PNEUMACRIT: Preterm Neonate / neonatal Embedded Universal Microelectronic wearable Acquisition For Cardio Respiratory Intensive Therapy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
Publications
Dimov I
(2022)
Adhesive cutaneous conducting polymer electrodes
in Applied Physics Reviews
Dimov I
(2022)
Semiconducting Polymers for Neural Applications.
Dimov IB
(2022)
Semiconducting Polymers for Neural Applications.
in Chemical reviews
Malliaras G
(2022)
Adhesive Cutaneous Conducting Polymer Electrodes
Siemons N
(2022)
Impact of Side-Chain Hydrophilicity on Packing, Swelling, and Ion Interactions in Oxy-Bithiophene Semiconductors.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
| Description | Our contribution to the PNEUMACRIT project involved designing organic electronic circuits and components for a impedance tomography imaging system. Towards that we developed and tested novel materials, designed and fabricated new devices. Work was carried out in extensive collaboration with the lab of Prof. Andreas Demosthenous (AD), in particular with PhD student Mrs. Farnaz Fahimi Hanzae. The main focus of the project was developing an organic-electronic transistor-based amplifier for electrical impedance tomography. We fabricated organic electrochemical transistors (OECT) of varying parameters, which we supplied to the lab of AD, for the purpose of constructing a model to inform design of complex voltage amplifier circuits (Hanzaee et al., 2021). After optimizing the design to a more suitable form factor for prototyping, and integrating with additional components, we developed a single-stage differential amplifier. The common-mode output of the amplifier provided a CMRR of 14.34 dB. Simulated vs. measured outputs provided a good estimate of the implemented amplifier. The frequency response of the amplifier over the range of 200-1500 Hz was modelled using an RC equivalent of the device. We are currently preparing a manuscript describing these findings. We additionally established a collaboration with industry, Heraeus AG GmBH, through which we tested materials for self-adhering conductive polymer electrodes (Dimov et al., 2022). The materials showed adhesive properties similar to neonatal medical tape, suggesting their potential use in neonatal cutaneous electrophysiology. Specifically, we demonstrate that poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based conducting polymer films can be made adhesive to skin and polyimide by adding acrylic ester copolymer microparticles to the solution. The films remained highly conducting despite incorporating at most 2.5% conducting polymer. This makes them particularly attractive for applications in electrophysiology, where low cost and compatibility with mechanically flexible substrates are important. This publication was highlighted by the editor of Applied Physics Reviews. Additionally, in order to make our devices easier to manufacture at scale, we explored different ways of depositing metal films at ambient conditions, to avoid the use of slow and costly high-vacuum procedures. We discovered a process to deposit metal tracks onto polymer substrates under ambient conditions. We focused on silicone polymers, as they are ubiquitous substrates in many areas of healthcare technologies. We demonstrated the ability to coat poly(dimethylsiloxane) with gold and silver, demonstrating control of the morphology of the coating, from nanoparticles to continuous film, with a conductivity of 40% of bulk gold. Our results suggest this process can be generalized to any oxidisable polymer surface. The process is compatible with a desktop SLA 3D printer, allowing for maskless lithographic production of designs. A manuscript on the subject is at final stages of submission (Dimov et al., in preparation). Lastly, we edited a special issue on organic bioelectronics in Chemical Reviews, and contributed an extensive review on conducting polymers for neural applications. |
| Exploitation Route | Advances achieved in this project in the areas of - new materials for cutaneous electrodes - transistor architectures for wearable applications - organic semiconductor-based amplifiers will potentially have several applications. For example the wearable electrodes developed will be of use in other health monitoring scenarios, for example recording of heart, brain and muscle activity. In fact, we demonstrated that the amplifier developed by Farnaz is particularly suitable for acquisition of electrocardiograms in wearable architectures. These are applications that are being considered for at-home monitoring of the elderly and at-risk individuals. The transistor architectures are generic and can be used in implantables to amplify the weak signals obtained in neurotechnology applications, as well as for implants in plants and trees, which are being developed for precision agriculture. Finally, the internet-of-things is another area that will benefit fro advances in organic electronic circuitry. The main impact of this project has been within academia. There are two areas where impact outside academia may arise on a longer term: - We are pursuing the translation of this research to the clinic, with downstream funding. The UCAM group has successfully received seed funding from Haleon to develop a demonstrator for a wearable electrophysiology system using conducting polymer electrodes. If successful, this endeavour may lead to a startup company. - We are pursuing potential IP implications of the metallisation of silicones. We have sent a draft of the paper to Cambridge Enterprise for evaluation of potential for a patent, with eyes on a startup venture or a licencing opportunity. This is still under discussion. |
| Sectors | Electronics Environment Healthcare |
