Disruptive Semiconductor Technologies for Advanced Healthcare Systems
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Abstract
The central aim of this Platform Grant is to support our research vision of personalised healthcare devices. These devices will make transformative changes in the diagnostics and management of many diseases, significantly improve the cost effectiveness of healthcare and ultimately save lives. For the last ten years we have been developing the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBE) at Imperial College London as a world-leading center for this multidisciplinary research initiative. Here we combine the best electronics engineering skills in semiconductor technology with specific sensory interfaces to create new types of medical devices, developed and tested in close collaboration with clinicians.
This grant will provide our existing multidisciplinary team with the critical support required to continue its work and sustain a strong, internationally renowned position in disruptive semiconductor healthcare technology. There are three key components to successful development and deployment of a new healthcare technology: (1) an excellent team with key combinations of skills and expertise (in electronics, materials, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine), (2) specialist equipment and tools (such as Cadence tools for designing electronic chips/lab on chips, instrumentation to interface with the microchips, wet labs to test these devices), and (3) strong interaction with key stakeholders including clinical/industrial partners, such as public/private health institutions, SMEs (e.g. Scientifica, DNA electronics) and multinationals (e.g. GSK, Roche, Intel). Our group has developed and successfully integrated all three components to create new technologies and devices, including the first totally implantable cochlear prosthesis, a wireless vital signs monitoring system, a next generation DNA sequencing technology, and an artificial pancreas for diabetes.
The Platform Grant will provide support for early stage research, enabling us to explore several new strategic research directions in which we are capable of making a major impact. These new areas of investigation include: two novel approaches to cancer diagnostics using ion-sensitive transistors and breath analysis, DNA technology for bacterial strain identification, and biosensors integrated into semiconductor devices. We also plan to introduce two entirely new concepts for non-invasive large-scale recording of neural activity, which will help us to better understand the human brain.
Building a sustainable future is an important goal for the group. The platform grant will be instrumental in maintaining and further developing our group's unique capability. It will allow us to retain some key researchers and their expertise (such as CMOS and lab-on-chip design and testing, biosensors, etc) while helping them to develop their independent research careers and form the next generation of world-class scientists. Finally, this platform will allow us to participate in establishing a major worldwide network on "Human-Bionic Interface" together with world leading clinical and technology experts in neuroprosthetics, as well as to establish new collaborations in adaptive, assistive and rehabilitative technologies.
Our aim is that our research in these new strategic directions will ultimately provide new research devices and tools as well as new diagnostic and treatment technologies. By building on the reliability, scalability and processing power of silicon microchips, these technologies will be mass-producible and highly portable. Thus we expect to make important contributions in solving some of the greatest challenges of our generation: understanding cancer and how to control it, how to cope with new strains of increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria and how to tackle growing problems in the brain disorders.
This grant will provide our existing multidisciplinary team with the critical support required to continue its work and sustain a strong, internationally renowned position in disruptive semiconductor healthcare technology. There are three key components to successful development and deployment of a new healthcare technology: (1) an excellent team with key combinations of skills and expertise (in electronics, materials, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine), (2) specialist equipment and tools (such as Cadence tools for designing electronic chips/lab on chips, instrumentation to interface with the microchips, wet labs to test these devices), and (3) strong interaction with key stakeholders including clinical/industrial partners, such as public/private health institutions, SMEs (e.g. Scientifica, DNA electronics) and multinationals (e.g. GSK, Roche, Intel). Our group has developed and successfully integrated all three components to create new technologies and devices, including the first totally implantable cochlear prosthesis, a wireless vital signs monitoring system, a next generation DNA sequencing technology, and an artificial pancreas for diabetes.
The Platform Grant will provide support for early stage research, enabling us to explore several new strategic research directions in which we are capable of making a major impact. These new areas of investigation include: two novel approaches to cancer diagnostics using ion-sensitive transistors and breath analysis, DNA technology for bacterial strain identification, and biosensors integrated into semiconductor devices. We also plan to introduce two entirely new concepts for non-invasive large-scale recording of neural activity, which will help us to better understand the human brain.
Building a sustainable future is an important goal for the group. The platform grant will be instrumental in maintaining and further developing our group's unique capability. It will allow us to retain some key researchers and their expertise (such as CMOS and lab-on-chip design and testing, biosensors, etc) while helping them to develop their independent research careers and form the next generation of world-class scientists. Finally, this platform will allow us to participate in establishing a major worldwide network on "Human-Bionic Interface" together with world leading clinical and technology experts in neuroprosthetics, as well as to establish new collaborations in adaptive, assistive and rehabilitative technologies.
Our aim is that our research in these new strategic directions will ultimately provide new research devices and tools as well as new diagnostic and treatment technologies. By building on the reliability, scalability and processing power of silicon microchips, these technologies will be mass-producible and highly portable. Thus we expect to make important contributions in solving some of the greatest challenges of our generation: understanding cancer and how to control it, how to cope with new strains of increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria and how to tackle growing problems in the brain disorders.
