Sensor100The International Bio-sensor and Chemo-sensor Network

May 2014

A custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could transform treatment of cardiac disorders.

Source: University of Washington in St Louis

From the Editor 3

Xerox researches sensor free monitoring 4

Profile: Elaine Warburton OBE 6

A “Hands-on” Biodot Workshop 10

Coming Events 11

Sensors in Medicine 2015 12

Call for Papers 13

Intelligent Sensing Program (ISP) 40 14

Company News 15

Hamamatsu µPMT 18

COMSOL Webinar 19

Technology News 20

The Last Word - The Longitude Prize 22

About Sensor100 23

Cover image: Flexible membrane with embedded sensors fitted to a heart. Source: University of Washington in St. Louis

www.sensor100.com

Contents

Sensor100 May 2014 2

The dominant story of the life science sector for the past month has been the attempt by Pfizer to acquire Astra-Zeneca. At the time of writing , Pfizer’s “final” offer has been rejected by Astra’s board, Pfizer has said it will make no more offers, and it remains to be seen if that is the end of the story.

Biosensors didn’t figure in the Pfizer story, but it is apparent that the major pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma) are keeping watch as the sensor market develops. There have been acquisitions, like No-vartis acquiring Vivacta’s PoC technology in 2012, partnerships such as Ortho Diagnostics and Sphere Medical, and quite a few other deals which don’t attract the attention of the media in the way Pfizer has. At Sensors in Medicine 2014, Dr. Thomas Keller of Glaxo Smith Kline gave an amazingly insightful overview of the potential for sensor ap-plications in healthcare - obviously a field that GSK is watching closely.

The biosensor story has yet to be played out - innumerous small start up companies, digital technology companies beginning to make moves, leading diagnostic companies looking to move beyond glucose moni-tors, and big pharma waiting cautiously in the wings. The next few years will be fascinating.

Kind regards

Michaelmichael@sensor100.com

From the editor...

Sensor100 May 20143

Chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases require continuous monitoring, which can be expensive and difficult, especially in remote areas and homes. The Xerox Innovation Group announced a suite of healthcare research projects being conducted in India by Xerox Research Centre India and Xerox Research Center Webster in New York that use video cameras and data analytics to monitor a patient’s condition without wires, discomfort or risk of infection. Scientists believe the contact-free approach will make it less intrusive to patients in India and across the globe for doctors to moni-tor the condition of their patients.

Working closely with the Manipal University Hospital in Manipal, India, Xerox researchers have been testing the feasibility of using video cam-eras to develop technologies that continuously monitor the condition of patients.

Sensor100 May 2014 4

Xerox Researches Sensor Free Monitoring

A baby in the neonatal unit at Manipal University in Manipal, India is being moni-tored by an infrared camera as part of a Xerox remote healthcare sensing re-search project pilot. Using video cameras and data analytics patient’s vitals can be monitored without wires while minimizing discomfort and risk of infection.

Using patented software algorithms, Xerox scientists have been able to convert data collected by the cameras into vital signs. When a heart pumps, for example, freshly oxygenated blood makes the skin appear redder. A video camera documents these subtle changes that are im-perceptible to the human eye, and a computer then calculates a heart rate. Because the cameras can scan skin from a distance, patients can – in theory – be free from wires, sensors and other devices that typi-cally are used today.

Source: Xerox

Sensor100 May 20145

...Continued

Lalit K. Mestha, Xerox research Fellow, and Survi Kyal, Xerox research engineer, demonstrate how a simple webcam can pick up health vitals such as heart and respiration rates at the Xerox Research Center Webster.

Profile: Elaine Warburton OBE

CV SnapshotCurrent Position CEO QuantuMDx, Newcastle UKAdditional positions CEO QuantuMDx USA Inc, Chattanooga, USA

CEO QuantuMDx Asia, SingaporeCEO NorthGene Limited (DNA analysis), Newcas-tle, UK

Previous Positions CEO Opaldia, London, W1BD Director, The London Clinic, London W1Finance Director, Spring Medical, London W6

Education BSc/RGN University of LiverpoolACA KPMG Peat Marwick

Web site www.quantumdx.comOther interests Horse Riding, cricket fan, my teenage sons

S100: Elaine you have had a remarkable career, but before we explore that, can we talk about QuantuMDx? How did it start, and how did you get involved?

EW: QuantuMDx Group evolved from an alignment of unrelated coincidences starting 10 years ago when Jonathan O’Halloran, the inventor, met up with me, the business specialist, and my husband Julian, an experienced financier. We tasked Jono with the im-possible … miniaturizing an entire £multi-million molecular laboratory into a £500 hand-held, smartphone like device capable of sample to result in under 15 minutes for a few pounds per test.

