18 innovation finalists

Eighteen Utah companies have been named finalists in the third annual Stoel Rives Utah Innovation Awards.

Six winners will be announced at an awards luncheon Tuesday, May 19, at the University of Utah.

Finalists in the six categories are:

• Biotechnology: AnzenBio's Bio Detector; Idaho Technology Inc.'s Razor Instrument and PathFinder Sample Pouch; the University of Utah's Telomere Measurement by Quantitative PCR.

• Chemicals: CarbonX Non-Flammable Textile, created by Chapman Innovations; Nano-Structured Coatings, created by High Performance Coatings Inc.; and Carbylan, created by Sentrx Surgical Inc.

• Medical devices: Nomad Handheld X-Ray System, created by Ariba X-Ray Inc.; Proximare PFO Occluder, created by Proximare Inc.; and the Ultrasound CT Imaging System, created by TechniScan Medical Systems.

• Computer software and Web services: NetCapture Business, created by NetDeposit Inc.; NextPage 1.5, created by NextPage; and RappidMapper's Life Dimension.

• Electrical devices: The Barco Blaze, created by Barco; 9XTend RF Modem, created by MaxStream Inc.; and Dickson Grating, created by Wasatch Photonics.

• Mechanical devices: Friction Stir Welding, through the collaboration of Brigham Young University and MegaStir Technologies Inc.; Econova Water Treatment System, created by Econova Inc.; and Utah State University's Twisteron.

Finalists were selected by a committee of 35 experts from private industry, government and higher education. Votes were tallied by the accounting firm KPMG.

The program is sponsored by Wasatch Digital iQ magazine, the Utah Engineering Experiment Station, the Utah Information Technology Association and the business law firm Stoel Rives LLP, with support from MountainWest Capital Network and the Utah Life Science Association.

Details about the awards program are available at www.stoel.com/innovation.

The noon awards luncheon will be at the U.'s Olpin Room and will be part of the daylong Edison Conference. The lunch will feature H. Tracy Hall, this year's recipient of the Experiment Station's Pathfinder Award, as guest speaker.

The cost is $40 per person. Registration for the Edison Conference is $95. Registration for the awards lunch or the conference can be completed at www.utah.edu/uees.