Planned Impact
There are three main areas where this project will make a significant impact:
1. Academic/Scientific: researchers working on this project and their careers, PhD/MSc students working on related projects - by retaining the key expertise and further developing our research capabilities will allow breakthroughs, which would otherwise not be possible.
2. Society/Healthcare: institutions and individuals which will eventually be using the devices and products whose development started in this project.
3. Economic/Commercial: companies and services which offer healthcare products in the area of early cancer diagnostics, neuroscience and neuroprosthetics.
Our new strategic research directions, alongside the networks of excellence and collaborations, are in line with several EPSRC Grand Challenges for Healthcare Technologies. Here are several examples of how:
- Infection prevention and control: fast, targeted DNA/RNA sequencing for detecting types of pathogens at hospital admission for rapid but controlled deployment of antibiotics,
- Patient specific treatment: using DNA sequencing chips for targeted enzymes - single nucleotide polymorphism detectors, in order to facilitate the correct dosage of medicines,
- Prediction and early diagnosis: DNA chips for methylation detection, breathalyzers to profile Volatile Organic Compounds in breath for early detection of oesophageal or lung cancer,
- Understanding and interventions in neurological functions: work on neural interfaces, new chemical sensors for recording, new techniques for neural stimulation, and novel non-invasive functional brain imaging)
- Functional enhancement for safe and independent living (neuroprosthetic implantable devices).
In addition, the proposed research cuts across fields in Engineering/ICT priority areas such as Microsystems and Non-CMOS technology, placing the aims at the cutting edge of both life and engineering sciences.
The Platform Grant will provide essential support for the group to retain its critical mass of talented researchers - we consider this to be absolutely fundamental to our aims. Our track record shows that multidisciplinary team work ("all under one roof"), has been the key to our success so far, by concentrating sufficient expertise to push through knowledge and technology barriers. Our DNA technology was one of the five Impact Case Studies submitted to the last REF by Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at Imperial College. 100% of submissions received 4* - success repeated by only one other UK engineering department.
Furthermore, this grant will have a very important impact on the career development of our research staff: it will help them to develop skills to become independent researchers, through pursuing academic careers, securing research fellowships, or developing skills for technology commercialisation through start-up companies or careers in industry.
With many diseases, early diagnosis and treatment may drastically improve patients' health outcomes. The overall impact on society and linked economic benefits of early cancer detection (especially oesophago-gastric cancer) and its subsequent elimination or management is hard to overstate. Similarly, the rapid identification of infectious bacteria will have a huge impact across multiple time-scales - from immediate benefits in saving lives through the prevention of sepsis, to longer term rewards in preventing antibiotic resistance and all consequent social and economic aspects. Finally, the proposed functional brain imaging idea could also have great medical importance through the early detection of brain haemorrhage due to injury/trauma, (possibly even by paramedics at the site of accidents), in addition to potentially transformative advances in our understanding of the human brain.
1. Academic/Scientific: researchers working on this project and their careers, PhD/MSc students working on related projects - by retaining the key expertise and further developing our research capabilities will allow breakthroughs, which would otherwise not be possible.
2. Society/Healthcare: institutions and individuals which will eventually be using the devices and products whose development started in this project.
3. Economic/Commercial: companies and services which offer healthcare products in the area of early cancer diagnostics, neuroscience and neuroprosthetics.
Our new strategic research directions, alongside the networks of excellence and collaborations, are in line with several EPSRC Grand Challenges for Healthcare Technologies. Here are several examples of how:
- Infection prevention and control: fast, targeted DNA/RNA sequencing for detecting types of pathogens at hospital admission for rapid but controlled deployment of antibiotics,
- Patient specific treatment: using DNA sequencing chips for targeted enzymes - single nucleotide polymorphism detectors, in order to facilitate the correct dosage of medicines,
- Prediction and early diagnosis: DNA chips for methylation detection, breathalyzers to profile Volatile Organic Compounds in breath for early detection of oesophageal or lung cancer,
- Understanding and interventions in neurological functions: work on neural interfaces, new chemical sensors for recording, new techniques for neural stimulation, and novel non-invasive functional brain imaging)
- Functional enhancement for safe and independent living (neuroprosthetic implantable devices).
In addition, the proposed research cuts across fields in Engineering/ICT priority areas such as Microsystems and Non-CMOS technology, placing the aims at the cutting edge of both life and engineering sciences.
The Platform Grant will provide essential support for the group to retain its critical mass of talented researchers - we consider this to be absolutely fundamental to our aims. Our track record shows that multidisciplinary team work ("all under one roof"), has been the key to our success so far, by concentrating sufficient expertise to push through knowledge and technology barriers. Our DNA technology was one of the five Impact Case Studies submitted to the last REF by Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at Imperial College. 100% of submissions received 4* - success repeated by only one other UK engineering department.
Furthermore, this grant will have a very important impact on the career development of our research staff: it will help them to develop skills to become independent researchers, through pursuing academic careers, securing research fellowships, or developing skills for technology commercialisation through start-up companies or careers in industry.
