Projects
Investigating the best applications for an accurate fitness tracker face
Inventors: Dr. Tanya Hutter (formerly at Chemistry), Daniel Morales Valdivia, Unlimitech Accurate personal performance information allows sportspeople to effectively optimize their training and improve performance. The most reliable sources of this information come from metrics such as oxygen consumption (VO2), average power (AP) and resting metabolic rate (RMR). Many highly-active sportspeople, including non-professionals who frequently…
Investigating the benefits of monitoring the moisture profile of agricultural
Inventors: Ben Woodington, Elena Schaefer, Katie Gibson & Douglas van Niekerk, CDT in Sensor Technologies & SoliCamb Global efforts in soil health management are increasing but remain a major challenge. Limitations of existing tests and the need for laboratory equipment hinders the ability to instill management practices to improve soil health rapidly and effectively. In…
Diagnosing urinary tract infections with a low-cost microscope
Inventor: Alex Patto, WaterScope Mentor: Dr. Bill Matthews Almost all patients with a suspected urinary tract infection will receive broad-spectrum antibiotics after testing with a dipstick in care homes or doctor surgeries. Current methods to test for antibiotic susceptibility rely on colony culture and are usually conducted in centralised diagnostic laboratories taking 2-5 days. With…
Investigating the global pathways for plastic recycling to understand where
Inventors: Taylor Uekert & Dr Christian Pichler, Chemistry The Reisner lab in Chemistry works on a range of patented photoreforming processes, which use photocatalysts and sunlight to simultaneously break down plastic waste or biomatter and generate hydrogen. In this project, a non-toxic, carbon-based and easily-available photocatalyst is used to break down plastics into a mixture…
Finding the best market for tissue-engineered collagen tubes to replace
Inventors: Dr. Alex Justin & Dr. Athina Markaki, Engineering Mentor: Dr. Karin Schmitt The research team in Engineering has built up a wide range of expertise in producing collagen tubes de novo in the lab. Once seeded with cells, such tubes can serve as a three-dimensional cell culture platform for disease modelling, drug testing, and…
Investigating the best market entry strategy for reagents and techniques
Inventors: Dr. Jessica Iegre, Josephine Gaynord, Dr. Hannah Sore & Professor David Spring, Chemistry & Pep2Smart Peptides are a growing class of drugs, with properties in between small molecules (eg paracetamol) and biologics (eg antibodies). Insulin is a widely-used example of an establised peptide-based treatment. Advantages of peptides include their ability to interact with a…
Developing a go-to-market strategy for a new product to reduce
Inventor: Nawar al-Zebari, Chemical Engineering & Urologic Urinary catheters are the most widely-used long-term medical device. 26% of all hospitalised patients will be given a urinary catheter and 40% of those patients will acquire a urinary tract infection (UTI). Many (but not all) of these patients will be elderly or disabled, or unable to move…
Using AI to identify new drug candidates for anti-microbials
Contact: Dr Alpha Lee, Maxwell Centre Mentor: Dr. Rosalind Parkes-Ratanshi, Cambridge Institute of Public Health & Ugandan Academy for Health Innovation and Impact The inventors have developed significant expertise in using machine learning algorithms to identify new drug candidates which can target particular biological processes. The method has been validated against a specific receptor which…
How to facilitate financial transactions to developing countries: Identifying the
Contact: Dr Tugba Basaran, Centre for the Study of Global Human Movement Mentor: Lesley-Ann Vaughan Dr. Basaran is currently researching how new financial technologies are used for money transfers between the UK, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana. She inquires into the aspirations and desires of the households to understand their preferences, customs and impediments when…