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.
Flexible Implantable Medical Device
Patent: WO2026038093A1
Company: Medtronic, Inc.
ILonger implantable devices offer clinical benefits — better signal-to-noise ratio from wider electrode spacing, larger antenna area — but rigidity causes complications: larger incisions, tissue perforation risk, the foreign body effect, and patient discomfort. This patent splits the device into two (or more!) independently hermetically sealed segments joined by a flexible non-hermetic connection.
I contributed to the mechanical design of the flexible interconnect and the incorporation with the electronics systems.
Modular Non-Hermetic Implantable Medical Device
Patent: WO2026043723A1
Company: Medtronic, Inc.
Traditional implantable medical devices are housed in a single hermetically sealed titanium can — a manufacturing process that is costly and complex. This patent decouples hermeticity from the outer housing. The battery module and electronics module are individually hermetically sealed and can be electronically coupled later. The electronics module is manufactured using waferscale fabrication on a sapphire substrate, pioneered by Medtronic for their LinQ implantable, enabling extremely dense and miniaturised circuitry.
Our team constructed mechanical and system design concepts to provide scales and power budgets which work within manufacturing constraints.
