Centrifugally Motivated Fluidic Systems, Devices and Methods
Patent: WO2021152333A1
Company: ODx Innovations (Scottish startup)
We developed a system for fast (30min) turnaround UTI infection detection, and antimicrobial resistance measuring. We exposed a sample of urine to an array of antibiotics, and measured which samples grew and which were killed by the antibiotics. We used a microfluidic single use fluidic consumable to manage all steps of the process. Using air springs and clever fluidic design we were able to mix, split, clarify, and grow the fluid with only rotational speeds as a controller. An injection-molded plastic cartridge used centripetal forces and air pressure for sample processing, as a low cost single use device.
I led the consumable team, covering design, prototyping, injection molding, optimization, and production setup.
Heater
Patent: EP3769843A1
Company: LEX Diagnostics (Cambridge life science startup)
PCR requires ~40 thermal cycles at specific temperatures to iteratively amplify DNA segments found in a sample. What is key is precise temperature and timings. The main driver for the time taken of PCR is the time taken in heating and cooling. In order to improve this time, our team minimised the thermal mass of all components, and used a wide area heating element. Thermal resistivity allowed us to know the temperature of the element and accurately control it. The key focus was thermal uniformity achievement using cost-effective materials and methods.
I iteratively used FEA and prototyping to produce and fine tune thermal designs, as patented here.
