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Diagnosis, Delivery and Direction Implants Using New Technologies. Alan Murray Professor of Neural Electronics. Agenda. Diagnosis Sensors on chip and the engineering issues they raise Delivery (drug) Drug storage and release structures and the engineering issues they raise Direction
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Diagnosis, Delivery and Direction Implants Using New Technologies Alan Murray Professor of Neural Electronics
Agenda • Diagnosis • Sensors on chip and the engineering issues they raise • Delivery (drug) • Drug storage and release structures and the engineering issues they raise • Direction • Cell guidance Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Human hair 70-100 µm Human neuron 4-100 µm Transistor 0.1-1µm Devices and diagnosis:Shapes and Sizes? 1µm = 10-6 (1/1000000th) of 1 metre Or 1 million µm = 1metre Roughly 10,000 hairsbreadths/metre Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
From earlier work on an ingestible chip Temperature easy Conductivity fairly easy pH tricky O2 concentration trickier Most interesting for tumour biology! Diagnosis - Sensors Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Typical microchip Implantable Microsystems for Personalised Anti-Cancer Therapy (IMPACT) Chip tumour microenvironment Measure hypoxia (O2concentration) and other markers of tumour activity Radiotherapy planning Chemotherapy planning? Chemotherapy delivery? Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
IMPACT (EPSRC Proposal, £5.3M) Implantable Microsystems for Personalised Anti-Cancer Therapy (IMPACT) Interview, EPSRC Towers, 22nd Feb (JL) Professor Alan Murray -School of Engineering Professor Mark Bradley - School of Chemistry Professor Steve McLaughlin – Engineering, Heriot-Watt Professor Ian Kunkler - Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre Professor David Argyle - Veterinary Clinical Studies Professor Joyce Tait - Innogen Centre - Science, Technology and Innovation Studies 5 years in the making Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Look – no wires … Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Devices and diagnosis:Drug delivery • So far … chips can be: • tiny • wireless • Chips can contain • Sensors • O2, pH, conductivity, temperature • biomarkers • Chips can also store and release liquid Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Direction:Cell guidance Neurones, glia … also stem cells, kidney cells … Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Potential benefits • Personalised therapy • Treatment at home • Optimised timing/location of therapy • Chemotherapy released local to tumour • Maximise tumour damage • Minimise collateral/systemic damage • Rebuild broken nervous system components Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Future trends • More, better, smaller sensors • More and better algorithms for making sense of sensors • Better security • Flexible substrates Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
Some Issues • Insertion • Stereotactic is possible … long thin chips • Bio-fouling • Body’s reaction to foreign objects • Wireless communications • Radio/ultrasound • Signals from sensors/to drug-delivery • “noisy” and not 100% accurate • Security • Need to deliver therapy at the tumour’s (in)convenience, not on a regular schedule Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh
But these are only the scientist’s concerns … • We NEED a wider view • Hence the inclusion of social scientists and potential patients in the IMPACT proposal • Hence my being here today Alan Murray – University of Edinburgh