With many diseases, early diagnosis and treatment may drastically improve patients' health outcomes. The overall impact on society and linked economic benefits of early cancer detection (especially oesophago-gastric cancer) and its subsequent elimination or management is hard to overstate. Similarly, the rapid identification of infectious bacteria will have a huge impact across multiple time-scales - from immediate benefits in saving lives through the prevention of sepsis, to longer term rewards in preventing antibiotic resistance and all consequent social and economic aspects. Finally, the proposed functional brain imaging idea could also have great medical importance through the early detection of brain haemorrhage due to injury/trauma, (possibly even by paramedics at the site of accidents), in addition to potentially transformative advances in our understanding of the human brain.
Publications
Benjamin E
(2016)
Raining fire upon modelling difficulties: PyRhO in the cloud
in Frontiers in Neuroinformatics
Burdett A
(2021)
Pooled sputum to optimise the efficiency and utility of rapid, point-of-care molecular SARS-CoV-2 testing
in BMC Infectious Diseases
Cavallo FR
(2021)
Aptasensor for Quantification of Leptin Through PCR Amplification of Short DNA-Aptamers.
in ACS sensors
Cavallo FR
(2022)
A Point-of-Care Device for Fully Automated, Fast and Sensitive Protein Quantification via qPCR.
in Biosensors
Cheng R
(2020)
Neuromorphic Robotic Platform with Visual Input, Processor and Actuator, Based on Spiking Neural Networks
in Applied System Innovation
| Description | The Platform Grant started in August 2015 and will last for five years. It has enabled the Centre for Bio-inspired Technology at Imperial College London to significantly strengthen its research leadership in healthcare technologies. The main achievements have been development of new technologies for anti-microbial resistance, new cancer diagnostic methodologies based on the breath analysis (e.g. for oesophago-gastric cancer) and on epigenetic analysis (for breast cancer), development of a closed-loop technologies for peripheral nerve stimulation, development of a new type of potassium sensor for interfacing with both Peripheral and Central Nervous System, etc. The list of publications gives a detailed account of these achievements. This research has been also instrumental in bringing new grants, such as CRUK/EPSRC multidisciplinary award for new breast cancer diagnostics using ISFETs (C. Toumazou and M. Kalofonou), EPSRC global challenges grant (Prof Toumazou and Dr Georgiou), EPSRC Programme grant on integration of CMOS devices with memristors (Dr Constandinou, collaboration with University of Southampton and University of Manchester), Wellcome Trust/Imperial strategic support award for development of chemical sensors for detecting neural activity, etc. More details are given in the Further funding section. In collaboration with Prof Mike Thompson from University of Toronto, Department of Chemistry we have developed a new type of potassium sensor, as reported in the IEEE Sensors Journal publication linked to this grant. Prof Toumazou's startup DNAnudge produced CovidNudge test, a fast, PCR-type COVID-19 test. £161m order from the Department of Health and Social Care for 5.8 million CovidNudge 90-minute lab-free RT-PCR test kits, now in use in NHS hospitals and out-of-hospital locations throughout the UK. The test is hailed as "life-saving" by UK government's Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The grant has been instrumental in getting new staff, retaining the existing key researchers and helping them to further develop their career. One of the major promotions happened to Dr Konstantin Nikolic, who has become a Professor at the University of West London and a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London. Furthermore, Dr Belinda Nedjai has become a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Epidemiology and Director of the Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory at Queen Mary, University of London. Dr Khalid Mirza became an Assistant Professor at Dept. of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India. Dr Mohammedreza Sohbati moved to DNAnudge startup where he is Technology Executive. Dr Benjamin Evans got a fellowship at Exeter University. |
| Exploitation Route | This project is distinguished for its innovative silicon technology and integrated circuit design for electronic devices for medical diagnosis and therapy. A number of outcomes have meterialised in the project which will be stated comprehensively upon the completion of the project. When it comes to influencing the policies and informing the general public, two very important activities were: (1) participation in World Economic Forum (Prof Toumazou and Prof Nikolic as co-editors of the technology map on Sensors, and Dr Constandinou by delivering a presentation at WEF in China, 2018), (2) Prof Toumazou (PI) and Dr Constandinou were the co-chairmen and Prof Nikolic has been a panel member of the Royal Society steering group which has prepared a report on current state of the Neurotechnologies, or as popularly known 'Brain-Computer Interface', published in Sep/2019: "iHuman - blurring lines between mind and machine", The Royal Society Perspective, September 2019, ISBN: 978-1-78252-420-5. Regarding a significant impact on diagnostics and public health, the rapid testing kit for Covid-19 that Prof Toumazou have developed at Imperial played an important role in supporting hospitals and the national effort against coronavirus, and similar diseases. The use of the platform for Covid-19 detection extended into 2021/22 reporting period, with significant contribution to a number of specific communities which required to protect a 'bubble' (such as a Symphony Orchestra). The potential of the platform to rapidly screen asymptomatic cohorts using PCR at the point of need has been summarised in our publications. |