S100: Funding medtech start-ups in the UK is always a challenge. How did you deal with that?

EW: Fund raising has been tough as we set up the Company at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008. QuantuMDx is unusual as we are not a University spin-out. We funded our company the hard way, by ourselves. Julian and my Virgin One flexible mortgage account became QuantuMDx’s financial life-line.

Sensor100 May 2014 6

Profile: Elaine Warburton OBE

From the go, I took the conscious decision to bootstrap the company and seek predominantly non-equity diluting funding, such as grants and crowd-funding. Grant money has been awarded from the NHS NIHR i4i scheme, South Africa’s Science and Technology Agency, the TSB, EU FP7 and the Biomedical Catalyst Fund. We used the IndieGoGo crowd-funding platform to raise funds for our first malaria field trial and ended up experiencing the most incredible global media exposure which money could never buy!

S100: And the core sensor technology is?

EW: At the heart of QuantuMDx’s device is a nanowire biosensor, which we hold global exclusive rights to. We use the biosensor to electrically sense biomolecules whether they are DNA/RNA sequences, proteins or small molecules. We effectively “coat” the nanowires with our proprietary surface chemistries to optimise sensing and signal processing before we print target biological probes onto the nanowires.

S100: So the biosensor is incorporated into your Q-POC™ handheld laboratory. What are the current application areas?

EW: Our current application areas are infectious disease testing (malaria, TB, flu etc), cancer profiling and companion diagnostics. Most developing coun-tries have sporadic access to health, diagnostic and medical expertise, so Q-POC™is perfect for resource-scarce regions.

S100: The Company already has subsidiaries in the USA and Asia – how did you achieve that? Is it working for you?

EW: It works like a dream and these have probably been two of the best corporate decisions we’ve made. In Asia, we enjoy a close working relation-ship with Singapore’s A*Star institutes (IME, SIMTech and GIS) which have proved invaluable. In the USA, our US Director Paul Fitzpatrick can travel across the country meeting with blue chip companies, academic centres of excellence as well as the government.

Sensor100 May 20147

Sensor100 May 2014

Profile: Elaine Warburton OBE

S100: And you have also acquired NorthGene to perform commercial DNA testing. Where do you see the market for that technology?

EW: If I’m being honest, the future for traditional DNA analysis, such as that undertaken in a central lab by NorthGene is finite, superseded by point of care devices like Q-POC™. So our strategy for NorthGene is to build our market over the next few years then slowly introduce cheap, accurate and rapid testing performed by Q-POC™.

S100: We always ask this difficult question, but where do you think sensor technol-ogy in life sciences will be in say 5-10 years?

EW: I’ll focus on our vision for our biosensor. Taking the functionality of Q-POC™ and our sensor one stage further, our vision is for our device to be in everyone’s pocket, acting as a biological API, converting the code of life into binary code and beaming the genomic data into the Cloud for analysis and evolving what we call “The Internet of Life”.

S100: Now let’s talk about you. You’re a trained nurse with a degree in genetics, a chartered accountant, and now you’re running one of the fastest growing biosensor companies in the world. How did that happen?

EW: It’s been a series of happy coincidences borne of a burning desire to find a solution to prevent anyone going through what my mother and my family went through when she was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was a child. QuantuMDx is the culmination of my experiences but more so, learning from my errors.

S100: What makes a good day at the office?

EW: I thrive off the buzz from my Q-Team. I love their energy, their youth and zest for life and learning and sharing in their sheer joy from cracking an impossible task. There are 40 Quantumites now and we still retain a family-like environment with most of us Facebook friends.

8

Profile: Elaine Warburton OBE

S100: If we asked your staff, what would they say about you?

EW: A fantastic and very caring boss but dear God don’t get on the wrong side of her!

S100: And what do you do to relax? What makes a great weekend?

EW: That’s an easy question. My family is one of my greatest pleasures and watching my boys play field hockey and cricket at School A Team and Coun-ty level fills me with such pride. I share a horse so going for a long hack in the countryside is a great way to unwind from the stresses and strains of life. I’m also in training for my second Great North Run .

S100: Where will you be in 5-10 years?

EW: My dream is for QuantuMDx to be the Apple or Google of the digital medical devices world but I can’t see myself at the helm. My passion lies with the thrill of the start-up, innovating with new and emerging technolo-gies and I simply don’t have the energy to do it a fourth time! So hopefully I will be in a position to invest in promising start-ups and mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs. I’d also like to take a more active role in shaping health policy to be able to rapidly embrace new technologies but with a common sense and an apolitical attitude.

S100: Thanks for talking to us Elaine. We wish you and QuantuMDx all future success, and look forward to seeing you at Sensors in Medicine 2015.

