Special purpose camera
This was developed for use in adverse conditions temperature.
o Electronic, mechanical and optical design for operation at very low temperature
o Prototypes and evaluation
Wearable health monitor
Certifiable as a medical device, the Buddywotch for Activ8rlives is a hub for gathering and uploading sensor and behaviour data. The Wotch includes dual support for Android and medical-certified RTOS, and communications via cellular, Bluetooth and Wifi. Also developed was a wireless blood oxygen sensor configured as a rechargeable ring worn on the finger tip.
Both are intended for 24/7 monitoring of patients in the home setting, to avoid hospital admission. Working with an extended team, Ryan Research acted as technical lead for sensing, electronics, mechanical design and manufacturing.
o Oxygen sensing research
o System design
o Proof of principle rigs
o Electronic design
o Prototype design and procurement
High speed automated handling
Designed to handle samples at very high throughput, this large development was done by an extended team. Ryan Research led the system design, developed proof-of-principle rigs and coordinated engineers handling detailed implementation.
o Motion systems: linear & stepper motors, pneumatics
o Structures and manufacturing techniques
o Electromagnetic actuators
o Electronic design
o Optical inspection
Laboratory Automation
Developed to greatly increase throughput of a novel analysis technique, this system combined high performance electronic measurements, temperature control, liquid handling and motion control.
o System design
o Electronic, mechanical, motion, thermal & fluid handling design
o Proof of principle tests
o Rapid prototype injection mouldings
o Lab system build and support
Low Cost Electronic Control
Developed as part of a long term partnership with a European manufacturer, this is a control for refrigeration compressors. It competes with highly-optimised and low cost electromechanical solutions but and enable lower energy consumption. Critical to the success is very long life under adverse conditions of high temperature and vibration.
o Motor analysis
o Electronic design
o Sourcing of components and manufacture
o Extensive testing
o High speed testing for production
Activity monitor
Sensing motion, the monitor counts steps and other movement. Results are display and uploaded by Bluetooth to a web-based application.
o Electronic and mechanical design of a low cost PCB
o Prototype manufacture and debug
o Production test equipment design and construction
o Production sourcing and technical supprt
Consumer UV monitor
A personal UV monitor to manage time in the sun and SPF of sun protection creams etc. to use. The watch-like device includes a UV sensor with wavelength response closely matched to the sensitivity of skin. Accumulated exposure, taking account of SPF, is accumulated and a prediction made about how long you can stay in the sun without burning. The prediction takes account of the time of day and the changing solar UV intensity throughout the day.
o Research into skin UV response
o Sensor concept development, sourcing of low cost materials and proof-of-principle demonstrations
o Electronic and mechanical design, software development for a very low cost MCU
o Development of production test equipment
Industrial Gas Analysers
Working with a specialist in the field, developments and investigations of various instruments involving:
o UV & IR optics
o Electro-optic sensing
o Thermal control
o High temperature materials
o Mechanical design
o Practical investigation and test rigs
and more…
ProGest & ProMS
Sample preparation for MALDI-MS analysis of proteins. Two workstations were developed in collaboration with researchers at EMBL: ProGest automatically digested protein samples and ProMS then prepared MALDI targets using the output from the digester.
o Liquid handling automation
o Temperature control
o Mechanical design
o Protocol development
o Product support
GeneTac colony picking robot
Based on developments at the Sanger Institute, commercial versions of the robot were developed to automate colony picking for DNA sequencing. Other applications included picking sample plugs from 2D electrophoresis gels for protein analysis – feeding the ProGest & ProMS workstations.
o Motion system design
o Liquid handling development
o Development of tools for manipulating samples
o Visible & fluorescent imaging system design
o Collaboration with researchers for protocol development and proving trials
Optically isolated oscilloscope probe
To use under conditions of very high common mode noise or high voltage e.g. diagnosing system behaviour under high ESD or surge conditions. The miniature probe connects only by fibre cable to a receiver that regenerates an electrical signal to apply to a standard oscilloscope. For very high voltage systems, the fibre could be up to 10m long.
o Electronic design & development
o Optical & mechanical design
o Prototypes and proving