| Sectors | Education,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | - C. Toumzou and K. Nikolic became co-curators (editors) of the Sensory Transformation Map for the Worl Economic Forum, Geneva. The Forum's Transformation Maps are a dynamic system of contextual intelligence covering 100+ insight areas, aimed at enabling more informed decision-making by leaders in government, business, civil society, academia and in the arts and media. - An EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account has been awarded to the PI and Prof Nikolic, titled: "Multi-modal Intelligent Neurostimulator - IP consolidation and early-stage commercialisation", which has facilitated the process of patent application generation, networking with potential collaborators and licencors for the technology and creation of a start-up. - Prof Toumazou (PI) and Dr Constandinou were the chairman and Prof Nikolic has been a panel member of the Royal Society steering group which has prepared a report on current state of the Neurotechnologies, or as popularly known 'Brain-Computer Interfaces', published in Sep/2019: "iHuman - blurring lines between mind and machine", The Royal Society Perspective, September 2019, ISBN: 978-1-78252-420-5. - Access to rapid and accurate diagnostic tools are key to control and management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We have managed to quickly develop our novel, rapid point-of-care real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) CovidNudge test, which requires no laboratory handling or sample pre-processing. In the study published in Lancet Microbe we have demonstrated the CovidNudge platform is sensitive, specific and rapid point of care test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, in comparison to the laboratory-based PCR as a gold standard. The test has been used in UK hospitals since May 2020, as well as being offered at a retail shop of DNAnudge in London. Also, it has been utilised for a number of specific communities which required to protect a 'bubble'. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Education,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | "iHuman - blurring lines between mind and machine", The Royal Society Perspective |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | The Royal Society Neural Interface Perspective |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Capital Call |
| Amount | £4,047,193 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NIHR200646 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 08/2021 |
| Description | BBSRC DTP grant - PHD Studentship Grant |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 10/2020 |
| Description | Cancer Research UK - Multidisciplinary Award and EPSRC |
| Amount | £467,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NS/A000067/1 |
| Organisation | Cancer Research UK |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 02/2021 |
| Description | EPSRC IAA Late Stage |
| Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R511547/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2019 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | EPSRC-Imperial Impact Acceleration Award: 'Multi-Modal Intelligent Neuromodulator - IP Consolidation and Early stage Commercialisation |
| Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/R511547/1, award no. RSRO_P69465 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2019 |
| End | 02/2020 |
| Description | ERC - Proof of Concept |
| Amount | € 150,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | ERC-2018-PoC |
| Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 12/2018 |
| End | 05/2020 |
| Description | Global Challanges Research Fund |
| Amount | £209,169 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2016 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | MAARS - Multimodal Active Adaptive risk stratification for gastrointestinal cancer |
| Amount | £230,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Cancer Research UK |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 10/2023 |
| Description | Wellcome Trust Innovator Award |
| Amount | £749,259 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2020 |
| End | 05/2023 |
| Description | Wellcome-Imperial Institutional Strategic Support Award |
| Amount | £73,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Department | Wellcome Trust Bloomsbury Centre |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2016 |
| End | 09/2017 |
| Description | Network of Excellence for development of a Point-of-Care Breath Analysing device for Oesophago-Gastric cancer screening |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Medicine |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The primary objectives for this Network of Excellence and the project are: (1) to demonstrate that by measuring the concentration of VOCs we are able to produce an accurate diagnostic output. The primary goal is to create a risk stratification tool to guide further investigation. (2) to establish and validate the sensory technology, appropriate for this task (3) to prepare a full scale grant proposal to develop such a device - the results of objectives (1) and (2) will provide crucial support. In order to achieve this aim we proposed to develop a Point-of-Care handheld Breath Analysing device. There are three key engineering components: (a) a sensor array with adequate substrates, (b) a machine learning algorithm which will process the sensory data and make diagnostic inference (c) an instrumentation platform for implementing (a) and (b). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Alveolar breath contains more than two-hundred volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Traces of VOCs could serve as metabolic signatures that indicate the presence of different types of cancers. Our target is Oesophago-gastric adenocarcinoma, with oesophageal being among the top five cancers with the fastest rising incidence in the Western world, and the UK has the highest incidence in worldwide. Early diagnosis through low-cost, non-invasive breath analysis may significantly improve the detection of early-stage cancers allowing for earlier treatment and better survival. Clinical benefits to patients from this non-invasive diagnostic tool would include earlier detection and improved survival, and financial benefits to the NHS would include more efficient management of endoscopic resources. |
| Impact | See the publication in JAMA Oncology (IF=20) |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Network of Excellence with Prof Maria Belvisi, Imperial College London |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Imperial College Business School |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This is an Wellcome Trus Institutional Strategic Support Fund Network of Excellence award for 12 months for our joint proposal with Prof Belvisi, entitled "Monitoring and Modulating Respiratory Symptoms". This project focuses on creating the technology that will allow us to not only record the vagal afferent signalling between the lung and brain, but also regulate it. We propose an innovative collaboration between the Faculties of Medicine and Engineering in developing novel implantable devices to monitor and regulate vagal nerve activity that we will validate in human and animal in vitro systems and a unique in vivo animal model. We develop the electrode technology for interfacing with the peripheral nervous system, electronics (analog/digital) for implantable systems to interface with the electrodes and advanced signal processing for extraction and quantifying the dynamic behaviour of the bio-signals. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Prof M. Belvisi and Dr Mark Birrell are recognized experts in the respiratory field with both academic and industrial experience. They are providing experimental in vivo and in vitro models for developing and testing our technology. |