Sensor100 May 20149

10

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Program and Registration

Sensor100 May 2014

1st International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications1 - 16 June

15th International Conference on Electroanalysis11 - 15 June, Malmö, Sweden

Sensors 2014 - 6th Annual AAMG ConferenceNew Materials and Developments in Sensor Technologies18 June, London UK

Sensors Expo and Conference24 - 26 June, Rosemont IL, USA

Breath Analysis 20146 - 9 July, Torun, Poland

Digital Healthcare3rd September, London UK

Point of Care Diagnostics World Congress18 - 19 September, San Diego CA, USA

4th European Conference on Microfluidics10 - 12 December, Limerick, Ireland

Coming Events

11 Sensor100 May 2014

Are you organising a sensor conference not listed in our Calendar? Please email details to us.

Sensor100 May 2014 12

Join the mailing list for program updates on the 3rd Annual Sensors in Medicine Conference

Click on image to view slide show

24 - 25 March 2015

VenueRoyal Geographic SocietySouth Kensington, London

Click on the image to view the slide show

BioTech 2014: Interdisciplinary conference on bio-process analytics and sensor technology4-5 September 2014, Wädenswil , SwitzerlandAbstract submission deadline: 2 June

Call for Papers

13 Sensor100 May 2014

2-Days October 2014 | UK Venue to be announced

This new International Conference is now being planned.

It will bring together leading academic scientists with com-mercial and regulatory organisations to explore the applica-tion of sensors in monitoring air and water

In addition to invited and contributed papers, there will be an exhibition and poster display.

Please join the mailing list to express interest and receive program updates

Organised by Sensor100

INTELLIGENT SENSING PROGRAMME(ISP) 40

14Sensor100 May 2014

CONFIRMED SPEAKERSAT THE EVENT:

KEYNOTE: Pete LoftusRolls-Royce; Head of

Measurement EngineeringKEYNOTE: Stefano Borini

Nokia Research Ltd.Victor Higgs

Applied NanodetectorsPeter Skipworth

Environmental Solutions Ltd.Ashwin Sehsia

Cambridge Centre for SmartInfrastructure and Construction

James BakerNational Graphene Institute

Duncan GrahamCentre for Molecular

NanometrologyIan ReidCENSIS

Anthony WaltonInstitute for Integrated Micro

and Nano SystemsCHAIR: Frank Turnbull

Former CYO at Honeywell

FOR MORE INFORMATIONPLEASE CONTACT:

matt.butchers@ktn-uk.org

LOCATION: Ambassadors Bloomsbury LondonDATE: Wednesday 4th June 2014TIME: 9:00 am - 17:30 pm

The Knowledge Transfer Network will be hold-ing the 40th Intelligent Sensing Programme (ISP) on the 4th June 2014. The theme for the event will be nano and micro sensing technolo-gies and their applications.

The day will be a fascinating series of talks, networking and technology demonstrations, followed by a wine reception.

TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE:Alongside the talks, the ISP will be running a technology showcase. If you are an academic or company with new, exciting work to demon-strate, please contact us on the details below, as spaces will be limited.

REGISTER HERE

EXHIBITOR/DEMONSTRATIONPLACES STILL AVAILABLE

The Knowledge Transfer Network will be holding the 40th Intelligent

Sensing Programme (ISP) on the 4th June 2014. The theme for

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Micrux Technologies, Spain, has released a new electrochemical plat-form for thin-film (micro)electrodes: All-in-One cell. The AIO-cell enables the use of the thin-film (micro)electrodes in static (Drop / Batch-cell) or dynamic (Flow-cell) con-ditions, fulfilling the requirements of multiple applications. Read more...

Vital Connect, San Jose CA, USA, has secured FDA clearance for the HealthPatch™ family of biosensors- the first solution of its kind capable of capturing clinical-grade biometric measurements in a continuous, configurable and non-obtrusive manner using a small yet powerful patch

worn on the chest. Read more...

Apple said to amass biosensor team for rumored iWatch. Apple Inc.’s hiring of biosensor experts has been noted by various sources for quite some time. However, the breadth of that hiring apparently goes beyond what has been reported previously, according to Reuters. LinkedIn profiles reveal that Apple has snapped up at least six prominent biomedicine experts over the last year. Most of those hires are related to sensor technology. Apple CEO Tim Cook is quoted as saying that the sensor industry was “about to explode!” The company has trademarked the name iWatch in multiple countries.Read more...

15 Sensor100 May 2014

Company News

Digital health companies raised nearly $700 million in the first quarter of 2014, up 87% over the same period in 2013, according to a report by Rock Health, and reported in MobileHealth News. California-based companies received 32 percent of the funding. Flor-ida-based companies raised close to 23 percent of the total funding beating out Massachusetts, which has raised around 11 percent. Utah and Virginia were the next two on the list.

