Medical Devices Technology Transfer & Licensing Opportunities
Cystinosis - Cystagon Prodrug >>Nephropathic cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive disease. It is characterised by raised lysosomal levels of cystine in the cells of most organs. If untreated, the disease, results in death from renal failure by the second decade of life.
Cysteamine, the treatment for cystinosis, posesses an offensive taste and smell and irritates the gastrointestinal tract leading to nausea and vomiting following administration. In addition, cysteamine and its metabolites are excreted in breath and sweat. As a result of these problems patient compliance can be poor.
Paediatric Spinal Injection Simulator >>Spinal injections are commonly required procedures to remove fluid to carry out biochemical, microbiological and cytobiological tests and also for drug delivery. Medical students and practitioners are unable to practice the spinal injection procedure on cadavers, nor can they practice on patients due to the serious danger of spinal injury. Therefore when the procedure has to be carried out, there is ever a risk of injury to the patient. A physical simulator is essential to develop the skills of medical practitioners.
Drug Eluting Stent for High-risk Patients >>Stent implantation is a highly effective treatment for restoring blood flow through an atherosclerotic artery; however restenosis occurs in a significant proportion of patients. Drug-eluting stents have been developed to limit restenosis and although they represent a major advance, they have limited effectiveness in diabetic patients. In addition, the drugs that are used at present inhibit the regrowth of the endothelium which is required to protect the artery. Thus, there is a need for an improved drug-eluting stent that will be suitable for diabetic patients, will not harm the endothelium, and will protect against blood clotting.
Reconfigurable Instruction Cell Architecture >>Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a software programmable, reconfigurable core, for integration into custom processing engines capable of converging data, cellular and multimedia processing functionality in a single device for mobile applications.
The technology is a new type of Reconfigurable Processor (Reconfigurable Instruction Cell Architecture, or RICA) composed of a number of computer-like instruction cells on a programmable interconnection network.
The core RICA architecture provides heterogeneous coarse-grain functional units that match one-to-one with existing assembly language software representation to allow the flexible creation of reconfigurable processing units.
A Novel Chemotherapy Targeting System based on Nanoparticles >>Cancer is believed to account for 12% of deaths worldwide. This incidence is increasing in Western countries, as the average age of the population increases.
The University of Strathclyde has been undertaking research into novel delivery systems for the latest drug treatments. Cisplatin, for example, is used to treat a wide variety of human cancers but many cancer cells have, or soon acquire, resistance to it.
In addition to the acquired resistance problem, there are also severe side effects associated with these drugs; due mostly to their attack on all rapidly-dividing cells within the body.
Novel Oral Drug Formulation >>Oral delivery of drugs is the most common route as it provides a safe, simple way to administer medication in a form that is easy for patients to take. Many drugs cannot be administered orally however, due to problems with degradation in the stomach, poor half life, poor solubility and bioavailability and so there is a need for new methods to formulate drugs for oral administration.
Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have developed a novel method of processing, formulating and tableting cucurbiturils as excipients in oral drug formulations to provide a method for enhanced drug formulation.
Microfluidic Chip for High Efficiency Plasma Separation for non-invasive diagnostics >>Researchers at Heriot-Watt University (Scotland) have designed a microfluidic chip capable of high efficiency separation of (whole) blood into blood plasma and red blood cell streams for further analyses.
The high flow design produces a large particle free zone shown to be 100% cell free; extracted plasma is suitable for direct PCR amplification fo the genetic material without further treatment.
Separation
Transdermal Patient Monitoring >>Control of blood glucose levels through glucose measurement and insulin injection can reduce the occurrence of complications in diabetics. Methods such as the “finger-stick” technique, while relatively cheap, can be cumbersome and painful to use. In addition to diabetes, control of blood glucose levels can play a key role in several important hospital based interventions. A team at the University of Strathclyde has perfected a non-invasive programmable device for measuring blood glucose levels. The same technology can also be adapted to detect other blood circulating molecules such as lactate.
Hand Held, Low Cost Drug Detection System for detecting Narcotics in Saliva >>Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have developed an innovative method for the presumptive detection of narcotics in saliva.
The technique offers a simple "Yes/No" result in seconds using a low powered handheld reader and economic disposable media.
Method to improve DCE MRI >>Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have developed an improved method of undertaking DCE MRI (dynamic contrast enhancement magnetic resonance imaging) scans
Compostella >>Compostella is a disruptive technology, from the University of Glasgow, which permits position to be measured with extremely high precision at very low cost.
The system is physically small and highly configurable, with few limitations on mounting. Compostella will be the first single device capable of measuring in 6 axes.
3D Real Time BioPhotonic Imaging & Tracking Suited to Fluoresence Microscopy Applications >>Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh, Scotland have developed a patent pending lens system with dedicated particle tracking software to image and track cells, cell processes and small particles in real time in 3D. Compatible with existing imaging & microscopy techniques and built from commercially available optics the system offers both high quality images and positional information on biological processes within a cell.
