̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Lisa Hall

Smartphone screens effective sensors for soil or water contamination

sc604 — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:36:55 +0000

Researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have demonstrated how a typical touchscreen could be used to identify common ionic contaminants in soil or drinking water by dropping liquid samples on the screen, the first time this has been achieved. ̽��ֱ��sensitivity of the touchscreen sensor is comparable to typical lab-based equipment, which would make it useful in low-resource settings.

̽��ֱ��researchers say their proof of concept could one day be expanded for a wide range of sensing applications, including for biosensing or medical diagnostics, right from the phone in your pocket. ̽��ֱ��results are reported in the journal Sensors and Actuators B.

Touchscreen technology is ubiquitous in our everyday lives: the screen on a typical smartphone is covered in a grid of electrodes, and when a finger disrupts the local electric field of these electrodes, the phone interprets the signal.

Other teams have used the computational power of a smartphone for sensing applications, but these have relied on the camera or peripheral devices, or have required significant changes to be made to the screen.

“We wanted to know if we could interact with the technology in a different way, without having to fundamentally change the screen,” said Dr Ronan Daly from Cambridge’s Institute of Manufacturing, who co-led the research. “Instead of interpreting a signal from your finger, what if we could get a touchscreen to read electrolytes, since these ions also interact with the electric fields?”

̽��ֱ��researchers started with computer simulations, and then validated their simulations using a stripped down, standalone touchscreen, provided by two UK manufacturers, similar to those used in phones and tablets.

̽��ֱ��researchers pipetted different liquids onto the screen to measure a change in capacitance and recorded the measurements from each droplet using the standard touchscreen testing software. Ions in the fluids all interact with the screen's electric fields differently depending on the concentration of ions and their charge.

“Our simulations showed where the electric field interacts with the fluid droplet. In our experiments, we then found a linear trend for a range of electrolytes measured on the touchscreen,” said first author Sebastian Horstmann, a PhD candidate at IfM. “ ̽��ֱ��sensor saturates at an anion concentration of around 500 micromolar, which can be correlated to the conductivity measured alongside. This detection window is ideal to sense ionic contamination in drinking water.”

One early application for the technology could be to detect arsenic contamination in drinking water. Arsenic is another common contaminant found in groundwater in many parts of the world, but most municipal water systems screen for it and filter it out before it reaches a household tap. However, in parts of the world without water treatment plants, arsenic contamination is a serious problem.

“In theory, you could add a drop of water to your phone before you drink it, in order to check that it’s safe,” said Daly.

At the moment, the sensitivity of phone and tablet screens is tuned for fingers, but the researchers say the sensitivity could be changed in a certain part of the screen by modifying the electrode design in order to be optimised for sensing.

“ ̽��ֱ��phone’s software would need to communicate with that part of the screen to deliver the optimum electric field and be more sensitive for the target ion, but this is achievable,” said Professor Lisa Hall from Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, who co-led the research. “We’re keen to do much more on this – it’s just the first step.”

While it’s now possible to detect ions using a touchscreen, the researchers hope to further develop the technology so that it can detect a wide range of molecules. This could open up a huge range of potential health applications.

“For example, if we could get the sensitivity to a point where the touchscreen could detect heavy metals, it could be used to test for things like lead in drinking water. We also hope in the future to deliver sensors for home health monitoring,” said Daly.

“This is a starting point for broader exploration of the use of touchscreen sensing in mobile technologies and the creation of tools that are accessible to everyone, allowing rapid measurements and communication of data,” said Hall.

Reference:
Sebastian Horstmann, Cassi J Henderson, Elizabeth A H Hall, Ronan Daly ‘Capacitive touchscreen sensing - a measure of electrolyte conductivity.’ Sensors and Actuators B (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2021.130318

̽��ֱ��touchscreen technology used in billions of smartphones and tablets could also be used as a powerful sensor, without the need for any modifications.

Instead of interpreting a signal from your finger, what if we could get a touchscreen to read electrolytes, since these ions also interact with the electric fields?

Ronan Daly

Sebastian video diary - Cambridge Festival

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

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Yes

Global teamwork brings low-cost test for Weil's disease a step closer

amb206 — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 06:00:11 +0000

Each year an estimated 1.03 million people around the world, many of them in poor countries, contract leptospirosis, with 58,900 of these infections resulting in death. Better known as Weil’s disease, leptospirosis is spread by animals such as rats and transmitted to humans when they come into contact with food, water or soil that is contaminated by infected animal urine. ̽��ֱ��infection can be successfully treated if diagnosed early. Untreated, the disease can lead to death.

Diagnosis of leptospirosis presents problems: the infection shares symptoms with other diseases, including dengue, malaria and viral hepatitis. ̽��ֱ��only way to confirm the illness is to take a blood sample and run specialised diagnostic tests. This process can be time-consuming and expensive.

Now, a global collaboration between Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� and ̽��ֱ�� of Ghana researchers in biotechnology, pathology and manufacturing is bringing a cheap diagnostic test a step closer.

