News release

From Social Sciences, Electronics and Computer Science

08 April 2009

Low cost nanotechnology for healthcare

Nanotechnology is being used by academics at the University of Southampton to develop low-cost, disposable blood-testing kits that can be made available in GPs’ surgeries.

Professor Peter Ashburn, Head of the Nano Research Group at the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science and a team, which includes academic colleagues from the University’s Schools of Medicine, Social Sciences and Chemistry, has just been awarded £1,330,346 by the Nano Grand Challenge in Healthcare to develop a unique method for fabricating nanowires, so that these kits can be mass produced. This will mean that routine blood tests can be carried out in GPs’ surgeries rather than needing to be sent off to laboratories to be tested.

The academics are using nanotechnology which is similar to that commonly used in computer and television displays to develop these kits.

According to Professor Ashburn, standard laboratory blood-testing procedures have limitations if taken out of the laboratory. As the need for fast diagnosis of complex conditions such as cancer increases, the need for portable testing kits has become more pressing.

“Standard clinical laboratory tests have limitations outside the laboratory, which can reduce the diagnostic impact of new protein biomarkers for complex conditions like cancer and chronic inflammation,” said Professor Ashburn. “One-dimensional nanostructures such as nanowires are ideal for diagnosis as they can be integrated into microfluidic chips that provide a complete sensor system.”

A major part of this project, which will be carried out over a three-year period, is an assessment of the sociological aspects involved in the take-up of nanotechnology in healthcare.

“We need to understand how this new mechanism for blood testing sits in relation to established organisational forms, professional knowledge and inter-professional relations,” said Professor Susan Halford at the University of Southampton’s School of Social Sciences.

“In particular, replacing hospital lab tests with GP-administered tests requires a whole series of subtle and highly politicized changes to the organization of healthcare. Whilst the technology holds enormous potential, if it is to deliver the socially beneficial innovation so highly prioritized in public consultation, we need to develop in-depth understanding of how it can actually come into use.”

For further information:

1. For further information about Professor Peter Ashburn’s work, please visit: www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/pa

2. For further information about Professor Susan Halford’s work, please visit: www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/sociology/staff/profile.php?name=SusanHalford

3. For information about the School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton, please visit: www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/

4. With around 500 researchers, and 900 undergraduate students, the School of Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton is one of the world's largest and most successful integrated research groupings, covering Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronics, and Electrical Engineering. ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise in world-leading research, new developments and their applications.

5. The School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton provides undergraduate and postgraduate training across a range of social sciences and includes research groupings with outstanding international reputations, as recognised in the recent Research Assessment Exercise. The School has strong links with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is home to the hub of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM), the ESRC Centre for Population Change, and co-hosts the ESRC Third Sector Research Centre.

6. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.  

With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover of more than £370 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.

The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Web Science Research Initiative, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute

For further information contact:

Professor Peter Ashburn, Head of Nano Research Group, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, tel. 023 8059 2886, email  pa@ecs.soton.ac.uk

Professor Susan Halford, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, tel. 023 8059 2572, email  Susan.Halford@soton.ac.uk

Joyce Lewis, Communications Manager, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton (tel. 023 8059 5453; email jkl2@ecs.soton.ac.uk)

Hélène Murphy, Media Relations Consultant to the School of Electronics and Computer Science, Tel: 07944 847570, Email: hpmurphy@aol.com

Sarah Watts, Media Relations Manager, Communications, University of Southampton, 023 8059 3807, email S.A.Watts@soton.ac.uk