| Impact | The project is highly multi-disciplinary and the diverse nature of the team enables a distinctive multi-faceted approach to this challenging project, providing a unique insight into the development of a novel functional mapping of electrical and chemical patterns in the vagal nerve and in testing electrical stimulation as a novel paradigm for treating cough and other symptoms of respiratory disease. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Potassium Sensor for neural recording in peripheral nerves |
| Organisation | University of Toronto |
| Department | Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We initiated the collaboration and send the Ir wire samples to Toronto, on which they deposit their anti bio-fouling membrane which is selective to potassium. After returning the samples to us, we create 3-electrode sensors and characterise them using our propitiatory fluidic chamber set-up and impedance spectroscopy instrumentation. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Professor Mike Thompson's group at Department of Chemistry has developed a special material, which has both anti-bio-fouling and potassium capturing properties. They also have developed the procedure how to deposit this material on thin (~100um diameter) wires of Ir and to perform chemical characterisation of the substrate. |
| Impact | publications expected soon |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Prof Susan Butler-Wu - University of Southern California, USA |
| Organisation | University of Southern California |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This project aims to utilise a novel, real-time mass spectrometry technology (Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (REIMS)) in two ways: firstly, to identify drug resistant isolates from bacterial colonies, and secondly, to directly analyse clinical samples for biomarkers of infection using a point of care device. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Prof Susan Butler-Wu from the University of Southern California, USA is collaborating with Professor Zoltan Takats on using REIMS for the rapid detection of antimicrobial resistance across geographically diverse microbial isolates. |
| Impact | Collaboration is multi-disciplinary, evolving Life Sciences, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Medicine. The proposed outcome of this project is to develop REIMS based protocols that can be used for AMR detection. This partnership was created through an EMBRACE pump priming award, thus following one of the main objectives of the program that is to provide a focal point for developing multidisciplinary collaborations, also, this partnership is providing learning experience to our Bridging the Gaps fellows and international cross-disciplinary interaction. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Technology vs Infectious Diseases: An Imperial College / Royal Institution Summit |
| Organisation | The Royal Institution of Great Britain |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The second EMBRACE conference is planned to take place on 26th Sept 2017, at the Royal Institution. As with all EMBRACE activities, our conference is designed to build multidisciplinary research capacity to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The conference will be focused on AMR to a scientific audience but also to the public in general. One of the main goals will also be to connect with institutions across the UK and internationally, giving EMBRACE the opportunity to establish more contacts for future applications The activities that run through the day will show the work being done by our Bridging the Gaps fellows in the field of AMR, since the start of the grant and our cross-disciplinary interaction in the pump priming projects currently underway. This will be a way to showcase the projects' research and establish contacts for future collaborations. With the purpose of increasing involvement of other disciplines, there will be opportunity to include the social sciences in a way to understand what the public want to know about AMR and behavior change. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Summit will be held at the Royal Institution's historic home in Mayfair, London on 26 September 2017. For over 200 years, the Royal Institution has been the place where cutting edge science has been announced, discussed and disseminated, by both experts and the curious public. It's no surprise that the father of antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, gave a presentation to the Royal Institution on 27 November 1953. The Summit will feature two panel discussions featuring some of the foremost thinkers who are tackling the global challenge of infectious diseases. Between sessions there will be time to chat to researchers who will be presenting their latest findings. Following the afternoon presentations, the evening will be given over to a keynote address, given by a world renowned figure. The evening will be hosted by Sir Richard Sykes, Chair of the Royal Institution and former Rector of Imperial College. The R.I. is also keen in contributing to one of the main objectives of EMBRACE which is to create role models and career paths for future researchers. With this in mind, they want to coordinate an 'Unconference' event for students 16-18 years on the topic of AMR, this would be on a separate day in the lead up to or after the Conference. |
| Impact | Successfully engaging the Royal Institution to organise a conference about AMR. This event will be a great showcase for the research being done and will increase the profile of AMR and multidisciplinary research at Imperial College. Getting the opportunity to do the "Unconference" for students 16-18 years on AMR will enable to show the role models and career paths EMBRACE created for junior researchers with an interest in multidisciplinary research. With this partner EMBRACE guarantees a premium venue to showcase the work being done though the grant but also its engagement with other partners and its willingness to be a multidisciplinary project. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Title | DETECTION OF METHYLATED DNA |