̽��ֱ��global project was made possible through the Royal Society’s Global Challenge Research Fund, which enables outstanding UK research leaders to develop international collaborations with the best leading researchers from around the world, to work on some of the global challenges and problems facing developing countries.

Lead researchers Professor Elizabeth (Lisa) Hall (Head of the Cambridge Analytical Biotechnology Group) and Dr Gordon Awandare (Director of the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens) are also working with engineers such as Dr Ronan Daly (IfM, Department of Engineering) to manufacture a single instrument, similar to the home pregnancy test, which will deliver accurate and rapid point-of-care diagnosis.

“Health practitioners need a simple test that enables them to detect the difference between bacterial and viral infections – such as leptospirosis and dengue – because they require very different treatments,” says Professor Hall.

“Our target is to develop a diagnostic test requiring a blood sample from a finger prick at a cost of less than $0.50 per test. ̽��ֱ��test has the potential to transform the way we diagnose and treat the one million people who contract leptospirosis every year.”

One of the most expensive components of the test for leptospirosis is the enzyme used to amplify the pathogen’s genetic material (DNA/RNA) to high enough levels to be detected.

“Specialist skills and refrigeration are required in traditional manufacturing of the enzyme,” says Professor Hall. “To overcome these barriers to local production, we’ve developed a technique that allows for direct purification of the enzyme from cell culture and packages it ready for use.”

̽��ֱ��team is also developing a novel technique to extract the pathogen’s DNA/RNA directly from the blood sample. “Both the DNA/RNA extraction system and the enzyme will be contained on a diagnostic card that can be manufactured locally – and ultimately from local materials,” says Professor Hall.

International cooperation has been crucial in the development of the test (see panel below). ̽��ֱ��Cambridge scientists are also working with Universiti Putra Malaysia – and would welcome new partners, both in the UK and overseas.

“We hope to deliver a sustained improvement in healthcare while also developing local economies. Local fabrication will drive sustainable local enterprise and help improve technological education,” says Dr Daly. “Leptospirosis has been recognised as a neglected disease by the World Health Organization and there is scope for taking a similar approach for developing point-of-care diagnostic tests for other treatable infectious diseases.

“They include food and waterborne diseases (bacterial diarrhoea, enteric fever, hepatitis A), vector-borne diseases (malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika), zoonotic diseases (leptospirosis, rabies) respiratory infections (influenza-like illnesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis) and HIV infection. These patients present with fever and a wide range of non-specific symptoms, which are difficult to diagnose without specialist laboratory tests. These may be expensive and/or unavailable, resulting in presumptive diagnosis and empirical treatment, which may be unnecessary, incorrect or potentially even harmful.”

̽��ֱ��various elements of the test are currently being developed in the lab, with the first protoype expected to be produced in 2018.

An on-the-spot, low-cost diagnostic test for leptospirosis (Weil's disease), a bacterial infection recognised as a neglected disease by the World Health Organization, could save lives in developing countries where there is little or no access to medical pathology laboratories and specialist technicians.

Our target is to develop a diagnostic test requiring a blood sample from a finger prick at a cost of less than $0.50 per test.

Lisa Hall

CDC Global/Evi Susanti Sinaga

Leptospirosis in farmers, Indonesia

Research partnership

Project leaders: Professor Lisa Hall (Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge), Professor Gordon Awandare (West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens) and Dr Ronan Daly (IfM, Department of Engineering, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge)

Project members: Cassi Henderson, Dushanth Seevaratnam, Dr Hui Yee Chee

Partners: West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP); Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Funding: Royal Society International Collaboration Awards for Research Professors, IC160089 (Hall/Awandare): UPM Sabbatical award (Chee); Gates Cambridge Scholarship (Henderson)

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes

Cambridge people named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list

th288 — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 05:10:01 +0000

Professor Harshad Kumar Dharamshi Bhadeshia FRS FREng (pictured centre) is the Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy and Director of the SKF Steel Technology Centre. His work is focused on transformation theory, which is concerned with the arrangement of atoms in a solid, in order to enable the invention of new iron alloys. He has been appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to Science and Technology.

Professor Christopher Munro Clark (pictured right) is the Regius Professor of History. His research work is centred on the history of 19th-century Germany and continental Europe. He has published numerous studies and books relating to the political and cultural history of religion, Kaiser Willhelm II, and the history of Prussia. He has been appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to British German relations.

Archibald Hugh Duberly, CBE is the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire and a Senior Member of Wolfson College. He has been appointed a KCVO.

Professor Christopher Aidan Gilligan (pictured left) is the Head of the Epidemiology and Modelling Group in the Department of Plant Sciences. His work is focused on developing and testing a theoretical framework to understand the mechanisms that control invasion, persistence, scaling and variability of epidemics within changing agricultural and natural landscapes. He is also a Trustee of the Natural History Museum, by Prime Ministerial appointment. He has been appointed CBE for services to plant health in the field of epidemiology.

