A single microchip will be engineered to detect hundreds of different diseases, infectious agents, and chemical reactions at once. This matters because current medical diagnostics are piecemeal. A patient with an unexplained fever might need separate tests for bacteria, viruses, and metabolic disorders, each requiring different machines and hours or days of waiting. The same problem plagues hospitals trying to monitor wards for dangerous infections like MRSA. The researchers aim to build a single, portable sensor—dubbed the Multi-Corder—that can scan a patient’s metabolome (the real-time chemical signature of body function) and simultaneously detect bacterial pathogens in the air or on surfaces. This is not a distant vision; the team already has proven feasibility for the core microelectronic technology, which is the same CMOS platform used in digital cameras and personal genome sequencers. If successful, the device could transform infection control in hospitals, enable instant point-of-care diagnostics in GP surgeries, and provide rugged, low-cost testing in developing countries with limited laboratory infrastructure. The same chip might also be used to visualise chemical reactions in real time, potentially speeding up drug synthesis.
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We propose to create the world's first broad spectrum sensor technology - the Multi-Corder. We will do this by exploiting and advancing leading-edge microelectronic engineering. The world of electronics is dominated by complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. CMOS has made modern computing and communications possible and has also made an enormous impact on sensing technology such as the digital camera chip. Most recently CMOS has enable the development of the personal genome machine - a next generation sequencing system. We propose to create technology to sense the personal metabolome. This is important since where the genome may indicate an individual's propensity towards a disease, the metabalome is an immediate measurement of body function, hence provides a means of diagnose. Not all possible afflictions are measurable using the metabalome. Using the same fundamental technology we also propose to detect microbial infectious agents. Bacterial affliction already in the body, or in the environment (e.g. a hospital ward) will be targetted, alleviating major problems such as hospital acquired infection. Further beneficiaries are in point of use diagnostic tools and highly portable systems capable of use in the developing world where there is limited infrastructural support. We also foresee yet more ambitious outcomes from the research, and we expect to made progress towards their realisation. We envisage that once a full measurement and analysis of a patient or a contaminated area is achieved, the Multi-Corder technology will underpin new methods of chemical synthesis for drugs. We will demonstrate the use of the technology for direct, high-speed, visualisation of chemical activity, and the means by which the data can be used to control the chemical process required for synthesis. The targets that we will address will take advantage of the ability of microelectronics to make many (millions if needs be) of devices on a single chip, or to integrate diverse technologies together. The core semiconductor technology will be augmented by chemical, lithographic and bio-technologies in order to build complex functions. Our approach is based on a combination of established track record, new insights, and emergent technologies for which we have established trial feasibility. Using our current knowledge as a springboard, we will exploit the flexibility and collaborative framework that a Programme Grant will afford us to create an exciting new technology.
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