasive optical biopsy.

The technology is envisioned as an alternative to surgical applications and provides resolution 10 to 100 times better than ultrasound, according to Bioptigen.

“Our tools are designed to enhance the biomedical research and development process by improving assessment of functional action of drugs / genes / proteins prior to clinical trials,” the company says.

Biotigen placed second in the FiveVentures competition earlier this year at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

MercuryMD:

Web site: www.mercurymd.com

MercuryMD will use InfoTech to demonstrate a new product called Mdata CareFocus.

MercuryMD provides mobile data solutions for physicians and health care workers who need rapid, easy access to patient data.

The new product is described as a “profiling engine” that doctors and researchers can use to identify high-risk patient populations.

“The solution data profiles to current patient data and segments patients matching these profiles into separate lists available to clinicians on their PDA, smartphone, tablet PC or desktop computer,” the company says.

Saffron Technology:

Web site: www.saffrontech.com

Saffron is focused on developing software to assist researchers and scientists in the discovery process. Saffron calls its SaffronWeb product a “discovery technology” that helps “uncover associations between seemingly unrelated pieces of information.”

The technology “has the ability to mine massive amounts of data to identify connections that draw users down a path of discovery leading to new insights, directions and conclusions… all in real time,” Saffron says.

TxFS:

Web site: www.txfs.com

TxFs is a 2004 startup based on Raleigh that believes it has developed a better payment solution for e-commerce and digital media sales.

Its first product is called TxFlow Payment Network.

TxFs believes its system will make e-commerce safer and easier, thus convincing consumers and other buyers to complete more online transactions.

Still Time To Apply

InfoTech is set for Oct. 12, and the CED is still looking for more candidates. But time is running out to apply. The deadline is July 1. In all, 25 or so firms will be selected.

For application information see: www.cednc.org/infotech_demoapp