A HAND-HELD gadget which can be used to help diagnose brain injury is one of the first fruits of a partnership between the National Health Service in the North-East and industry.

The Pupilometer measures the eye's changing response to light during a neurological examination.

It is expected to go into production in the near future.

It is one of 30 promising ideas for new devices or treatments suggested by health workers which are being considered by NHS Innovations North, an arm of the Government-funded agency RTC North, which is designed to stimulate new ideas.

The drive to encourage people to come forward with bright ideas will move up a gear later this year with the launch of a region-wide competition called Innovation at Work.

As well as encouraging health workers to put their thinking caps on, it will also alert manufacturers to potential new markets.

Since it was set up by the Department of Health two years ago the Sunderland-based NHS Innovations North company has received about 300 suggestions from health workers.

The pupilometer is one of two projects which have been patented to prevent unauthorised copies being made.

RTC North, which used to be known as the Regional Technology Centre North, has been around for more than a decade and works in close partnership with the Regional Medical Physics Department (RMPD), in Newcastle.

RMPD already has a track record for transforming ideas into products.

Recent successes include a protective face mask which shields patients who are undergoing ultraviolet photo-therapy treatment for skin disease, and a device which measures skin sensitivity to ultraviolet light before treatment begins.

Another promising project which is under development, is a chair for children who need to have their kidneys scanned.

Links with a law firm ensure that individual inventors benefit through royalty payments.

A spokesman for NHS Innovations North said: "Our job is to promote ideas that are coming forth from all corners of the NHS and get them to market.

"Through competitions like Innovation At Work we hope to spread the word and recognise the contribution all staff can make to health care.

"The benefits are twofold as new ideas mean new products and ultimately, wealth creation for the region as a whole. It is important that manufacturers get involved too."