| Description | The use of ion sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) to detect methylated nucleotides in a DNA sample is described. A method of detecting methylated nucleotides in a DNA sample may include the steps of treating a sample of DNA with a reagent which discriminates between methylated and non-methylated nucleotides to provide treated DNA, amplifying the treated DNA and optionally sequencing the amplified DNA. An ISFET is used to monitor the addition of one or more dNTPs in the strand extension reactions during the amplification and/or sequencing step. Suitable apparatus is also provided. |
| IP Reference | US2013034851 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2013 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | Devices and instrumentation for the detection of DNA methylation for cancer monitoring has been subject of a several recent proposals to Cancer Research UK, as well as part of the successful bid for CRUK Imperial Centre. |
| Title | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ACTIVITY IN THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM |
| Description | A method and apparatus for measuring activity in the peripheral nervous system comprises a nerve cuff having an array of chemical detectors such as chemFETS or ISFETS. Activity within the nerve causes chemical responses which can be detected. The use of chemical rather than electrical detection minimises interference problems and allows the cuffs to be made smaller. |
| IP Reference | US2009292345 |
| Protection | Patent granted |
| Year Protection Granted | 2009 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | The main advantage of using K+ and Na+ sensors in close proximity to the active nerve is that this provides a way of discriminating between neural activity and muscular interference, which degrades conventional neural recordings. Recording is important in order to achieve a closed-loop stimulation. Existing Neural Stimulation schemes do suffer from a number of serious drawbacks. In particular, periodic stimulation is irrelevant to the possible occurrence of a seizure and power drain is high sinc |
| Title | CovidNudge test for point-of-care diagnostic of SARS-CoV-2 |
| Description | A novel, rapid point-of-care real time RT-PCR Covid-19 test, which requires no laboratory handling or sample pre-processing. 2020: £161m order from the Department of Health and Social Care for 5.8 million CovidNudge 90-minute lab-free RT-PCR test kits, now in use in NHS hospitals and out-of-hospital locations throughout the UK. |
| Type | Diagnostic Tool - Non-Imaging |
| Current Stage Of Development | Small-scale adoption |
| Year Development Stage Completed | 2020 |
| Development Status | Under active development/distribution |
| Clinical Trial? | Yes |
| UKCRN/ISCTN Identifier | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266652472030121X |
| Impact | A rapid diagnosis is key to the control and management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) |
| URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/201073/90-minute-covid-19-tests-government-orders/ |
| Title | Prometheus: Neuroscience Cloud Computing Portal |
| Description | Cloud Computing Neuroscience Optogenetics Portal named Prometheus. It is hosted by Digital Ocean, a cloud computing platform of virtual servers, where we are renting a 2 Core processor, 2GB of RAM and 40GB SSD Disc (for $20 per month). Most of the tools offered are developed as PyRhO project and now they are available on a web-site, with all installations and modules already in place so that user can immediately start benefiting from it. All free of charge and no need for registration. Furthermore, it offers a unique portal for running virtual experiments in neuroscience and physiology of excitable cells in general (even without inclusion of opsins) because it includes the two most popular platforms for detailed neural simulation (NEURON) and neural network simulations (Brian). Users do not need any more to download and install all these very useful but still technically demanding simulation softwares and to undergo frequent frustration and failure. And very importantly, with our GUI which offers simple setup of the ion-channels and cell parameters as well as stimulation protocols together with output visualization it is a great tool for both educational and research purposes. This portal has abundant capacity for expansion (building a database of opsins, cell types, neural networks, etc.) and could become a web-site of choice for many neuroscientist and students. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The web-site access and use analytics reports suggest a world wide use of this cloud based computing platform. |
| URL | http://try.projectpyrho.org |
| Title | PyRhO - A Virtual Optogenetics Laboratory |
| Description | A Python module to fit and characterise rhodopsin photocurrents Optogenetics has become a key tool for understanding the function of neural circuits and controlling their behaviour. An array of directly light driven opsins have been genetically isolated from several families of organisms, with a wide range of temporal and spectral properties. In order to characterize, understand and apply these rhodopsins, we developed an integrated suite of open-source, multi-scale computational tools called PyRhO. The purpose of developing PyRhO is threefold: 1. to characterize new (and existing) rhodopsins by automatically fitting a minimal set of experimental data to three, four or six-state kinetic models, 2. to simulate these models at the channel, neuron & network levels and 3. provide functional insights through model selection and virtual experiments in silico. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The software has been released 19/Feb/2016. |
| URL | https://github.com/ProjectPyRhO/PyRhO |
| Description | "Neural Interfaces & Microsystems: from State-of-the-Art to the Next Generation", CNRS Workshop on Bioelectronics (Paris, France), 20 June 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker at workshop in the CNRS headquarters in Paris, France on Bioelectronics. I gave a talk to an audience of approximately 100 professionals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.cnrs.fr/insis/recherche/evenements/workshop-electronique-vivant.htm |
| Description | Alumni engagement events |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | I participated in two alumni events (in Shenzhen, China, and also Paris, France) together with other colleagues and the vice-President and President of Imperial College London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/alumni/internationalambassadorevents/e... |
| Description | Article for Research Features Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Article: S. Schultz and K. Nikolic: "Computational neuroscience meets optogenetics: Unlocking the brain's secrets", Research Features Magazine, issue 131, pp.88-91, Jan 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://researchfeatures.com/reviews/research-features-magazine/ |