Professor Elizabeth Anne Howlett Hall is Professor of Analytical Biotechnology and Head of the Cambridge Analytical Biotechnology Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. Her research work is into heterogenous analytical systems with a primary focus on molecular sensors and directed towards environmental, medical and industrial application. She is also the Chair of Disability Snowsports UK. She has been appointed CBE for services to higher education and to sport.

Professor Anthony John Holland is Professor of the Psychiatry of Learning Disabilities and Head of the Cambridge Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Group in the Department of Psychiatry. His main areas of research include the relationship between genetic syndromes and associated psychiatric and behavioural disorders, and clinico-legal studies. He is also Chair in Learning Disabilities at the Health Foundation, Fellow and Vice-President of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability, President of the UK Prader-Willi Association, and President of Cambridge MENCAP. He has been appointed CBE for services to psychiatry.

Professor James Anthony Jackson FRS is Professor of Active Tectonics and Head of the Department of Earth Sciences. His work exploits techniques in earthquake source seismology, geomorphology, space geodesy and remote sensing to examine how the continents are deforming today on all scales: from the details of the fault rupture in single earthquakes, to how that faulting has created the local geomorphology and structure, to how regional fault patterns and motions can accommodate deformation of vast continental areas. He is also part of the Dynamic Earth and Geohazards Group, and the lead Principal Investigator on the Earthquakes Without Frontiers Project – a joint NERC-ESRC consortium supporting a partnership of physical and social scientists working to help increase resilience to earthquakes in countries in Asia. He has been apointed CBE for services to environmental science.

Seven distinguished members of the ̽��ֱ�� have been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list announced today.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

Yes

Bridging the sensor gap

tdk25 — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We live in a world aided by sensors – devices that measure a physical quantity, convert the measurement to a signal, and interpret and act on the result to provide real-time information about the world around us. Their uses are as diverse as the science that goes into making them: monitoring environmental change and the state of our health; enhancing process control and product assessment in industry; providing security and safety information – in short, sensors affect how we live, work and make decisions. ̽��ֱ��value of the global sensor market has passed the £100 billion mark already and market projections predict enormous future growth.

World-leading research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge is pushing the limits in sensor technology – ever smaller, cheaper, more sensitive and robust – reflecting the great strengths in sensor research in the physical sciences, engineering, mathematics, computer science and technology. But to allow the quantum leaps forward that many believe are possible, it is becoming crucial to connect the disciplines and bridge the gaps. This is the goal of CamBridgeSens, a new initiative sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

‘We aim to fundamentally change the way sensor research is conducted in Cambridge by creating an environment where researchers are able to explore their most adventurous and creative ideas. We also seek to connect the tremendous expertise and skills that exist here, to put us in a leading position to tackle even the most challenging problems in sensor research,’ said Dr Clemens Kaminski, of the Department of Chemical Engineering, who leads the project with Professor Lisa Hall of the Institute of Biotechnology.

From sandpits to kindergartens

A key issue in bridging disciplines is to develop a common language, as Professor Hall explained: ‘Because this initiative has at its heart a shared vision of traversing the boundaries of traditional sensor research and invoking unique interfaces between disciplines, a basis for communication needs to be achieved early enough to engage its partners and broaden the experience and appreciation of students.’

Underpinning this cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration will be a diverse group of ‘Research Ambassadors’, comprising leading researchers at Cambridge plus industrialists, all of whom are recognised world leaders in the sensor field. ̽��ֱ��programme will be managed ‘from the bottom up’ and major drivers will be future students engaging in sensor-related research. ‘ ̽��ֱ��quality of the studentship at Cambridge is a great asset,’ said Dr Kaminski. ‘By enabling young researchers to realise their ideas through ‘sandpit’ brainstorming events, research competitions and secondment opportunities (as well as through offers of real cash!), radically new approaches to sensor research will emerge.’

Through a ‘kindergarten’ programme, students will receive research experience in a variety of disciplines in their first or second year. Early-career researchers will be encouraged to undertake discipline-hopping secondments and industrial exchanges, supported by Research Ambassadors promoting interactions at the grass roots.

Breaking down barriers

̽��ֱ��scale of CamBridgeSens is ambitious: under the steerage of Dr Mica Green, coordinator of the project, at least 50 research students will participate, and 20 Research Ambassadors have agreed to provide solid foundations for what is set to become a network of international excellence.

But the implications of the initiative stretch wide and have the potential to transform the training and research culture in Cambridge. ‘By breaking down discipline barriers and creating identities between researchers with common research goals that transcend departmental affiliation,’ said Professor Ian White, Chair of the School of Technology, ‘Cambridge can play a powerful role in responding to challenging problems of the future.’

For more information about CamBridgeSens and how to participate, please visit www.sensors.cam.ac.uk/

CamBridgeSens - a strategic initiative to bridge gaps across disciplines, departments and research cultures - launches this summer.

We aim to fundamentally change the way sensor research is conducted in Cambridge by creating an environment where researchers are able to explore their most adventurous and creative ideas.

Dr Clemens Kaminski

Credit-T Laurila

Chemical Engineering

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Yes