ALUMNI LEADING RESEARCH
Keeping the pressure on
A trio of Heriot-Watt alumni have collaborated on a new medical device.
Header image: © UKRI
Two electrical engineers and a textiles technologist have worked together to revolutionise compression therapy through the development of a new sensor.
The sensor, invented by Dr Philip Hands of the University of Edinburgh, alongside Professor Marc Desmulliez and Drs Vasileios Mitrakos and Lisa Macintyre of Heriot-Watt University, is wireless, thinner, more sensitive, and more flexible than similar devices.
Professor of Microsystems Engineering, Marc Desmulliez, Associate Professor of Textile Technology, Lisa Macintyre, and Vice President of Electronic Skin (Touchlab Ltd.), Vasileios Mitrakos, are all alumni of Heriot-Watt.
Marc, who hails from France, came to Heriot-Watt in 1991 to study a PhD in Physics and then stayed on as a Lecturer in Electrical Engineering. A former Associate Principal (Impact) at the University, he has spun out two companies — MicroStencil Ltd in 2003 and MicroSense Technologies Ltd in 2017 — and is the manager of the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre.
“This game-changing polymer-based sensor is more versatile, and it doesn’t distort the compression garment as it measures the pressure,” he explains. “Many existing sensors are bulky and may have protruding wires that can damage the skin.”
This game-changing polymer-based sensor is more versatile.”
Professor Marc Desmulliez
L-R: Industrial Champion John Gilhooly, Dr Philip Hands, Professor Marc Desmulliez, and research assistant Dr Jason Norman.
Dr Lisa Macintyre working in the textile testing laboratory at the School of Textiles and Design.
The technology we have created has huge potential.”
Dr Lisa Macintyre
Compression therapy is a common treatment to help patients post-operation to maintain healthy blood circulation in their body, preventing blood clots and other complications. It usually involves the use of a bandage, garment or stocking. However, the pressure exerted by these compression garments can often be difficult to measure and hard to control, which can be a serious issue for a patient’s comfort and recovery.
“Currently, most people who have an operation wake up to find themselves wearing compression stockings, and often they don’t fit well,” explains Philip Hands of the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering. “Our device is unobtrusive, and with an array of the handheld antennas near the body you can measure the pressure map along the limb and adjust the stocking or bandage easily.”
“This sensor can accurately measure whether the compression garment is exerting the correct pressure on the body and adjust the stocking or bandage accordingly,” explains Vasileios, who came to Heriot-Watt as a postgraduate, studying an MRes and then his PhD, which was supervised by Phillip, Marc and Lisa. He now specialises in the design, development, and characterisation of minimally invasive tactile e-skin sensors through the spin-out company Touchlabs based at the National Robotarium.
“The technology we have created has huge potential,” comments Lisa who joined Heriot-Watt in 1996 and is based in the School of Textiles & Design. Lisa studied her PhD—on pressure garments for the treatment of hypertrophic scars—part-time whilst employed as a full-time lecturer, and on its completion was awarded the MacFarlane Prize for her outstanding contribution to the University’s research.
While the new device is focused on improved medical outcomes and patient quality of life, it could also have broader applications in all sorts of wearable devices.
Currently, Marc, Philip, and Dr Jason Norman who is also from the University of Edinburgh, are involved in a Scottish Enterprise High Growth Spinout Programme with a view to spinning out a company that will bring to market the sensor for use in compression therapy.
Learn more about our leading research transforming healthcare.
Shaping Futures
Collaborating with partners across industry, healthcare, the charitable sector and academia, the Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies is focused on delivering innovative, sustainable and user-inspired solutions through a co-creative approach.
