FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4045006

LEAD IN:

Scientists controlling EU projects worth millions of dollars say the British exit from Europe risks the future of medical research, and may endanger future treatments for cancer and children.

Research projects at Kings and University Colleges in London rely on the collaboration of hundreds of doctors and multidisciplinary scientists across Europe - which could come under threat because of Brexit.

STORY-LINE:

Precision medicine is changing the future for cancer patients.

This lab at University College London has devised a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques of imaging tumours.

Professor Xavier Golay's team has discovered a way to make a tumour light up with a simple sugar solution.

Because the solution is not radioactive is doesn't carry the same side effects which make patients sick.

It means radiodlogists can see tumours in more detail and check them more frequently.

That in turn allows doctors to personalise drug treatments for the patient.

They can respond more quickly, seeing what works and what doesn't and that speed could save more lives.

The team here is about to begin a trial on the new imaging technique thanks to a six and a half million Euro grant from the European Union.

The whole university has 103-million Euros to fund medical and science projects over the next few years.

All currently funded projects will be allowed to complete - but it's what happens next that's vexing doctors and scientist who argue breakthroughs don't come to order at the end of one trial.

Golay says for the vast majority of scientists in Britain the result of the recent EU referendum - for the UK to exit - was a shock.

Golay says it's not just the money which will risk future projects like this.

His team - like most university and hospital research groups - comes from all over the European Union.

Collaboration on this imaging project is with other specialist scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany as well as other units including France and Italy.

He's already concerned about the future.

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

At preschool age Rens Van Velzen's parents realised he was struggling with dyslexia, but when he went to school it became clear he was autistic.

Van Velzen, now a highly intelligent fifteen year old, is part of Europe's largest study into mental health disorder.

Here researchers like Hannah Haywood combine genetics, neuroimaging, cognitive testing and clinical assessments to try to discover what are the causes.

The research project called EU Aims is carried out here at Kings College London in collaboration with scientists in other centres of Europe.

Costing 32 million Euros it's also the biggest grant given to any one project.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental problem which affects the way people interact with the world around them.

People are affected differently and scientists want to understand why those differences occur.

Haywood says: "One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition. So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

The goal is to identify biomarkers and develop drug treatments.

It's a long term study, but how long can it continue here and what happens to the research after the current funding ends in 2020?

Rens Van Velzen is already preparing for A-levels in maths, chemistry and physics.

But his autism means life outside the classroom is not always straightforward.

He explains: "Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

Haywood, like others on the team, is convinced the project must be protected and fears Britain leaving the EU will end large scale endeavours like this which progress more steadily because of the wide collaboration among doctors and scientists.

She says: "Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

Van Velzen has been part of the study since it started.

Now he's hoping for a career in astrophysics.

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe," says Van Velzen.

After completing puzzles in record time he goes on for tests in the eye tracking unit.

Studies have used eye-tracing technology to see how long autistic children spend looking at the social and non-social features in a series of images on pictures and videos like these.

Ren's mother Jose Van Velzen is a cognitive neuroscientist herself although she does not work on this project.

While she is confident about her son's academic success she worries about how he will cope with work and whether he will find happiness in personal relationships.

She says: "It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

According to scientists here this project is the first of it kind in the world developing the infrastructure which will underpin new treatments for autism.

There are hundreds of scientists involved in British research projects which are funded by the EU.

The lead scientist on the autism project at Kings is Professor Declan Murphy - and he too is concerned about what Brexit will mean.

He says:"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For Example my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

The EU's Horizon 2020 budget is 80-billion Euro which funds medicine and science research across Europe.

Britain's split from the EU will leave a funding gap as well as a brain drain according to Murphy and he argues it will be the children with autism who will lose out.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4045006

LEAD IN:

Scientists controlling EU projects worth millions of dollars say the British exit from Europe risks the future of medical research, and may endanger future treatments for cancer and children.

Research projects at Kings and University Colleges in London rely on the collaboration of hundreds of doctors and multidisciplinary scientists across Europe - which could come under threat because of Brexit.

STORY-LINE:

Precision medicine is changing the future for cancer patients.

This lab at University College London has devised a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques of imaging tumours.

Professor Xavier Golay's team has discovered a way to make a tumour light up with a simple sugar solution.

Because the solution is not radioactive is doesn't carry the same side effects which make patients sick.

It means radiodlogists can see tumours in more detail and check them more frequently.

That in turn allows doctors to personalise drug treatments for the patient.

They can respond more quickly, seeing what works and what doesn't and that speed could save more lives.

The team here is about to begin a trial on the new imaging technique thanks to a six and a half million Euro grant from the European Union.

The whole university has 103-million Euros to fund medical and science projects over the next few years.

All currently funded projects will be allowed to complete - but it's what happens next that's vexing doctors and scientist who argue breakthroughs don't come to order at the end of one trial.

Golay says for the vast majority of scientists in Britain the result of the recent EU referendum - for the UK to exit - was a shock.

Golay says it's not just the money which will risk future projects like this.

His team - like most university and hospital research groups - comes from all over the European Union.

Collaboration on this imaging project is with other specialist scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany as well as other units including France and Italy.

He's already concerned about the future.

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

At preschool age Rens Van Velzen's parents realised he was struggling with dyslexia, but when he went to school it became clear he was autistic.

Van Velzen, now a highly intelligent fifteen year old, is part of Europe's largest study into mental health disorder.

Here researchers like Hannah Haywood combine genetics, neuroimaging, cognitive testing and clinical assessments to try to discover what are the causes.

The research project called EU Aims is carried out here at Kings College London in collaboration with scientists in other centres of Europe.

Costing 32 million Euros it's also the biggest grant given to any one project.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental problem which affects the way people interact with the world around them.