Genespark Molecular Label >>Genespark is a fast fluorescent molecular labelling technology with unlimited multiplex scalability.
Bijel Capsules: Co-release Micro-gel >>Colloid scientists at the University of Edinburgh have invented a new generic route to gel capsule formulation, involving particles suspended in fluid-bicontinuous mixture of two solvents.
Technology for Improving the Solubility of Drugs >>A major problem in the development of medicines is that ~40 - 60% of new drugs discovered are poorly water-soluble. This project exploits a recent University of Strathclyde invention of a novel method of increasing the solubility and / or the dispersibility of poorly water-soluble drugs and hydrophobic particles. The technology, which will be used initially in the formulation and delivery of medicines, offers vast commercial potential as the drug delivery market is currently estimated to be worth ~£20bn worldwide with an annual growth rate of between 10% - 20%.
Chronotherapeutic Drug Delivery Platform >>The severity of many diseases such as anxiety, asthma and hypertension varies with the bodies’ internal clock. There is increasing evidence to show that these natural rhythms can also affect the bodies responsiveness to drugs and so optimal treatment of these diseases could be enhanced by delivery of the drug at the time when clinical signs develop or increase.
Method for the Identification of Allosteric Drug Binding Sites >>Natural allosteric effectors are very difficult to identify because of the complexity of cell metabolism, the practice of assaying enzymes in purified forms away from their natural context, and a general lack of success in predicting the locations of potential binding sites. However, the prediction problem has been tackled at the Uiversity of Strathclyde by development of the Simple Intrasequence Difference (SID) screening service.
Innovative Neonatal Life Support System >>The current technology employed in neonatal life support systems for children is derived from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) systems i.e. heart-lung machines. However, the challenges presented by non-standard CPB applications e.g. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) for children, tissue, transplant organ perfusion and isolated limb perfusion are quite different to those of conventional CPB, rendering it a sub-optimal approach.
Scientists at the University of Strathclyde, working in conjunction with local clinicians, have developed a simple but novel life support system (controlling blood flow & oxygenation) for babies.
Composition with potent and specific bactericidal action against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA >>The invention comprises the combination of a cationic peptide (originally produced by the North American bullfrog Rana catesbeiana) with known potency against Gram +ve bacteria, termed Ranalexin, with a bacterially-produced endopeptidase. The combination of these two molecules results in specific inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus MRSA or MSSA (methicilin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus).
Intelligent Cardiovascular Stent >>The use of stents has revolutionised coronary artery disease, however the main disadvantage is the occurrence of restenosis in 20-30 per cent of cases.
As in-stent restenosis is not monitored as standard practice, diagnosis only occurs when the patient presents with symptoms.
The key benefit of this technology is the ability to introduce economical occasional (clinic), or continuous (acute) monitoring of the in-stent restenosis, transmitting this data to a device outlside the body. Patients progressing to a restenosis situation, which could lead to cardiac infarction and possible death, can therefore be identified and treated.
Novel polymeric nano-carriers for drug delivery and other biomedical applications. >>Researchers at The Robert Gordon University have engineered novel nano-sized polymeric solubilisers to encapsulate and deliver therapeutic agents such as peptides, proteins and water insoluble drugs. In the aqueous solution, these delivery systems form a protective core, which can trap and separate their cargo from the aqueous environment. Hence, they can also be designed to carry potent substances, which are easily degradable in an aqueous environment during processing/manufacturing. They are easy to prepare and due to the diverse architecture of these delivery systems, they can be tailored made to carry a broad range of molecules for biomedical application
The Oncology Workbench >>Developed by Researchers at The Robert Gordon University, The Oncology Workbench is a system to support the design of novel multi-drug cancer chemotherapy regimes. There is a wide variety of anti-cancer drugs available to the modern clinician. These drugs, by their nature, are highly toxic and can cause a number of side effects which are themselves threatening. The oncologist is therefore faced with the task of designing a therapy which achieves the treatment objective whilst limiting the toxic side effects to a reasonable level. The Oncology Workbench uses genetic algorithms to assist the oncologist in this task.
Plasma Treated Active Carbon Adsorbents >>Researchers at The Robert Gordon University have developed a completely new type of porous carbon for high performance filtration. The materials provide a pivotal role in the successful development of key technologies to meet current societal needs in the critical areas of energy, purification and safety/personal protection where the development of new, low cost, safety clothing and breathing apparatus for civilian and military protection against the threat of terrorist attacks is an ever increasing need.
Optical Dental Diagnosis >>With recent discoveries in the way that dental disease develops, the desire for the dentist to be able to detect, and subsequently diagnose, early caries has increased significantly. By adapting technology originally developed for the telecommunications industry the Institute of Photonics has built a confocal microscope suitable for use in the oral cavity. By utilising low cost laser diodes and optical fibres the instrument is capable of recording depth profiles through a lesion. The resulting curves can then be analysed and the depth and state of de-mineralisation within the lesion determined.
