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The group has often undertaken research outside the fields of electric fields and cells, usually in collaboration with experts in their field who were looking to partner with biomedical engineers in order to solve clinical problems, or develop new technologies with biomedical applications.  Some examples of these are below.

 

Next-generation spirometry (with Surrey Sensors)

Surrey Sensors ltd have developed the world's most accurate, smallest flowmeter, which has found a range of applications from aerospace to Formula 1. We are investigating whether we can use this technology as a more accurate method of measuring breath (spirometry), with the hope that this could be applied to diagnose specific diseases and evaluate disease state with much higher precision than can be achieved using conventional spiromtry techniques.

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Cryotherapy (with The Whiteley Clinic)

The Whiteley Clinic is a leading centre of vascular surgery and research. We are working with Professor Mark Whiteley on a number of different projects, currently being undertaken by two PhD students; however, for commercial reasons no further details can be provided at this time.

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Neural recording

When I arrived at Surrey there was a long-standing research field in neural implants, to which we contributed for a while in the field of biomaterials optimisation for neural recording sites (50) and in multi-channel action potential detection for determining speed and direction of multiple action potentials using small numbers of probes (34). The work ultimately aligned with DEP work when we developed DEP-actuated cell loading for in vitro neural recording electrodes (53).

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Biomehanics of compartment syndrome (with the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court)

The group was contacted after it was noticed that an increasing number of recruits to the Royal Marines were dropping out of basic training suffering from "compartment syndrome", a raising or pressure in the lower leg and loss of control over dorsiflection. We identified the cause was a stretching of the retinaculum due to the restrictions of restrictive boots in shorter recruits, where the tendon was unable to properly dorsiflect before toe-off. (85,86)

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Tattoo removal (With Odstock Hospital, Salisbury)

Lasers have been used for many years for the removal of tattoos, but the mechanism by which this occurs had not been elucidated - was it evaporation due to the ink absorbing the light, or acoustic shockwaves due to heating? This study showed that both mechanisms happen - the former eliminates ink at the point where the laser meets the skin, the shockwaves cause breakdown in a circle surrounding this point leading to the "halo effect" (61,63).