Consumer Physics, Inc, an Iraeli start-up, is said to have raised over $950,000 on KIckstarter for its hand held spectrometer SCiO. This hand-held device, which will retail for $199 uses near infra-red (NIR) technology for contact free measurements.

“Our development team has taught SCiO some exciting things, like to tell how much fat is in any salad dressing, how much sugar is in a particular piece of fruit, how pure an oil is and lots more.” The device has been in development for three years, and is close to production. Assuming it performs as well as its developers claim, it will be a major conribution to low cost, hand held spectrometry. Read more...

Company News

16Sensor100 May 2014

DNA Electronics Ltd (DNAe), a developer of semiconductor solu-tions for real-time DNA and RNA detection, announces that it has successfully secured the necessary funding for DNAe to develop the Genalysis® point-of-care genomic diagnostic product line. The major-ity of the funding had been provided by its principal shareholder, Edith Grove Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Genting Berhad), with the company’s founders also making further investment. DNAe will utilise the funding to transform the company from an R&D and licensing business to a full-fledged product company, offering point-of-care solutions for time-critical medical applications. Dr. Steve Allen is appointed COO; development staff will be doubled to 60. DNAe uses a microchip-based ion-sensor known as an ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) to detect hydrogen ions which are released as nucleotides are incorporated into a DNA strand. Read more...

Company News

Sensor100 May 201417

18 Sensor100 May 2014

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19 Sensor100 May 2014

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Implantable Membrane with Embedded Sensors Transforms Heart Disease Treatment

Professor Igor Efimov and co-workers at Washington University in St Louis using an inexpensive 3-D printer have developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with em-bedded sensors that could transform treat-ment and prediction of cardiac disorders. The 3-D elastic membrane is made of a soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely shaped to match the heart’s epicardium, or the outer layer of the wall of the heart. The team can then print tiny sensors onto the membrane that can pre-cisely measure temperature, mechanical strain and pH, among other markers, or deliver a pulse of electricity in cases of arrhythmia. Those sensors could assist physicians with determining the health of the heart, deliver treatment or predict an impending heart attack before a patient exhibits any physical signs.

The findings were published online in Nature Communications on Feb. 25, 2014. Read more...

Shakespeare Performance Under Audience Control

At a performance of some scenes from Shakespeare, four members of the audience were wired with sensors, so the production could be modified to reflect the emotional response of the audience membersThe biosensors tracked their heart rate, brain waves, muscle tension, and perspiration in real time. Read more...

Technology News

20Sensor100 May 2014

Sensor Combines Graph-ene and Painkiller Recep-tor

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have attached the mu-opiod receptor to graphene strips, creating a chemical sensor based on one of the human body’s most important receptors, one that is critical in the action of painkill-ers and anesthetics. Working with SPAWAR Systems in San Diego the team have developed a new method to fabricate large arrays of graphene field effect transistors that does not sacrifice the inherent electronic properties of the carbon material. The team then function-alized the transistors with mu receptors to make hybrid biosensor devices that can detect naltrexone (an opioid receptor antagonist used to treat alcohol dependence) at levels of 10 pg/mL – a value that is around 100 times lower than that obtained using current clinical diagnostic techniques. Full report here...

US Air Force Tests Wearable Biosensors

Some of the Air Force Marathon runners this year will take part in an Air Force Research Lab trial of wearable biosensors for monitoring, storing and even transmitting the wearer’s vital signs and more. Sever-al airmen are expected to wear the electronic patches, which contain small biosensors capable of collecting from sweat the same kinds of information doctors now get by drawing blood, according to a report on the patch by the Pentagon. Read more...

Sensor100 May 201421

Technology News

In which we bring you the more unusual or off-topic stories of the month

The Longitude Prize

300 years after the first Longitude Prize, another prize of £10m is be-ing organised by NESTA, funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board. For this prize, the public has the opportunity to choose the subject.

There are six subject areas: Water

Dementia

Paralysis

Food

Antibiotics

Flight

You can read more about each subject area, and vote for your 3 top subject areas at The Longitude Prize 2014. The results will be an-nounced on the 25th June, after which NESTA will determine how to spend the money on solving this global problem.

What has this to do with sensors, you may well ask? Isn’t it inevitable that sensors will be part of the solution in one form or another?

Sensor100’s take on this? Vote for Water and/or Food, which affect everyone in the world; and almost everyone takes an Antibiotic at some time or another. Dementia and Paralysis are truly awful prob-lems to cope with, but are not whole population issues. And don’t even think about Flight - aircraft won’t be flying in 30 or 40 years when we run out of fossil fuels.

22Sensor100 May 2014

The Last Word

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