People are affected differently and scientists want to understand why those differences occur.

Haywood says: "One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition. So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

The goal is to identify biomarkers and develop drug treatments.

It's a long term study, but how long can it continue here and what happens to the research after the current funding ends in 2020?

Rens Van Velzen is already preparing for A-levels in maths, chemistry and physics.

But his autism means life outside the classroom is not always straightforward.

He explains: "Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

Haywood, like others on the team, is convinced the project must be protected and fears Britain leaving the EU will end large scale endeavours like this which progress more steadily because of the wide collaboration among doctors and scientists.

She says: "Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

Van Velzen has been part of the study since it started.

Now he's hoping for a career in astrophysics.

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe," says Van Velzen.

After completing puzzles in record time he goes on for tests in the eye tracking unit.

Studies have used eye-tracing technology to see how long autistic children spend looking at the social and non-social features in a series of images on pictures and videos like these.

Ren's mother Jose Van Velzen is a cognitive neuroscientist herself although she does not work on this project.

While she is confident about her son's academic success she worries about how he will cope with work and whether he will find happiness in personal relationships.

She says: "It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

According to scientists here this project is the first of it kind in the world developing the infrastructure which will underpin new treatments for autism.

There are hundreds of scientists involved in British research projects which are funded by the EU.

The lead scientist on the autism project at Kings is Professor Declan Murphy - and he too is concerned about what Brexit will mean.

He says:"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For Example my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

The EU's Horizon 2020 budget is 80-billion Euro which funds medicine and science research across Europe.

Britain's split from the EU will leave a funding gap as well as a brain drain according to Murphy and he argues it will be the children with autism who will lose out.

London, UK - 7 July 2016

1. Various CT scans showing liver cancer pre and post therapy to illustrate the relationship between tumours and glucose

2. Mid of Professor Xavier Golay looking at scans in his MRI lab at the UCL Institute of Neurology

3. Various of Golay and researcher looking at scans

4. Close of tumour in rat highlighted by non radioactive glucose

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Xavier Golay, professor of neurophysics, UCL Institute of Neurology

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

6. Close of autistic teenager Rens Van Velzen answering questions testing his cognitive and executive function at Kings College London

7. Close of psychologist Hannah Hayward asking questions

8. Mid of Velzen ticking off words he understands

9. Various of Velzen watching next task being set up

10. Mid of Velzen touching laptop screen to pick out the emotion displayed on the photo on the monitor

11. Close of Velzen touching the word "Cautious"

12. Close of touch screen

13. Mid of Velzen watching screen observed by Hayward

14. Close of Velzen

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition? So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

16. Close of Hayward starting stopwatch

17. Close of cube pattern Velzen has to recreate

18. Close tilt down of Hayward observing

19. Close of Velzen

20. Close pan from pattern and blocks being constructed by Velzen

21. Mid of Velzen completing puzzle watched by Hayward

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

23. Various of Van Velzen completing other puzzles with black and yellow blocks

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

25. Various of Hayward attaching EEG wires to Van Velzen before eye tracking tests

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe."

27. Mid of monitor displaying photographs of facial expressions with options to pick the right description

28. Close of Van Velsen tapping keyboard

29. Mid of test continuing on monitor

30. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jose Van Velzen, Rens' mother (who is also a cognitive neuroscientist)

"It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships, you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him, and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

31. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen being shown photos in the eye tracking suite

32. Various of monitor

33. Various of Hayward carrying out tracking test

34. Hayward's monitor showing Rens Van Velzen responding to photographs

35. Mid rear view of Van Velzen watching animated patterns appear on screen

36. Various of Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist on the EU Aims study on autism

37. SOUNDBITE: (English) Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist, EU Aims study on autism, Kings College London

"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers, and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For example, my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

38. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen responding to picture during eyetracking test

39. Close of EEG reading on monitor

UK MEDICAL BREXIT

SOURCE: AP HORIZONS, LIFESTYLE, HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY

RESTRICTIONS: HORIZONS CLIENTS AND AP LIFESTYLE, HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 6.33

SHOTLIST:

London, UK - 7 July 2016

1. Various CT scans showing liver cancer pre and post therapy to illustrate the relationship between tumours and glucose

2. Mid of Professor Xavier Golay looking at scans in his MRI lab at the UCL Institute of Neurology

3. Various of Golay and researcher looking at scans

4. Close of tumour in rat highlighted by non radioactive glucose

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Xavier Golay, professor of neurophysics, UCL Institute of Neurology

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

6. Close of autistic teenager Rens Van Velzen answering questions testing his cognitive and executive function at Kings College London

7. Close of psychologist Hannah Hayward asking questions

8. Mid of Velzen ticking off words he understands

9. Various of Velzen watching next task being set up

10. Mid of Velzen touching laptop screen to pick out the emotion displayed on the photo on the monitor

11. Close of Velzen touching the word "Cautious"

12. Close of touch screen

13. Mid of Velzen watching screen observed by Hayward

14. Close of Velzen

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition? So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

16. Close of Hayward starting stopwatch

17. Close of cube pattern Velzen has to recreate

18. Close tilt down of Hayward observing

19. Close of Velzen

20. Close pan from pattern and blocks being constructed by Velzen

21. Mid of Velzen completing puzzle watched by Hayward

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

23. Various of Van Velzen completing other puzzles with black and yellow blocks

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

25. Various of Hayward attaching EEG wires to Van Velzen before eye tracking tests

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe."

27. Mid of monitor displaying photographs of facial expressions with options to pick the right description

28. Close of Van Velsen tapping keyboard

29. Mid of test continuing on monitor

30. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jose Van Velzen, Rens' mother (who is also a cognitive neuroscientist)

"It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships, you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him, and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

31. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen being shown photos in the eye tracking suite

32. Various of monitor

33. Various of Hayward carrying out tracking test

34. Hayward's monitor showing Rens Van Velzen responding to photographs

35. Mid rear view of Van Velzen watching animated patterns appear on screen

36. Various of Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist on the EU Aims study on autism

37. SOUNDBITE: (English) Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist, EU Aims study on autism, Kings College London

"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers, and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For example, my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

38. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen responding to picture during eyetracking test

39. Close of EEG reading on monitor

LEADIN:

Scientists controlling EU projects worth millions of dollars say the British exit from Europe risks the future of medical research, and may endanger future treatments for cancer and children.

Research projects at Kings and University Colleges in London rely on the collaboration of hundreds of doctors and multidisciplinary scientists across Europe - which could come under threat because of Brexit.

STORYLINE:

Precision medicine is changing the future for cancer patients.

This lab at University College London has devised a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques of imaging tumours.

Professor Xavier Golay's team has discovered a way to make a tumour light up with a simple sugar solution.

Because the solution is not radioactive is doesn't carry the same side effects which make patients sick.

It means radiodlogists can see tumours in more detail and check them more frequently.

That in turn allows doctors to personalise drug treatments for the patient.

They can respond more quickly, seeing what works and what doesn't and that speed could save more lives.

The team here is about to begin a trial on the new imaging technique thanks to a six and a half million Euro grant from the European Union.

The whole university has 103-million Euros to fund medical and science projects over the next few years.

All currently funded projects will be allowed to complete - but it's what happens next that's vexing doctors and scientist who argue breakthroughs don't come to order at the end of one trial.

Golay says for the vast majority of scientists in Britain the result of the recent EU referendum - for the UK to exit - was a shock.

Golay says it's not just the money which will risk future projects like this.

His team - like most university and hospital research groups - comes from all over the European Union.

Collaboration on this imaging project is with other specialist scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany as well as other units including France and Italy.

He's already concerned about the future.

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

At preschool age Rens Van Velzen's parents realised he was struggling with dyslexia, but when he went to school it became clear he was autistic.

Van Velzen, now a highly intelligent fifteen year old, is part of Europe's largest study into mental health disorder.

Here researchers like Hannah Haywood combine genetics, neuroimaging, cognitive testing and clinical assessments to try to discover what are the causes.

The research project called EU Aims is carried out here at Kings College London in collaboration with scientists in other centres of Europe.

Costing 32 million Euros it's also the biggest grant given to any one project.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental problem which affects the way people interact with the world around them.

People are affected differently and scientists want to understand why those differences occur.

Haywood says: "One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition. So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

The goal is to identify biomarkers and develop drug treatments.

It's a long term study, but how long can it continue here and what happens to the research after the current funding ends in 2020?

Rens Van Velzen is already preparing for A-levels in maths, chemistry and physics.

But his autism means life outside the classroom is not always straightforward.

He explains: "Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

Haywood, like others on the team, is convinced the project must be protected and fears Britain leaving the EU will end large scale endeavours like this which progress more steadily because of the wide collaboration among doctors and scientists.

She says: "Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

Van Velzen has been part of the study since it started.

Now he's hoping for a career in astrophysics.

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe," says Van Velzen.

After completing puzzles in record time he goes on for tests in the eye tracking unit.

Studies have used eye-tracing technology to see how long autistic children spend looking at the social and non-social features in a series of images on pictures and videos like these.

Ren's mother Jose Van Velzen is a cognitive neuroscientist herself although she does not work on this project.

While she is confident about her son's academic success she worries about how he will cope with work and whether he will find happiness in personal relationships.

She says: "It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

According to scientists here this project is the first of it kind in the world developing the infrastructure which will underpin new treatments for autism.

There are hundreds of scientists involved in British research projects which are funded by the EU.

The lead scientist on the autism project at Kings is Professor Declan Murphy - and he too is concerned about what Brexit will mean.

He says:"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For Example my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from each other."

The EU's Horizon 2020 budget is 80-billion Euro which funds medicine and science research across Europe.

Britain's split from the EU will leave a funding gap as well as a brain drain according to Murphy and he argues it will be the children with autism who will lose out.

====

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com.

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

UK MEDICAL BREXIT

SOURCE: AP TECHNOLOGY

RESTRICTIONS: TECHNOLOGY CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 6.33

SHOTLIST:

London, UK - 7 July 2016

1. Various CT scans showing liver cancer pre and post therapy to illustrate the relationship between tumours and glucose

2. Mid of Professor Xavier Golay looking at scans in his MRI lab at the UCL Institute of Neurology

3. Various of Golay and researcher looking at scans

4. Close of tumour in rat highlighted by non radioactive glucose

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Xavier Golay, professor of neurophysics, UCL Institute of Neurology

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

6. Close of autistic teenager Rens Van Velzen answering questions testing his cognitive and executive function at Kings College London

7. Close of psychologist Hannah Hayward asking questions

8. Mid of Velzen ticking off words he understands

9. Various of Velzen watching next task being set up

10. Mid of Velzen touching laptop screen to pick out the emotion displayed on the photo on the monitor

11. Close of Velzen touching the word "Cautious"

12. Close of touch screen

13. Mid of Velzen watching screen observed by Hayward

14. Close of Velzen

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition? So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

16. Close of Hayward starting stopwatch

17. Close of cube pattern Velzen has to recreate

18. Close tilt down of Hayward observing

19. Close of Velzen

20. Close pan from pattern and blocks being constructed by Velzen

21. Mid of Velzen completing puzzle watched by Hayward

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

23. Various of Van Velzen completing other puzzles with black and yellow blocks

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hannah Hayward psychologist, EU Aims (autism research project) Kings College London

"Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

25. Various of Hayward attaching EEG wires to Van Velzen before eye tracking tests

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rens Van Velzen, teenager in Kings College autisim research group

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe."

27. Mid of monitor displaying photographs of facial expressions with options to pick the right description

28. Close of Van Velsen tapping keyboard

29. Mid of test continuing on monitor

30. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jose Van Velzen, Rens' mother (who is also a cognitive neuroscientist)

"It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships, you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him, and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

31. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen being shown photos in the eye tracking suite

32. Various of monitor

33. Various of Hayward carrying out tracking test

34. Hayward's monitor showing Rens Van Velzen responding to photographs

35. Mid rear view of Van Velzen watching animated patterns appear on screen

36. Various of Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist on the EU Aims study on autism

37. SOUNDBITE: (English) Professor Declan Murphy lead scientist, EU Aims study on autism, Kings College London

"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers, and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For example, my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from eachother."

38. Mid rear view of Rens Van Velzen responding to picture during eyetracking test

39. Close of EEG reading on monitor

LEADIN:

Scientists controlling EU projects worth millions of dollars say the British exit from Europe risks the future of medical research, and may endanger future treatments for cancer and children.

Research projects at Kings and University Colleges in London rely on the collaboration of hundreds of doctors and multidisciplinary scientists across Europe - which could come under threat because of Brexit.

STORYLINE:

Precision medicine is changing the future for cancer patients.

This lab at University College London has devised a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques of imaging tumours.

Professor Xavier Golay's team has discovered a way to make a tumour light up with a simple sugar solution.

Because the solution is not radioactive is doesn't carry the same side effects which make patients sick.

It means radiodlogists can see tumours in more detail and check them more frequently.

That in turn allows doctors to personalise drug treatments for the patient.

They can respond more quickly, seeing what works and what doesn't and that speed could save more lives.

The team here is about to begin a trial on the new imaging technique thanks to a six and a half million Euro grant from the European Union.

The whole university has 103-million Euros to fund medical and science projects over the next few years.

All currently funded projects will be allowed to complete - but it's what happens next that's vexing doctors and scientist who argue breakthroughs don't come to order at the end of one trial.

Golay says for the vast majority of scientists in Britain the result of the recent EU referendum - for the UK to exit - was a shock.

Golay says it's not just the money which will risk future projects like this.

His team - like most university and hospital research groups - comes from all over the European Union.

Collaboration on this imaging project is with other specialist scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany as well as other units including France and Italy.

He's already concerned about the future.

"I've heard of at least two, three very senior people who've said okay right, now I'm taking all my grant with me and I'm going back to Germany, Switzerland, France because actually, in that way, they know they'll still have access and it's not only access to funding because the funding is great in this country, it is really good. It's really (about) access to funding and this opportunity to collaborate."

At preschool age Rens Van Velzen's parents realised he was struggling with dyslexia, but when he went to school it became clear he was autistic.

Van Velzen, now a highly intelligent fifteen year old, is part of Europe's largest study into mental health disorder.

Here researchers like Hannah Haywood combine genetics, neuroimaging, cognitive testing and clinical assessments to try to discover what are the causes.

The research project called EU Aims is carried out here at Kings College London in collaboration with scientists in other centres of Europe.

Costing 32 million Euros it's also the biggest grant given to any one project.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental problem which affects the way people interact with the world around them.

People are affected differently and scientists want to understand why those differences occur.

Haywood says: "One can go on to a life where they never speak, they are highly affected and quite disabled. Another person can go on (to be) fully verbal and become a professor at Cambridge (University) and someone else can go on and live a full life with marriage and children, why does that happen? Why does it affect people so differently when it's effectively the same condition. So we're trying to answer those questions, we're trying to understand why it affects different people in different ways and I think the thing that really attracted me to the project is because, we're trying to highlight the great skills and strengths in this group as well as the things that people find difficult."

The goal is to identify biomarkers and develop drug treatments.

It's a long term study, but how long can it continue here and what happens to the research after the current funding ends in 2020?

Rens Van Velzen is already preparing for A-levels in maths, chemistry and physics.

But his autism means life outside the classroom is not always straightforward.

He explains: "Quite often when talking peer to peer, the other person can get frustrated with how I respond because they're (I'm) not responding the way that they're expecting me to respond as the people usually do. So quite often I don't pick up someone's annoyed, or that sort of thing. It's very hard to explain because I haven't had the experience of not having autism."

Haywood, like others on the team, is convinced the project must be protected and fears Britain leaving the EU will end large scale endeavours like this which progress more steadily because of the wide collaboration among doctors and scientists.

She says: "Quite often there can be a lot of negativity around being diagnosed and living with the condition and in my work, I've worked with autism for twelve years, I have met some of the most skilled and highly intelligent people."

Van Velzen has been part of the study since it started.

Now he's hoping for a career in astrophysics.

"I think I'll work on either discovering more about our universe and our place in it, or working on ways to get to other parts of the universe," says Van Velzen.

After completing puzzles in record time he goes on for tests in the eye tracking unit.

Studies have used eye-tracing technology to see how long autistic children spend looking at the social and non-social features in a series of images on pictures and videos like these.

Ren's mother Jose Van Velzen is a cognitive neuroscientist herself although she does not work on this project.

While she is confident about her son's academic success she worries about how he will cope with work and whether he will find happiness in personal relationships.

She says: "It is sometimes challenging for Rens to keep track of what the person he's talking to is feeling and how he's being perceived. He's very much driven by telling things as they are, or how he sees them and of course in normal interaction, in normal relationships you constantly monitor what the other person is thinking. That's definitely very challenging for him and he is aware that this is one of his weaknesses he needs to work on he cannot always deal with it at that particular time and I think that is something in general that will make relationships and work environments quite a challenging place for him."

According to scientists here this project is the first of it kind in the world developing the infrastructure which will underpin new treatments for autism.

There are hundreds of scientists involved in British research projects which are funded by the EU.

The lead scientist on the autism project at Kings is Professor Declan Murphy - and he too is concerned about what Brexit will mean.

He says:"It's virtually impossible for one country alone to recruit the amount of patients that you really need for a large scale, modern day trial, or study that's going to lead to reliable results. We increasingly recognise that big questions need big populations to come up with the right answers and we simply cannot deliver the amount of patients for the amount of science from one centre from one country. For Example my work needs approximately a thousand individuals who are affected by autism. You couldn't recruit that from one centre, or from one country within a time frame that is meaningful, but we can do that by going to mulitple centres across Europe, working together and learning from each other."

The EU's Horizon 2020 budget is 80-billion Euro which funds medicine and science research across Europe.

Britain's split from the EU will leave a funding gap as well as a brain drain according to Murphy and he argues it will be the children with autism who will lose out.

====

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com.

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

LEADIN:

Assistance robots, digital art and virtual fitting rooms are just some of the gadgets competing for attention at Paris' annual Viva Technology event.

French President Emmanuel Macron hopes to position France the new gateway to Europe for internet and tech companies.

STORYLINE:

These Pepper robots by SoftBank robotics are greeting visitors to Paris' Viva Technology.

Robotics is a top trend at the annual event. Limoges, France-based Cybedroid is showcasing its semi-humanoid, autonomous robot, called 'Leenby.'

The so-called "cobot" - meaning collaborative robot - is intended to address the needs of the elderly or assist in medical environments.

Using two lidar sensors and a stereovision camera, 'Leenby' is able to map his surroundings. He's also equipped with voice recognition.

"I believe robots are made to help people, make their days easier, to enable them to perform more human tasks, to step out of menial tasks, repetitive tasks and dull tasks," says Lou Josselin, an engineer at Cybedroid.

"So, robots can handle that, so you can focus something that needs to a human to perform."

Naveil, France-based AdEchoTech is demonstrating its remote, robotic ultrasound solution, called 'Melody.'

Using just a wi-fi internet connection, radiologists thousands of miles away are able to control this ultrasound probe in almost real-time.

A video conferencing system lets patients see and speak with their physician.

"We are in the heart of telemedicine. Territory countries, like Canada, Russia, where there are a lot of first nation communities living up north, they are thousands of miles from the first hospital," explains Philippe Homsi from AdEchoTech.

"Instead of asking them to bring them down to the hospital - and that costs a lot of transportation costs actually, incur a lot of transportation costs - this kind of system, one is setup, the radiologist from miles away can enter communities, examine the patient."

Forget talking into a smartphone, South Korea-based Innomdle Lab is demonstrating a smart wrist strap that lets users make calls with just their fingertip.

The SGNL (pron. 'signal') smart strap generates vibrations through the users' hand running up to their fingertip.

When the fingertip is placed on the ear, the vibrations echo to create amplified sound.

Innomble Lab is the first company to officially spin off from Samsung Electronics. The start-up has raised almost $1.5 million USD on crowd funding website Kickstarter.

"If you want to have phone conversations without your smartphone, you need extra devices like earphones or Bluetooth headsets, which is (a) hassle to carry all the time with you," says Jean Kim from Innomdle Lab.

"But with this device, you don't have to worry about carrying it, all you need to do is click this button, and place your fingertip to your email and answer the phone."

Digital studio Smart Machines is demonstrating its high-tech graffiti wall, named 'Picturae.'

Its digital nature allows users to undo, redo, print and save their creations.

Patrick Suchet from Smart Machines says he was inspired to create 'Picturae' after seeing some less-than-inspiring digital artworks.

"I saw people with small smartphones and doing drawings on their small corner, and I said to myself; 'No, it's not possible. Digital drawing can't be that,'" says Suchet.

"And I said, okay take a big canvas and try something. And this is it."

SweetFit is showcasing its virtual fitting room, which allows shoppers to digitally try countless clothes with just a wave of the arm.

The screen combines augmented reality and gesture recognition technology to seemingly overlay different designs on the user's body.

Florence Moine from SweetFit says it increases the visibility of brands and acts as a time-saver for customers.

Now in its third year, the three-day Viva Technology event is welcoming over 8,000 start-ups and 1,400 investors.

"This shows actually clearly a show of strength in the French economy towards start-ups, but it's still early days," says Mike Butch, Editor-at-large at tech website TechCrunch.

"London is still very much the European powerhouse for tech, but Brexit is going to have a huge effect on that, But Macron is doubling down on start-ups and on tech, as clearly a future part of the French economy."

Viva Technology runs 24-26 May at Paris Expo.

Paris, France- 24 May 2018

1. Various of Pepper robots welcoming visitors to Viva Technology tech event

2. Tilt down from sign, reading: 'Viva' to show floor

3. Pan left form Cybedroid worker to 'Leenby' collaborative robot

4. Various setup shots of Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid, interacting with 'Leenby'

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid:

"I believe robots are made to help people, make their days easier, to enable them to perform more human tasks, to step out of menial tasks, repetitive tasks and dull tasks. So, robots can handle that, so you can focus something that needs to a human to perform."

6. Various of Cybedroid worker leading 'Leenby' robot by hand

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid:

"You can have it in a retail store, for example, giving you directions on the products you want to buy, you can have it in a museum, to give you a tour of the museum. Or you can have it in the hospital, for example, carrying trays, carrying plates and food, delivering medicine to the room so that the nurses can spend more time taking care of the patient."

8. Various of AdEchoTech workers simulating telemedicine ultra sound session

9. Tilt down of ultrasound probe moving remotely

10. Close of screen, showing ultrasound

11. Mid of AdEchoTech worker remotely controlling ultrasound probe

12. Mid AdEchoTech worker having ultrasound

13. Close of AdEchoTech worker remotely controlling ultrasound probe

14. Close of ultrasound probe moving

15. Close of screen, showing probe

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Homsi, Export Manager, AdEchoTech:

"We are in the heart of telemedicine. Territory countries, like Canada, Russia, where there are a lot of first nation communities living up north, they are thousands of miles from the first hospital. Instead of asking them to bring them down to the hospital - and that costs a lot of transportation costs actually, incur a lot of transportation costs - this kind of system, one is setup, the radiologist from miles away can enter communities, examine the patient."

17. Various of Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab, demonstrating SGNL (pron. 'signal') phone call smart strap

18. Close of SGNL on Kim's wrist

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab:

"When you have (an) incoming call, this device will send to your SGNL, and this device will convert the signal into the vibration, the vibration will go through your wrist to your fingertip. So, when you place your fingertip to your ear, you can hear the sound."

20. Mid of Innomdle Lab demonstrating SGNL to visitor

21. Close tilt up of SGNL

22. Various of Kim demonstrating SGNL

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab:

"If you want to have phone conversations without your smartphone, you need extra devices like earphones or Bluetooth headsets, which is (a) hassle to carry all the time with you, but with this device, you don't have to worry about carrying it, all you need to do is click this button, and place your fingertip to your email and answer the phone."

24. Various of artist demonstrating Smart Machines' Picturae digital graffiti wall

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Patrick Suchet, Smart Machines:

"I saw people with small smartphones and doing drawings on their small corner, and I said to myself; 'No, it's not possible. Digital drawing can't be that.' And I said, okay take a big canvas and try something. And this is it."

26. Various of Florence Moine, SweetFit, demonstrating SweetFit virtual fitting room

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Florence Moine, SweetFit:

"It's changed, rethinking the customer experience in the shop, it increases visibility of the brand's collection, it's time saving for customers and creat-able for the brand by sharing photos on social networks. And create traffic at the point of sale and it's a solution to the existing gap between words and shops."

29. Various of Viva Technology show floor

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Butcher, Editor-at-large, TechCrunch:

"This shows actually clearly a show of strength in the French economy towards start-ups, but it's still early days. London is still very much the European powerhouse for tech, but Brexit is going to have a huge effect on that, But Macron is doubling down on start-ups and on tech, as clearly a future part of the French economy."

31. Various of Viva Technology show floor

LEADIN:

Assistance robots, digital art and virtual fitting rooms are just some of the gadgets competing for attention at Paris' annual Viva Technology event.

French President Emmanuel Macron hopes to position France the new gateway to Europe for internet and tech companies.

STORYLINE:

These Pepper robots by SoftBank robotics are greeting visitors to Paris' Viva Technology.

Robotics is a top trend at the annual event. Limoges, France-based Cybedroid is showcasing its semi-humanoid, autonomous robot, called 'Leenby.'

The so-called "cobot" - meaning collaborative robot - is intended to address the needs of the elderly or assist in medical environments.

Using two lidar sensors and a stereovision camera, 'Leenby' is able to map his surroundings. He's also equipped with voice recognition.

"I believe robots are made to help people, make their days easier, to enable them to perform more human tasks, to step out of menial tasks, repetitive tasks and dull tasks," says Lou Josselin, an engineer at Cybedroid.

"So, robots can handle that, so you can focus something that needs to a human to perform."

Naveil, France-based AdEchoTech is demonstrating its remote, robotic ultrasound solution, called 'Melody.'

Using just a wi-fi internet connection, radiologists thousands of miles away are able to control this ultrasound probe in almost real-time.

A video conferencing system lets patients see and speak with their physician.

"We are in the heart of telemedicine. Territory countries, like Canada, Russia, where there are a lot of first nation communities living up north, they are thousands of miles from the first hospital," explains Philippe Homsi from AdEchoTech.

"Instead of asking them to bring them down to the hospital - and that costs a lot of transportation costs actually, incur a lot of transportation costs - this kind of system, one is setup, the radiologist from miles away can enter communities, examine the patient."

Forget talking into a smartphone, South Korea-based Innomdle Lab is demonstrating a smart wrist strap that lets users make calls with just their fingertip.

The SGNL (pron. 'signal') smart strap generates vibrations through the users' hand running up to their fingertip.

When the fingertip is placed on the ear, the vibrations echo to create amplified sound.

Innomble Lab is the first company to officially spin off from Samsung Electronics. The start-up has raised almost $1.5 million USD on crowd funding website Kickstarter.

"If you want to have phone conversations without your smartphone, you need extra devices like earphones or Bluetooth headsets, which is (a) hassle to carry all the time with you," says Jean Kim from Innomdle Lab.

"But with this device, you don't have to worry about carrying it, all you need to do is click this button, and place your fingertip to your email and answer the phone."

Digital studio Smart Machines is demonstrating its high-tech graffiti wall, named 'Picturae.'

Its digital nature allows users to undo, redo, print and save their creations.

Patrick Suchet from Smart Machines says he was inspired to create 'Picturae' after seeing some less-than-inspiring digital artworks.

"I saw people with small smartphones and doing drawings on their small corner, and I said to myself; 'No, it's not possible. Digital drawing can't be that,'" says Suchet.

"And I said, okay take a big canvas and try something. And this is it."

SweetFit is showcasing its virtual fitting room, which allows shoppers to digitally try countless clothes with just a wave of the arm.

The screen combines augmented reality and gesture recognition technology to seemingly overlay different designs on the user's body.

Florence Moine from SweetFit says it increases the visibility of brands and acts as a time-saver for customers.

Now in its third year, the three-day Viva Technology event is welcoming over 8,000 start-ups and 1,400 investors.

"This shows actually clearly a show of strength in the French economy towards start-ups, but it's still early days," says Mike Butch, Editor-at-large at tech website TechCrunch.

"London is still very much the European powerhouse for tech, but Brexit is going to have a huge effect on that, But Macron is doubling down on start-ups and on tech, as clearly a future part of the French economy."

Viva Technology runs 24-26 May at Paris Expo.

Paris, France- 24 May 2018

1. Various of Pepper robots welcoming visitors to Viva Technology tech event

2. Tilt down from sign, reading: 'Viva' to show floor

3. Pan left form Cybedroid worker to 'Leenby' collaborative robot

4. Various setup shots of Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid, interacting with 'Leenby'

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid:

"I believe robots are made to help people, make their days easier, to enable them to perform more human tasks, to step out of menial tasks, repetitive tasks and dull tasks. So, robots can handle that, so you can focus something that needs to a human to perform."

6. Various of Cybedroid worker leading 'Leenby' robot by hand

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid:

"You can have it in a retail store, for example, giving you directions on the products you want to buy, you can have it in a museum, to give you a tour of the museum. Or you can have it in the hospital, for example, carrying trays, carrying plates and food, delivering medicine to the room so that the nurses can spend more time taking care of the patient."

8. Various of AdEchoTech workers simulating telemedicine ultra sound session

9. Tilt down of ultrasound probe moving remotely

10. Close of screen, showing ultrasound

11. Mid of AdEchoTech worker remotely controlling ultrasound probe

12. Mid AdEchoTech worker having ultrasound

13. Close of AdEchoTech worker remotely controlling ultrasound probe

14. Close of ultrasound probe moving

15. Close of screen, showing probe

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Homsi, Export Manager, AdEchoTech:

"We are in the heart of telemedicine. Territory countries, like Canada, Russia, where there are a lot of first nation communities living up north, they are thousands of miles from the first hospital. Instead of asking them to bring them down to the hospital - and that costs a lot of transportation costs actually, incur a lot of transportation costs - this kind of system, one is setup, the radiologist from miles away can enter communities, examine the patient."

17. Various of Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab, demonstrating SGNL (pron. 'signal') phone call smart strap

18. Close of SGNL on Kim's wrist

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab:

"When you have (an) incoming call, this device will send to your SGNL, and this device will convert the signal into the vibration, the vibration will go through your wrist to your fingertip. So, when you place your fingertip to your ear, you can hear the sound."

20. Mid of Innomdle Lab demonstrating SGNL to visitor

21. Close tilt up of SGNL

22. Various of Kim demonstrating SGNL

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab:

"If you want to have phone conversations without your smartphone, you need extra devices like earphones or Bluetooth headsets, which is (a) hassle to carry all the time with you, but with this device, you don't have to worry about carrying it, all you need to do is click this button, and place your fingertip to your email and answer the phone."

24. Various of artist demonstrating Smart Machines' Picturae digital graffiti wall

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Patrick Suchet, Smart Machines:

"I saw people with small smartphones and doing drawings on their small corner, and I said to myself; 'No, it's not possible. Digital drawing can't be that.' And I said, okay take a big canvas and try something. And this is it."

26. Various of Florence Moine, SweetFit, demonstrating SweetFit virtual fitting room

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Florence Moine, SweetFit:

"It's changed, rethinking the customer experience in the shop, it increases visibility of the brand's collection, it's time saving for customers and creat-able for the brand by sharing photos on social networks. And create traffic at the point of sale and it's a solution to the existing gap between words and shops."

29. Various of Viva Technology show floor

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Butcher, Editor-at-large, TechCrunch:

"This shows actually clearly a show of strength in the French economy towards start-ups, but it's still early days. London is still very much the European powerhouse for tech, but Brexit is going to have a huge effect on that, But Macron is doubling down on start-ups and on tech, as clearly a future part of the French economy."

31. Various of Viva Technology show floor

LEADIN:

Assistance robots, digital art and virtual fitting rooms are just some of the gadgets competing for attention at Paris' annual Viva Technology event.

French President Emmanuel Macron hopes to position France the new gateway to Europe for internet and tech companies.

STORYLINE:

These Pepper robots by SoftBank robotics are greeting visitors to Paris' Viva Technology.

Robotics is a top trend at the annual event. Limoges, France-based Cybedroid is showcasing its semi-humanoid, autonomous robot, called 'Leenby.'

The so-called "cobot" - meaning collaborative robot - is intended to address the needs of the elderly or assist in medical environments.

Using two lidar sensors and a stereovision camera, 'Leenby' is able to map his surroundings. He's also equipped with voice recognition.

"I believe robots are made to help people, make their days easier, to enable them to perform more human tasks, to step out of menial tasks, repetitive tasks and dull tasks," says Lou Josselin, an engineer at Cybedroid.

"So, robots can handle that, so you can focus something that needs to a human to perform."

Naveil, France-based AdEchoTech is demonstrating its remote, robotic ultrasound solution, called 'Melody.'

Using just a wi-fi internet connection, radiologists thousands of miles away are able to control this ultrasound probe in almost real-time.

A video conferencing system lets patients see and speak with their physician.

"We are in the heart of telemedicine. Territory countries, like Canada, Russia, where there are a lot of first nation communities living up north, they are thousands of miles from the first hospital," explains Philippe Homsi from AdEchoTech.

"Instead of asking them to bring them down to the hospital - and that costs a lot of transportation costs actually, incur a lot of transportation costs - this kind of system, one is setup, the radiologist from miles away can enter communities, examine the patient."

Forget talking into a smartphone, South Korea-based Innomdle Lab is demonstrating a smart wrist strap that lets users make calls with just their fingertip.

The SGNL (pron. 'signal') smart strap generates vibrations through the users' hand running up to their fingertip.

When the fingertip is placed on the ear, the vibrations echo to create amplified sound.

Innomble Lab is the first company to officially spin off from Samsung Electronics. The start-up has raised almost $1.5 million USD on crowd funding website Kickstarter.

"If you want to have phone conversations without your smartphone, you need extra devices like earphones or Bluetooth headsets, which is (a) hassle to carry all the time with you," says Jean Kim from Innomdle Lab.

"But with this device, you don't have to worry about carrying it, all you need to do is click this button, and place your fingertip to your email and answer the phone."

Digital studio Smart Machines is demonstrating its high-tech graffiti wall, named 'Picturae.'

Its digital nature allows users to undo, redo, print and save their creations.

Patrick Suchet from Smart Machines says he was inspired to create 'Picturae' after seeing some less-than-inspiring digital artworks.

"I saw people with small smartphones and doing drawings on their small corner, and I said to myself; 'No, it's not possible. Digital drawing can't be that,'" says Suchet.

"And I said, okay take a big canvas and try something. And this is it."

SweetFit is showcasing its virtual fitting room, which allows shoppers to digitally try countless clothes with just a wave of the arm.

The screen combines augmented reality and gesture recognition technology to seemingly overlay different designs on the user's body.

Florence Moine from SweetFit says it increases the visibility of brands and acts as a time-saver for customers.

Now in its third year, the three-day Viva Technology event is welcoming over 8,000 start-ups and 1,400 investors.

"This shows actually clearly a show of strength in the French economy towards start-ups, but it's still early days," says Mike Butch, Editor-at-large at tech website TechCrunch.

"London is still very much the European powerhouse for tech, but Brexit is going to have a huge effect on that, But Macron is doubling down on start-ups and on tech, as clearly a future part of the French economy."

Viva Technology runs 24-26 May at Paris Expo.

Paris, France- 24 May 2018

1. Various of Pepper robots welcoming visitors to Viva Technology tech event

2. Tilt down from sign, reading: 'Viva' to show floor

3. Pan left form Cybedroid worker to 'Leenby' collaborative robot

4. Various setup shots of Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid, interacting with 'Leenby'

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid:

"I believe robots are made to help people, make their days easier, to enable them to perform more human tasks, to step out of menial tasks, repetitive tasks and dull tasks. So, robots can handle that, so you can focus something that needs to a human to perform."

6. Various of Cybedroid worker leading 'Leenby' robot by hand

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Lou Josselin, Engineer, Cybedroid:

"You can have it in a retail store, for example, giving you directions on the products you want to buy, you can have it in a museum, to give you a tour of the museum. Or you can have it in the hospital, for example, carrying trays, carrying plates and food, delivering medicine to the room so that the nurses can spend more time taking care of the patient."

8. Various of AdEchoTech workers simulating telemedicine ultra sound session

9. Tilt down of ultrasound probe moving remotely

10. Close of screen, showing ultrasound

11. Mid of AdEchoTech worker remotely controlling ultrasound probe

12. Mid AdEchoTech worker having ultrasound

13. Close of AdEchoTech worker remotely controlling ultrasound probe

14. Close of ultrasound probe moving

15. Close of screen, showing probe

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Homsi, Export Manager, AdEchoTech:

"We are in the heart of telemedicine. Territory countries, like Canada, Russia, where there are a lot of first nation communities living up north, they are thousands of miles from the first hospital. Instead of asking them to bring them down to the hospital - and that costs a lot of transportation costs actually, incur a lot of transportation costs - this kind of system, one is setup, the radiologist from miles away can enter communities, examine the patient."

17. Various of Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab, demonstrating SGNL (pron. 'signal') phone call smart strap

18. Close of SGNL on Kim's wrist

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab:

"When you have (an) incoming call, this device will send to your SGNL, and this device will convert the signal into the vibration, the vibration will go through your wrist to your fingertip. So, when you place your fingertip to your ear, you can hear the sound."

20. Mid of Innomdle Lab demonstrating SGNL to visitor

21. Close tilt up of SGNL

22. Various of Kim demonstrating SGNL

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean Kim, Innomdle Lab:

"If you want to have phone conversations without your smartphone, you need extra devices like earphones or Bluetooth headsets, which is (a) hassle to carry all the time with you, but with this device, you don't have to worry about carrying it, all you need to do is click this button, and place your fingertip to your email and answer the phone."

24. Various of artist demonstrating Smart Machines' Picturae digital graffiti wall

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Patrick Suchet, Smart Machines:

"I saw people with small smartphones and doing drawings on their small corner, and I said to myself; 'No, it's not possible. Digital drawing can't be that.' And I said, okay take a big canvas and try something. And this is it."

26. Various of Florence Moine, SweetFit, demonstrating SweetFit virtual fitting room

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Florence Moine, SweetFit:

"It's changed, rethinking the customer experience in the shop, it increases visibility of the brand's collection, it's time saving for customers and creat-able for the brand by sharing photos on social networks. And create traffic at the point of sale and it's a solution to the existing gap between words and shops."

29. Various of Viva Technology show floor

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Butcher, Editor-at-large, TechCrunch:

"This shows actually clearly a show of strength in the French economy towards start-ups, but it's still early days. London is still very much the European powerhouse for tech, but Brexit is going to have a huge effect on that, But Macron is doubling down on start-ups and on tech, as clearly a future part of the French economy."

31. Various of Viva Technology show floor