| Description | Friends of Imperial College "Behind the Scenes" tour at NGNI Labs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Next Generation Neural Interfaces (NGNI) lab hosted a "Behind the Scenes" event for Friends of Imperial College on the evening of 25th January 2017. This event included a welcome and seminar on neural interfaces, lab tours and research demonstrations, and an interactive poster session with the entire group. For photos and further details see the "Behind the Scenes @ NGNI" Event page- see link below. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.imperial.ac.uk/neural-interfaces/news-and-events/friendsofic/ |
| Description | Grand Round - lecture at St Mary's Hospital |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Title of the talk: 'Neural engineering for appetite control and other technology developments at Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology'. Lecture at the Cockburn Lecture Theatre, 2nd floor QEQM Building, St Mary's Hospital, atteded by clinical and non-clinical personel from the Section of Hepatology and Gastroenterology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Grant proposal reviewer for the Einstein Foundation Berlin |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Reviewer for a proposal on the topic of optogenetics, submitted the Einstein Foundation Berlin, Germany. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.einsteinfoundation.de/en/ |
| Description | Imperial-Westminster Science Talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | An outreach programme organised with the Westminster School London. Dr Nikolic is helping the school to organise these talks - three science talks every year. It is very much a series of talks that aims to appeal to A level science students across London, but particularly those at schools with which Westminster School has established a summer school link (mainly in Lambeth and Southwark area). The topic of the talk from any type of scientific research and technology applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
| Description | Interview for BBC News (6 o'clock news and news at 10), on neurotechnology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview to Fergus Walsh, the BBC medical correspondent, for BBC News at 10 and 6 o'clock news, on the topic of Brain-Computer interface. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Interviewed by New Scientist about news related to human clinical trials related to optogenetics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed over the phone by Clair Wilson, from New Scientist, regarding the announcement by GenSight Biologics of their clinical trials that involve 12 people in the UK who are about to have an optogenetic treatment for retinitis pigmentosa: "Blindness treatment will insert algae gene into people's eyes". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.newscientist.com/article/2158645-blindness-treatment-will-insert-algae-gene-into-peoples... |
| Description | Invited Talk at World Economic Forum - Annual Meeting of New Champions (AMNC 2017) in Dalian, China - "Empowering Next Generation Implantable Brain Machine Interfaces" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I gave two talks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) in Dalian, China in June 2017. My talk was entitled "Empowering Next Generational Implantable Brain Machine Interfaces" and was given under a "Science Hub" format and also as part of the Imperial College London "Ideas Lab". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0flOo4G9sns |
| Description | Media mention - Financial Times |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sarah Murray wrote article entitled: "Brain implants allow paralysed patients to move limbs", Financial Times (FT), 5 March 2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.ft.com/content/0d426d08-0795-11e8-9e12-af73e8db3c71 |
| Description | Metting with Shionogi (Japanese pharma company) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Andrew Edwards is currently in discussion with Shionogi (Japanese pharma company), who are keen to become involved in his work on "Promoting Immune Clearance of Bacterial Pathogens" a Sandpit award from EMBRACE. Dr Andrew and his team have hosted a delegation from Shionogi at Imperial College and he as traveled to Japan to discuss this further. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Seminar on "Enhanced, Personalised, and Integrated Care for Infection Management at the Point-of-Care" presented by Dr Tim Rawson. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Timothy Miles Rawson a Clinical Research Fellow at the NIHR Health Protection Research is currently leading a project exploring the utility of Enhanced, Personalised, and Integrated Care for Infection Management at the Point-of-Care (EPIC IMPOC). This aims to explore the utility of integrating machine learning techniques, rapid diagnostics, and mechanisms for drug dose optimisation into clinical decision support systems to improve infection management in the hospital setting. This has been supported by an EPSRC pump priming award, as part of Imperial Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborative (ARC) EMBRACE project, which aims to promote closer collaboration between engineering, physics, natural sciences, and medicine to develop novel solutions to tackle antimicrobial resistance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Society for Neuroscience 2017 conference poster presentation - K Nikolic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SfN meetings gather thousands of neuroscientists from around the world to debut cutting-edge research on the brain and nervous system. My poster presentation was titled: "Prometheus: Computational Optogenetics using Cloud Computing", Benjamin Evans and Konstantin Nikolic. Poster was attended by approximately 20-30 visitors, a very fruitful discussion about computational optogenetics, with a number of computational neuroscientists, including the people working on NEURON platform. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk at North London Collegiate School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Visited and gave a talk to year 10-12 students entitled "Microelectronics and neural interfaces" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Talk at Sutton Trust Summer School (6th form students with interest in EEE) entitled: \Microchips and Brain Implants", 4 August 2016. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 12 students enrolled on the "Sutton Trust" scheme attended a week long event at Imperial College EEE Department which involved various activities such as talks, lab sessions, tours, etc- which I gave a talk entitles "Microchips and Brain Implants". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.suttontrust.com/programmes/summer-schools/ |
