About the project
Neutrophils are central to the body's rapid response to infection, yet their functional state is rarely measured outside specialist research laboratories. This interdisciplinary PhD will develop compact microfluidic, imaging and analysis technologies to measure neutrophil responses directly from small blood samples, bringing advanced cell-function measurements closer to patients and healthcare professionals.
The project aims to develop a compact, point-of-care technology for early warning detection of people with infections.
The project is expected to involve:
- developing microfluidic methods to handle, stimulate and measure cells from small blood samples
- establishing quantitative assays of neutrophil response, informed by existing platelet-function work
- replacing laboratory syringe pumps with simpler, robust and potentially self-propelled fluidics
- replacing conventional microscope and CCD-camera arrangements with compact CMOS-based imaging
- developing feature-extraction methods for quantitative measurement of cellular responses
- assessing the technical and analytical performance of the compact platform against existing laboratory prototypes
- investigating how the resulting system could support near-patient measurement in infection-related and resource-constrained defence setting, such as use in field medicine for deployed personnel.
The precise balance between biological assay development and engineering optimisation will be tailored to the successful candidate's expertise.
