The National Innovation Awards 2006, conducted by the National Innovation Agency (NIA) under the Science and Technology Ministry, honour local development projects which show potential to benefit the country economically and socially.

Thai Edible Oil, a cooking oil manufacturer under the King brand, received the Best Innovation Award in the economic category for having produced rice-bran oil with a high degree of oryzanol. Dr Yanin Ootayopas, a reconstructive surgeon from Surat Thani Hospital, was honoured with the Best Innovation Award in the social category for the development of an innovative bed to prevent and cure pressure sores.

According to Thai Edible Oil executive committee member Pravit Saniwattana, the company's innovation covers the rice-bran oil production process, which can offer a high yield of oryzanol, a natural compound extracted from rice bran. It's an antioxidant that has six times higher efficiency than Vitamin E. Clinical studies have found that the consumption of oryzanol can help reduce blood cholesterol and fight free radicals.

Normally, the production of rice-bran oil in the industry yields oryzanol at the rate of 2,000 ppm, but with the company's internal research and development, Pravit said the team developed a new process to produce oil with oryzanol as high as 4,000 ppm. This is expected to be the world's highest, which no other cooking-oil manufacturer can produce.

The company uses advanced technology in selecting rice bran by using an electro-mechanical sample taker to sample rice bran, and a near infrared system for evaluating raw materials. This system offers fast and accurate assessment of raw materials within two minutes, while conventional methods take up to three hours.

The company has also adopted advanced extracting and refinery technology to produce oil with a higher degree of oryzanol. Through this new development, Pravit said the company could add more value to its products and expand its product lines. From having conventional rice-bran oil which is sold at Bt35 a litre, the company created a new brand of cooking oil - Rice Bran Oil High Oryzanol - to be sold at Bt80 a litre.

The new oil is exported to the European Union, the United States, China, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Last year, the company generated about Bt40 million in revenue from exports.

While the first innovation project has economic value, the other brings social value. The development of the bed to prevent pressure sores by Dr Yanin from Surat Thani Hospital helps patients who are paralysed or who are in a critical or unconscious state. Having developed the Yanin Bed three years ago, Dr Yanin said the new bed was expected to give relief to patients who have to lie in bed for long periods.

Instead of using water or air pressure to prevent pressure sores, the Yanin Bed uses pressed rubber as a key material. The pressed rubber is built stick by stick and laid across the bed.

Yanin said the bed is equipped with hydraulic pressure controlled by a micro-controller which allows each rubber stick to move up and down alternately, according to the time assigned.

"We have adopted the pressure alternation method to control the rubber sticks' movement to prevent any part of the patient's body from continually pressing down on the bed's surface at all times. Their muscles are more relaxed and free from pressure and this prevents pressure sores," he explained.

Many patients who stay in bed for a long period suffer from pressure sores. Doctors, apart from providing medical treatment to tackle their main disease, have to spend much time curing patients of these sores.

So far, Dr Yanin has developed three types of beds used in the Surat Thani Hospital and the result shows 100-per-cent pressure sore prevention. He also has plans for mass production so that these beds can be used in other hospitals. The technology is in the process of patent registration.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation