Contact: HexagonFab Biosensors, a spin-off from University of Cambridge Dr. Ruizhi Wang, Electrical Engineering, Dr. Hannah Stern, Physics & Chemistry & Christoph von Bieberstein, Commercial Mentor: Brian Corbett The inventors have designed a new real-time and highly sensitive method for … [Read more...] about Finding the best market for the next generation of biosensors
A new targeted method to reduce platelets in the bloodstream
Contact: Dr. Marloes Tijssen, TroMegaTherapeutics (formerly at Haematology) Mentor: Dr. Bill Matthews Essential Thrombocythaemia is a chronic disease with increased blood platelet numbers and affects over 9000 patients in the UK, but has no specific treatment. Patients can survive up to 20 years … [Read more...] about A new targeted method to reduce platelets in the bloodstream
Using nanopores to detect single molecules such as proteins or DNA
Contacts: Niklas Ermann, Nikki Weckman & Ulrich Keyser, Biological & Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory Mentor: Paul May A nanopore is a single pore a few nanometres in diameter. The team in the Cavendish are developing ways to use nanopores to detect single molecules of specific types, allowing … [Read more...] about Using nanopores to detect single molecules such as proteins or DNA
Wireless neonatal monitoring
Inventors: Oliver Bonner & Dr. Joan Lasenby, Engineering & Dr Kathy Beardsall, Consultant Neonatologist, Addenbrooke’s Mentor: Dr. Oriane Chausiaux In the UK, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) cares for approximately 95,000 critically ill newborn babies per year, including many who … [Read more...] about Wireless neonatal monitoring
Identifying the need for monitoring extracellular fluids in brain injuries, skin grafts and elsewhere
Inventor: Dr Tanya Hutter, Chemistry Mentor: Bob Pettigrew Microdialysis is a sampling technique that is used for continuous measurement of free, unbound analyte concentrations in the extracellular fluid of a tissue. The inventors have developed a new method to detect several chemical … [Read more...] about Identifying the need for monitoring extracellular fluids in brain injuries, skin grafts and elsewhere
Designing a screening device for ovarian cancer
Inventor: Dr. Elizabeth Moore, Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Addenbrookes Hospital & Cancer Research UK Mentor: Dr. Marc Bax Ovarian cancer is typically difficult to diagnose by symptoms alone, with the result that many cases are not diagnosed until the cancer is at a late stage. The … [Read more...] about Designing a screening device for ovarian cancer
A new method of identifying the genes behind complex genetic diseases
Inventor: Dr. Luba Chakalova, SNPr Mentor: Bill Matthews Complex genetic diseases are influenced by multiple genes, with examples including diabetes, psychiatric disorders and autoimmune diseases. Numerous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been carried out to identify the hot spots in … [Read more...] about A new method of identifying the genes behind complex genetic diseases
Using AI based micro drones to improve crop yields and reduce pesticide usage
Inventor: Dr. Sohab Sarfraz, Speedy Quarks Mentor: Kevin Gooding Global food production needs to increase by 50% by 2050 to meet the expected increase in world population. Precision agriculture is one such technique to better target the use of water, fertiliser and pesticides to the plants that … [Read more...] about Using AI based micro drones to improve crop yields and reduce pesticide usage
Improving AI safety by mapping what AIs really learn
Inventor: Dr Botty Dimanov, Computer Lab Mentor: Martin Carroll AI (artificial intelligence) or machine-based learning is now in widespread use, being used in areas as diverse as the development of self-driving cars, image, speech and sound recognition, improving search algorithms, and searching … [Read more...] about Improving AI safety by mapping what AIs really learn
Assessing the viability of a device for improving patient adherence to medication regimes in the developing world
Contact: Dr. Andrés Arcia-Moret, Dr. Whitney Scott & Dr. Maria Sharmina, D-FLEX and Computer Lab Mentor: Bill Matthews Patient adherence to complex or long-term medication regimens is a known problem in both developed and developing contexts. Sub-optimal adherence to prescribed medication is … [Read more...] about Assessing the viability of a device for improving patient adherence to medication regimes in the developing world
Investigating the need for blockchain technology in developing economies
Contact: Dr. Melvyn Weeks, Economics Mentor: Dr. Lara Allen, Director, Centre for Global Equality Blockchains allow for distributed digital ledgers, rather than centralised systems governed by a single authority. Although the initial use has focused on new peer-to-peer currencies such as … [Read more...] about Investigating the need for blockchain technology in developing economies
Developing antimicrobial ointments and wound dressings for the developing world
Contact: Dr. Nuno Faria, School of Veterinary Medicine Mentor: Dr. Mark Priest, Harrogate Partners Metals are known to have antimicrobial effects and silver has been used widely in recent years. However silver is an expensive material, and although silver dressings remain sterile for longer than … [Read more...] about Developing antimicrobial ointments and wound dressings for the developing world
Investigating the market potential for a new microscope designed to observe real-time membrane protein interactions
Contact: Dr. Andrew Thompson, Department of Medicine, and SMi Drug Discovery Mentor: Peter Hill The use of microscopy to observe biological processes has undergone huge advances in the last decade, an achievement recognised in 2017 with the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. A paralleled increase in … [Read more...] about Investigating the market potential for a new microscope designed to observe real-time membrane protein interactions
Finding the best commercial approach for a tool to monitor and improve FORTRAN code
Contact: Andrew Rice and Matthew Danish, Computer Lab Mentor: Adrian Swinburne For more information: See CamFort on GitHub FORTRAN was one of the first computer languages to became widely used in the 1970s and 80s, in particular being used as a way to carry out computational modelling. As well … [Read more...] about Finding the best commercial approach for a tool to monitor and improve FORTRAN code
Developing a go-to-market strategy for an online real-time laboratory notebook application
Contact: Jake Schofield, Founder & CEO, LabStep & Alisa Molotova Mentor: Tiffany Morris Labstep is a new solution to an age-old problem in scientific experimentation: how to ensure that all the details of an experimental method are captured accurately, so that experiments can be more … [Read more...] about Developing a go-to-market strategy for an online real-time laboratory notebook application
