SCOTTISH scientists working on medical devices that monitor disease deep inside the lungs have been boosted by a £3.8 million investment.
The money will enable researchers involved in the Edinburgh-based Proteus project to further develop systems that could revolutionise how lung diseases are investigated, diagnosed and treated. It will also help the Proteus team launch a new facility to accelerate the development of healthcare technologies.
Scientists, engineers and doctors are working together alongside regulatory, legal and business experts on Proteus, named after a Greek sea god.
Since the project was launched in 2013, the team have designed and created a range of chemical probes to detect the presence of diseases in the lungs. The probes can rapidly and accurately diagnose bacterial infect-ions, helping to ensure patients are given appropriate treatments. The team has also devised cutting-edge light sensing technologies, including a camera that can detect sources of light inside the body to enable doctors to track medical tools used in minimally invasive procedures.
The funding has been awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to continue to support the research for the next five years.
The investment will enable researchers to further develop the technology for clinical use, develop new world-leading technology and accelerate commercial translation.
Proteus is led by Edinburgh University in collaboration with Bath and Heriot-Watt universities. Experts from Durham University are joining the team for the next phase, and the project will also be supported by 15 PhD students.
Proteus was recently selected by the EPSRC to represent Britain at the conference of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science as an embodiment of the kind of science the UK is pushing forward.
Professor Mark Bradley, director of Proteus at Edinburgh’s school of chemistry, said: “This investment will allow us to push the technology into multiple new areas of application. It will also enable us to develop project sustainability and support staff development and independence. We are also investing in a unique facility that will allow the rapid bench-to-bedside transfer of the project’s technology.”
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