Miniaturisation Techniques for Dose Optimisation of Chemotherapeutic Agents (miniDOC)

As an Innovation Scholar, **Anand Pallipurath Radhakrishnan (APR)**, would swiftly transition from University College London (UCL) Electrochemical Innovations Lab (EIL) to work with the host company, **Vesynta Ltd.**, marking a new knowledge exchange partnership. **The miniDOC project**, led by UCL, will be partnered by Vesynta with additional input from multi-institutional academic partners and NHS clinicians, all **with a common goal of developing a point-of-care drug monitoring device with a pressing need in breast cancer therapy**.

In pursuit of developing a dose optimising blood test device, APR will broaden his technical skills to advance smart engineering solutions **from a laboratory to the patient bedside in a healthcare setting**, satisfying a long-term career aspiration in the process. Rigorous device prototyping, scalable manufacturing techniques, _in vitro_ diagnostic regulatory requirements, robotic automation, and clinical trial design, are but a few skills APR would be equipped with through the miniDOC project. Additionally, Vesynta's core strengths, such as personalised medicine and monitoring, device manufacturing and prototyping, access to patient samples and a strong network of clinical and academic partners, will be exploited to significantly enhance APR's professional profile. **Career mobility is envisioned as APR will be considered for a Research and Development Technical Lead role within Vesynta** by the end of the secondment period. This further strengthens the implementation of a successful product development pipeline and truly supports the deployment of the device at the point-of-care. **Guidance and mentorship will be sought from UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering** to ensure monitoring of the program objectives and to manage the associated risks.

Simultaneously, this partnership shall leverage APR's skills in microfluidic engineering, advanced computational image analysis and biotechnology innovation, to solve challenges faced by Vesynta. During the secondment, **APR will facilitate cross-pollination of innovative ideas between UCL and Vesynta, seeking new avenues of research into bioanalytical sensing** furthering EIL's expertise in electrochemical analysis.

Specific, measurable and achievable objectives have been drawn out to elicit APR's technical potential and to exploit Vesynta's core strengths, whilst accelerating the development of a platform that supports the practice of personalised medicine. **The successful delivery of the miniDOC project has the potential for a high impact on the treatment outcomes of cancer patients.** Through the adoption of safe and effective personalised drug monitoring practices with precision dosing aimed at adults with breast cancer, **the miniDOC project will make a direct impact on not only the healthcare sector but also on the economy**.