| Description | The Imperial / Ri Summit, 'Technology vs Infectious Diseases' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In today's globalised world, increased movement of people, the expansion of international trade in foodstuffs, not to mention growing antibiotic resistance, mean that the dangers posed by infectious diseases have never been greater. Infectious diseases are now spreading geographically much faster than at any time in history and there are now nearly 40 diseases that were unknown a generation ago. In addition, during the last five years, the World Health Organisation has verified more than 1,100 epidemic events worldwide. However, some of the smartest minds in industry, academia and charities are now pouring their efforts into tackling this key global challenge. The Technology vs Infectious Diseases Summit revealed how the best, in UK technology is helping to combat bacterial, viral and fungal diseases. It featured some of the foremost thinkers who are tackling the global challenge of infectious diseases and Anti-Microbial Resistance. The Summit included British industry, academia, NGOs and young entrepreneurs, showcasing the worldwide contribution of UK research in this area and its collaborations with developing countries. The afternoon started with a welcome from Professor Gail Cardew, Director of Science and Education at the Royal Institution and an introduction by Professor James Stirling, Imperial College Provost. The first session chaired by Professor Alison Holmes started with a focus on Global Infection threats, with presentations covering innovative technology for the management and control of dengue by Dr Jesus Rodrigues Manzano and Dr Sophie Yacoub, followed by an inter-disciplinary approach for malaria eradication by Dr Jake Baum and how the global emergence of antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic fungi is being recognised as a major driver for infectious diseases mortality by Dr Darius Armstrong-James. The first session ended with an overview by Professor Robin Shattock on "'Vaccines vs infection': old foes, emerging threats and changing populations" and a presentation by Dr Emmanuel Hanon, Global Head of GSK Vaccine Research and Development on the most recent advances in vaccine technology platforms. The second session chaired by Dr Pantelis Georgiou focused on the challenges of bacterial infections and what technology can do to tackle this issue. To kick-start this session we were introduced to DNA sequencing-based tests that can rapidly provide accurate diagnostic information on infectious diseases by Mr David Davidson, Chief Scientific Officer from DNA Electronics ltd, followed by a presentation on machine learning and biosensor technology to improve the precision of antibiotic management by Dr Danny O'Hare and Dr Tim Rawson. This session then moved on to a talk about "Serious games: a new 'tablet' against drug-resistant infections" a new software that uses psychological techniques in place in games to optimise prescriber behaviours in hospitals, developed by Dr Enrique Castro Sanchez and Mr Jamie Firth and it finished with an approach to early detection of antimicrobrial resistance using rapid evaporative ionisation MS (REIMS) in the diagnostic laboratory and livestock infection, by Dr Fankie Bolt and Dr Simon Cameron. Following the afternoon presentations, the attentions shifted to the showcase of technologies that included ProMED, an Internet-based reporting system dedicated to rapid global dissemination of information on outbreaks of infectious diseases; POCAST and Target, facilitating navigation, access and use of national antimicrobial guidelines to support clinical prescribing decisions; and Microreact, open data visualization and sharing for genomic epidemiology. Also among the technology on display at the Ri was DNAe LiDia BSI Test for diagnosis of bloodstream infections that lead to sepsis, which was unveiled for the first time. The evening was hosted by Sir Richard Sykes, Chair of the Royal Institution and former Rector of Imperial College and featured a keynote address by Prof David Heymann Head of the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House, on "Global Infectious Diseases: Priorities for action". With the unprecedent growth of newly emerging diseases and the live threat of infectious diseases spreading rapidly at a global level, the critical debate through the public communication of science is even more paramount. This summit at the Ri, a place where cutting-edge science has been announced, debated and showcased to the world for over 200 years, is a reminder that the research in science and technology carried out in this country has a major role in the fight against global infectious diseases and drug resistant infections. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_27-9-2017-10-12-44 |
| Description | World Economic Forum - Sensor Transformation Map presented on Imperial College web site |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Many of the World Economic Forum maps such as Biotechnology, Blockchain, Banking and Capital markets, and Sensors were co-curated by leading Imperial academics. The maps are intended to be used to inform work across the Forum's System Initiatives as well as strategic decision-making by governments and businesses around the world. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_9-1-2018-13-43-25 |
| Description | World Economic Forum - Sensors Transformation Map, Co-editor |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The World Economic Forum launched its Transformation Maps in 2017. Global transformation maps help explain Fourth Industrial Revolution and they also cover themes including Economies, Global Issues, Industries, System initiatives. The Sensors map was curated by Dr Konstantin Nikolic, from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Professor Christofer Toumazou, from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. They explain that new developments in sensor materials and uses have the potential to improve our lives in revolutionary ways."Smart sensors can sift through deluges of data in order to intelligently extract information. For example, a new generation of blood glucose sensors, used by diabetics, utilize data processing to connect with insulin pumps in a closed loop system, which in effect forms an artificial pancreas." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://toplink.weforum.org/knowledge/insight/a1Gb0000001jJXlEAM/explore/summary |