Cambridge Design Partnership » Healthcare

Lightweight Oxygen Concentrator

Abbie Meliniotis — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:05:10 +0000

Provision of oxygen at the frontline has the potential to save lives.

Afghanistan, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) caused over 50% of combat casualties. The combination of wounds caused by an IED together with damage to the lungs severely compromises the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to vital tissues. Since if anything the ‘Golden Hour’ is even more relevant here than in civilian cases, making oxygen available on the front line would be a decisive step in improving survival rates and outcomes.

Since other forms of oxygen are impractical on the front line, our response was to design an integrated oxygen concentrator with a lightweight engine to create a highly efficient and extremely compact oxygen source. The unit can be run on a range of fuels, including standard diesel.

Oxygen concentrators are routinely used to provide oxygen to patients with a chronic illness. By cycling the air pressure in chambers filled with a gas absorbing substance, atmospheric oxygen can be concentrated to 95% purity.

CDP’s development has involved working with expert users to understand the requirements for the system, creating a laboratory demonstrator capable of producing high purity oxygen to be produced using both butane and diesel fuels and defining a feasible technical specification for a developed system.
The oxygen concentrator system has broader applications in disaster relief where mains power is not available. More specifically, the engine technology could also be used as an attractive electrical power source for the dismounted soldier.

Skills Deployed
•Technology scouting
•User needs and concept matching
•System design
•Laboratory testing

“The Ministry of Defence has asked the Cambridge Design Partnership to ready the technology for the battlefield” Waseem Mirza, BBC

Winner – Defence and Security Category
The Engineer Technology and Innovation Awards 2011

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Abcam Laboratory Automation

Abbie Meliniotis — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:13:47 +0000

Abcam are a successful, fast growing Cambridge bio tech company who make, buy, repackage and supply antibodies. These are metered into small vials, labelled and stored at -170°C. These temperatures are extremely aggressive to labels and poorly adhered labels can fall off or cause blockages and unreliability in the automated storage systems used in many labs. Traditionally each label was applied by hand – taking 15 seconds with variable results, clearly the process needed improvement.

Cambridge Design Partnership sourced a new label material that had the adhesive and flexibility needed to solve the reliability problem but it presented a major automation challenge. The label was much too flexible for existing ‘peel and present’ systems to work. CDP found an innovative solution and created IP that the label material supplier Brady has subsequently licensed.

The automated label application system is capable of printing and labelling one vial every in 2 seconds with a stable and permanent label.

Skills Deployed

•Automated handling & manipulation of challenging materials
•Electro mechanical design & integration
•Software integration with IT systems
•Prototyping
•Printer technologies

Technical Highlights

•Process automation
•Product development
•Prototype development
•Verification testing and user trials
•Environmental testing
•Crease minimised application
•Improved adherence
•Rapid throughput enabling increased efficiency

“Presented good ideas and a good business model, communication is open and honest”
Adam Cleverly, Abcam.

www.abcam.com

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Naturally: a new concept in fast fresh food

Abbie Meliniotis — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:29:35 +0000

The number of older adults in the world is growing rapidly; the social and economic challenges of maintaining their health will present major commercial opportunities over coming years.

A significant problem is malnutrition, a condition which initially impacts lifestyle, then health and finally independence. It can drive a series of self reinforcing problems including poor mental state and increasing frailty. These can intensify into preventable medical problems and accidents which require involved support and long term care.

CDP have developed an innovative new food preparation device and smart packaging system targeted at enhancing quality of life through improved nutrition.

A new user-centred appliance interface (focusing on safety and ease of use), smart packaging (communicating raw ingredients and optimising preparation cycle), and concept supply chain are the foundations of an integrated service solution. The system provides a ‘one touch’ route to appetising and economical fast food using fresh ingredients.

Although particularly beneficial for an ageing population, our inclusive design approach means that the concept which delivers soups, stews, purees, baby foods and smoothies has the potential for much wider cross-generational appeal.

Business Innovation
•Opportunities from emerging trends
•New value and supply chain concept
•Merging product and services

Skills Deployed
•User centred and inclusive design
•Industrial Design and product semantics
•Engineering
•Structural packaging design
•Human Factors

Technical Highlights
•Integrated product-packaging solutions
•Smart packaging communications technology
•Technical advances in blade safety

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Proctor & Gamble Olay™ Skin Tone Analysis

Matt Corrall — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:00:09 +0000

Confused about whether you should be fighting wrinkles, tackling age spots or evening out those red patches? How do you decide what’s the best product for your skin?
Cambridge Design Partnership spin-out company Astron Clinica has innovated technology originally created to help diagnose skin cancer to provide the cosmetic skincare market with equipment that can help customers select the right product and track its effectiveness over time.
In partnership with Procter and Gamble, the Skin Tone Analysis System (STAS) now enables trained Olay Beauty Consultants to be on hand at selected retail stores for skin consultations and advice to help customers choose products that target what ages them most.

Astron Clinica develop and market SIAscope technology from their R&D centre in Toft, Cambridge and marketing offices around the world.

www.astronclinica.com

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World-first Innovation in Cryosurgery

CDP — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:43:45 +0000

With 500,000 cases of breast tumours every year, Sanarus Medical’s minimally invasive Visica™ Treatment had a great future. But how could they turn that opportunity into a multi million dollar business when success relies upon a low-cost outpatient procedure with a simple, effective device? They called upon CDP’s inventive engineering-physics, and walked away with a market-leading technology just 8 months later.

Sanarus and CDP collaborated to invent the world’s first low-pressure liquid nitrogen cryosurgery system. The result was that low-cost materials and joining methods could be used on the disposable part, and the size of the nitrogen store could be massively reduced. Visica™ is now used to kill breast-tumours without the need for open surgery.
Skills Deployed
• Thermodynamics physics
• Methodical laboratory experimentation
• Construction of electromechanical demo systems

Technical Highlights and ‘World Firsts’
• World’s first low-pressure nitrogen cryoablation system
• Reduction of the mass of the system by a factor of 10
• Procedure time reduced by 50%

Sanarus has much more than a revolutionary new product on the market; their business value is secured by a powerful patent portfolio enhanced by CDP’s work.

www.sanarus.com

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PortaPack™ Ventilator Battery Back-up

Matt Corrall — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:00:25 +0000

ResMed had a problem: they knew they could sell more of their core product, but they needed an accessory to do so.

The company is at the forefront of treating sleep-disordered breathing that affects up to 20% of the adult population. The business case was clear for a back-up battery for this fast-growing market, but how could they divert resource from launching new core products?

CDP filled the gap, using our regulatory knowledge and product realisation skills to go from ‘Opportunity to Operation.’ We designed and prototyped the battery backup system from scratch, sourcing components from around the world and arranging manufacture.

Skills Deployed
• Complete product design
• Project and supplier management
• Certification to Medical Devices Directive
• Prototyping and testing

Technical Highlights
• High capacity, high current Li-ion batteries and charger
• Hot-pluggable, multiple batteries
• Fast production mould tools from within Europe at internationally competitive prices

ResMed now has a vital accesory in their portfolio, achieving it without disturbing their existing development.

www.resmed.com

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