| Description | The main impact of this project has been within academia. The PNEUMACRIT consortium is undertaking MHRA approval for clinical use and developed a spin out company. The plan is to continue the research - an application for a programme grant to develop multi sensors capability for monitoring neonates was submitted. The consortium created new microelectronics systems comparable with the electrode belt, reduced the power requirements and size of the monitor system. We have also developed a sensing system to monitor the shape of the babies. The UCAM partner is working on the translation of aspects of PNEUMACRIT research to the clinic, with downstream funding. We have successfully received seed funding from a commercial partner to develop a demonstrator for a wearable electrophysiology system using conducting polymer electrodes. If successful, this endeavour may lead to a startup company. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Electronics,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | 2023 Cambridge Bioelectronics Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Organised the Cambridge Bioelectronics Symposium, an event that combined comprehensive coverage of the state-of-the-art of the field with strong participation of young scientists (graduate students/postdocs), hands-on workshops, and career furthering opportunities. It offered: Coverage of fundamentals, materials, devices, applications, translation/commercialisation, ethical issues. Invited talks by world-class experts who convey their vision for the future of the field. Majority of contributed talks and posters presented by young scientists, selected by a committee of young scientists. Hands-on demonstrations: Interested in bioelectronics but do not know where to start? These demonstrations will give you some good ideas. Thematic panel discussion or road mapping exercise - more on this soon. "Meet the industry" session. Learn about startups in the field. Awards for best contributed talk and poster, selected by a committee of young scientists. Symposium dinner. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://bioelectronics.eng.cam.ac.uk/symposium-information |
| Description | Invited talks at the MRS Spring Meeting, May 8-13, 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Delivered two invited talks and several contributed (by group members) to a large and interdisciplinary audience interested in applications of novel materials |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/spring-meetings-exhibits/past-spring-meetings/2022-mrs-spring-me... |
| Description | Keynote presentation at 18th International Conference on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote presentation: "Technology for bioelectronic medicine", 18 International Conference on Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (N&N), July 6-9, Thessaloniki, Greece (via teleconference due to COVID restrictions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nanotexnology.com/index.php/nn |
| Description | Keynote presentation at 3rd International Conference on Flexible Electronics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote presentation: "Technology for bioelectronic medicine", 3rd International Conference on Flexible Electronics (ICFE), Nov. 12-14, 2021, Hangzhou, China (via teleconference due to COVID restrictions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Keynote presentation at Hellenic Conference on Solid-State Physics and Materials Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave the keynote presentation at national conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://fsk36.materials.uoc.gr/ |
| Description | Keynote presentation- Nanotexnology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gve keynote talk at Nanotexnology meeting |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.nanotexnology.com/2023/ |
| Description | Keyonote presentation at International Conference on Intelligent Wearable Systems in Hong Kong |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave keynote presentation in Hong Kong at conference on werable electronics attended by academic and industrial scientists from around the world |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/riiwear/news-and-events/events/2022/jun/iciws-2022/ |
| Description | Outreach Talk: Digitalize in Stockholm |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Outreach Talk: "Technology for bioelectronic medicine", Digitalize in Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 21, 2021 (via teleconference due to COVID restrictions). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://digitalizeinsthlm21.se/ |
| Description | Plenary presentation - NanoBio 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave plenary talk at NanoBio |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://nanobioconf.com/ |
| Description | Public Seminar on Bioelectronic Medicine, University of Linkoping, Sweden. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public seminar on the occasion of award of honorary doctorate, reaching current members, alumni and steakholders of Linkoping University. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Public presentation at Cambridge Alumni Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Gave talk on brain implants to Cambridge Alumni Festival |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/festival/events/electronics-on-the-brain |
| Description | iSmart Distinguished Lecture of the International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 17,000 people joined online for this lecture |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/qIJrRlQhwiP0SdAiu9vxWQ |