Development of Manufacturing Technologies for High Value Resonant Sensors

Since its inception in 2007, HBL has delivered a breakthrough bio-diagnostic platform covered by international patents: a foundation for a range of high performance life science products. This development has not gone unnoticed with interest from major distributors from around the globe, particularly the US and Japan. The route to market relies upon the availability of specialist manufacturing techniques that are under represented in the UK. This project invests in developing UK manufacturing capabilities to enable supply of a range of products to the Life Science sector, particularly the biological drug industry which still experiences dramatic growth during the global recession.

The project focuses on the mass-manufacturing and scale up technology needed to launch the first product: a rapid test for bacterial contamination of vaccines, biological drugs and surgical implants.
The product comprises a low cost disposable and a portable reading unit, that provide immediate test results at the point of need to the same quality as centralised laboratories; removing the high-cost chain of custody and enable immediate decisions and action to be taken. A further enhanced version will also be available that will identify the presence of life-threatening septicaemia at the bedside of critically ill patients. For the patient, rapid intervention facilitated by a clinical decision at the bedside improves their quality of care; for the NHS there is a direct impact on outcome the overall health economics associated with the management of the disease

Support from the TSB has enabled HBL to build a multidisciplinary consortium of specialist UK manufacturers, working as dynamic development team. The consortium combines biosensor diagnostic design expertise (Highland Biosciences Ltd., Inverness, Scotland), with the production of printed electronics (Technograph Microcircuits Ltd., Portsmouth) and precision plastic mouldings (Plasticom Group Ltd., Ashford, Kent). One final result of this TSB programme will be the establishment of a new manufacturing and distribution company in shared ownership to commercially exploit the output of the 2 year programme