The Wall Street Journal 2009 Technology Innovations include Abbott Laboratories Ibis Biosciences unit, taking Gold for the Ibis T5000 sensor, which can detect and identify unknown organisms in tissue samples. Silver was won by Touch Bionics Inc. for the i-Limb artificial hand, featuring bendable fingers and a rotating thumb. (Read a report on prosthetics in the September 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News, now online).

The i-Limb received top honors in the Medical Devices category because of its unique design and materials that match the shape and weight of a human hand with the power to handle all the tasks of muscle and bone using motors that fit in the space of a knuckle to control the fingers using a computer chip. This hand allows the wearer to grip and hold using a thumb and index finger, and close all fingers and thumb around any object, such as a can of soda. The index finger can point, and the thumb can rest next to the hand, so that it doesn't snag or pull when dressing.

Vihaan Networks Ltd, (VNL), an Indian telecommunications company took Bronze for a solar-powered base station, bringing cellphone access to remote villages.

In the Health Care IT category, DataDyne.org, won for EpiSurveyor, free software for mobile devices designed to aid health officials in developing countries gather health information.

Winners will be honored at the Wall Street Journal's 2009 Technology Innovation Ceremony and dinner on October 13. For a complete list of winners see http://online.wsj.com/public/page/innovation-technology-awards.html

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