10045280Advanced manufacturing for biodegradable microfluidic diagnostic devicesClosedGrant for R&DInnovate UKThis project aims to enable the successful commercialisation of more lab-quality tests at the Point-of-Care whilst minimising the environmental impact of their disposable components. Microfluidic technology enables the transfer of high-quality lab assays into Point-of-Care testing devices. These tests enable infectious disease detection (e.g. Covid-19) or chronic disease monitoring (e.g. diabetes, chronic heart disease, etc) with high quality molecular, immunoassay and clinical chemistry assays to be completed by anyone in the home, work or health care worker setting. Fast uptake of this microfluidic technology has been hindered by the significant investments and time to market required for the product development and establishment of high-volume manufacturing lines. Device Scope aims to dramatically improve the commercialisation of microfluidic diagnostic products whilst minimising the impact of these disposable tests on the environment by developing a new manufacturing system for microfluidic devices that utilises biodegradable materials. This project will assess the biodegradable material using our unique manufacturing techniques and subsequently build prototype microfluidic devices for assessment.