Student success at international healthcare technologies conference

A final year PhD student in the Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology research group of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), has received the 2nd place best paper award at the international IEEE-NIH Conference on Healthcare Innovations and Point of Care Technologies Conference (HI-POCT’16) held in Cancun, Mexico this month.

Nikolaos Vasilakis’ paper demonstrates an affordable manufacturing technology based on printed-circuit boards (PCBs) that enables the integration of electrochemical biosensors, microfluidics and electronics in a monolithic manner. The technology is very suitable for affordable Point-Of-Care implementations, enabling both quantitative and qualitative diagnostic tests that are a necessity for addressing global health challenges, particularly of low-income countries.

The work is sponsored by the A.G. Leventis Foundation and is part of a world-leading transdisciplinary research group, led by Dr Themis Prodromakis within ECS at the University of Southampton. The team is uniquely placed in delivering impactful innovations for Healthcare technologies through developing an end-to-end infrastructure for electronics-based diagnostics. The technology is developed in close collaboration with Newbury Electronics Ltd (a UK-based PCB manufacturer), Imperial College NHS (benchmarking of tests for TB) and the support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/L020920/1).

Dr Themis Prodromakis commented, “We are delighted that our research is acknowledged by world-leading healthcare organisations with this award. There is indeed great need in substantiating affordable point-of-care diagnostic solutions for those who need it the most. Our approach is unique in achieving this by optimizing well-established manufacturing processes used in consumer electronics applications and thus brings new prospects to mobile healthcare.”

The HI-POTC conference focused on healthcare innovations and point-of-care technologies and their clinical translation for global quality healthcare. The conference provided a unique platform for healthcare researchers to keep abreast of emerging technology trends in global heath by establishing collaborations and networking with pioneers in this remit and key stakeholders including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organisation, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.