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The University of Southampton
Global Network for Anti-Microbial Resistance and Infection Prevention

StarStream heads off to NHS Lanarkshire

Published: 27 May 2016
Professor Tim Leighton in Glasgow
StarStream at Glasgow railway station on its way from Southampton University to NHS Lanarkshire

Professor Timothy Leighton delivered a prototype Mark II StarStream to NHS Lanarkshire for them to test in acute wards and A+E, to trial its capabilities before release of the first ‘for sale’ commercial model, the StarStream One. Tim said “The StarStream One will be a better device than the Mark II prototype, but there is so much demand for the StarStream One ahead of its launch that we are trying to help by loaning out the prototype. This grew from a meeting I had with Dr Stephanie Dancer, who is a Consultant Microbiologist with NHS Lanarkshire, and who is one of the world’s leading figures in infection control. I was delighted to be able to loan my Mark II prototype to her, and I am grateful to NAMRIP who funded this cooperation with NHS Lanarkshire. It is very rewarding to think that StarStream will be out there, helping keeping infections down in wards.”

“It is an example of the great use we are making of the pump priming funds we won from EPSRC’s Bridging the Gap competition. We in NAMRIP have now funded around 20 such grants, 6 rounds of calls in the first year. We have strongly encouraged new co-operations across disciplines with these funds, and seen inspired teams spring up, consisting of groups of folk who would probably never otherwise have worked together. These groups are conducting ground breaking researcher, and I am sure we will see several game-changers when they conclude their short (usually 3-month) projects.”

“A really important characteristic of these projects is that we keep in mind the end user, because we want to make a difference. Whilst a new medical intervention may justify an intervention that requires re-training of the end user, it is very rewarding when you successfully achieve the goal of taking all that complexity of research and package it so that the end user barely sees it: you just give someone a new mop or a new bandage, and all they have to do is keep mopping/bandaging without a break – but hidden in that new mop/bandage is a wealth of robust and affordable innovation that makes their mopping/bandaging 10,000 more effective at preventing infection. What a great end-point for your research!”

The list of pump priming projects funded to date is:

  • Evaluation of cross-linked quaternised polyethyleneimine as a potential antimicrobial
  • Integrating the 3-dimensional bioelectrospray cell culture model with a microfluidic platform to model real-time physiological changes
  • Does fucose inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonisation of ciliated airway epithelium?
  • Prevention of Pneumococcal Biofilm Formation on Tympanostomy Tubes to Combat AMR
  • A pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of an ultrasonically activated water stream for wound cleaning of antimicrobial resistant biofilm infections
  • Crystal structure of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae adhesin complex protein (Ng-ACP), a vaccine antigen for preventing infection by antibiotic resistant bacteria
  • Ultrasonic cleaning of real world contaminated floor surfaces
  • The effect of surface roughness on the attachment and removal of MRSA and prion-associated amyloid from surgical surfaces
  • A multidisciplinary platform for studying antimicrobial peptides: bridging the gap between the in vitro and in silico regimes
  • A pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of StarStream for surgical hand disinfection
  • 3D Printing of cow's shoe
  • Enabling testing of Antimicrobial Resistance to antibiotics via laser-patterned paper-platforms
  • Delivering antibiotics with nanoparticles: what drives the binding of polymersomes to cell membranes?
  • Preventing the spread of infection in hospital care settings: Health professionals, the agency of microbes and imaging tracking technology.
  • Using micro computed tomography (micro CT) to understand crystalline biofilms in urinary catheters
  • Examining and optimizing flows in endoscope working channels to improve reprocessing efficacy using cold atmospheric plasma.
  • Testing StarStream in two hospitals outside of Hampshire

 

 

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