As DNA testing is most commonly centralised in labs, it lacks the turnaround time for time-sensitive applications, and also lacks mobility. The experience in biology required to prepare samples and carry out testing obfuscate the process and limit point-of-care applications. Biomeme seeks to break down these barriers with their versatile Dx System, a holistic solution to bring DNA testing out of the labs and into the physician’s office. Thus, Biomeme provides Molecular Diagnostics for the on-demand economy. By simplifying the process of DNA testing, without sacrificing the detail to be found in raw data, the Biomeme solution brings molecular diagnostic into point-of-care medical services, making it available for homecare and other point-of-need uses.

The project aims to develop and validate methods for the in vitro prediction of cardiac side-effects using human cardiac cells and tissues. Drug-induced cardiac safety issues are a major concern of the drug development industry not only because of the severity of complications involving the heart but also because of the possibility that potentially valuable drugs are lost upon the discovery of cardiac safety issues. Several drugs have been withdrawn from the market following instances of drug-induced arrhythmia and many more commonly used drugs are associated with short-term pro-arrhythmic effects (e.g. amiodarone, terfenadine, cisapride) or longer term deleterious effects on heart function (anthracyclines such as doxorubicin). In a recent survey by the Drug Safety Council, safety pharmacologist and toxicologists within pharmaceutical companies rated their highest priority innovative technologies to be 'in vitro cardiovascular risk'. This survey also highlighted the perceived shortcomings of existing cell-based and in vivo animal tests and requests from regulatory bodies for greater emphasis to be placed on newer more predictive models of cardiovascular risk. Biopta aims to address this opportunity by expanding its current tests of human cardiovascular isolated tissues to include cardiac safety tests that specifically address the main drug-related risk of pro-arrhythmic activity. A secondary objective will be to identify markers of tissue health and function that may indicate long-term risks related to cell stress. The student will aim to develop methods using human ventricular and atrial tissues in order to better predict the risk of drugs inducing arrhythmia. Current methods are laborious, technically challenging and dependent on tissue obtained immediately from patients. Furthermore, throughput is a problem because tissues do not survive long enough and neither do the tissue samples generate enough test conditions. These factors have limited the use of human tissue, despite human tissue being accepted as a gold standard test system. The project will aim to extend the lifespan of fresh tissues through the development of more effective transport and storage conditions and will seek to minimise the amount of tissue required for each assay. In addition the project will investigate variability between human tissues and responses of different populations/patient groups to drugs known to induce pro-arrythmic effects in order to improve prediction and provide better care. In addition to reducing time and costs involved in drug development, the creation of such predictive in vitro models does fit with the priority of UK research councils to reduce the use of animals and in vivo experiments in research. Biopta previously received small grant from the NC3Rs fund to develop alternative methods for the study of gastrointestinal function and the use of human tissues in models of tumour function. The main goal of the project, however, is to develop a novel validated method for predicting cardiovascular risk.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Traditional methods of treatment for conditions such as arthritis of the knee involve physiotherapy and medication. However, when the condition becomes excessively painful for the patient, surgical intervention is undertaken. Movement of the natural knee joint involves the base of the femur bone articulating against the top of the tibia bone. The surfaces of these bones are covered by articular cartilage which allows smooth, pain free movement at the joint. The base of the femur and the top of the tibia have two surfaces or 'condyles'; in severe cases, the cartilage is worn away from both condyles, and they have to be replaced by a total knee arthroplasty (TKA). In some cases only one of the condyles is affected by arthritis, and yet both condyles are replaced in a TKA procedure. Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty (UKA), which resurfaces only the affected side, is an alternative to TKA which is becoming an increasingly popular because of its improved functional outcome, favourable long term clinical results and the benefits of minimally invasive surgical techniques. In particular, UKA offers a more effective solution than TKA for more active patients with single compartment knee disease, because the mechanics of the knee are better preserved, and more functional anatomy is maintained. UKA also has advantage of rapid rehabilitation, short hospital stay, quicker operation and quicker recovery. Evidence suggests that revision of a UKA to a TKA results in performance similar to a primary TKA and has been reported to be an easier procedure than the typical revision TKA. However, despite this, UKA is still under-exploited as an alternative to TKA. This is partly related to perception issues, and partly to historically higher failure rates due to improper technique. Therefore, it is desirable to improve the understanding of how surgical technique impacts UKA performance and failure risks, to inform clinical decision-making for UKA with best-practice surgical technique. Most attempts to assess the performance of a joint replacement computationally have involved a 'deterministic' approach, that is, a single implant is modelled in a single bone and a single load is applied. This represents only one possible situation, when potentially many thousands could exist. Recently, there has been a move to replace deterministic approaches with statistical approaches, which attempt to take into account all sources of variability in the system. For example, the performance of an implant in a series of bones under varying loads can be analysed. In this project, statistical approaches will be applied to analyse the performance of UKA. The research will utilise a 'statistical knee joint' based on a large library of bone CT scans. This statistical knee joint represents a wide population of patients into which the unicondylar implant will be implanted. Variations in surgical technique will be accounted for by altering the nature of the surgical cuts and positions of the surrounding soft tissue structures. In this way, a knowledge of how the surgical technique can affect implant performance, in how quickly it wears and how likely it is to loosen, can be ascertained. This knowledge will be used to develop a tool that can be used to guide surgeons on what aspects of their surgical technique need careful consideration when planning their surgery in order to achieve improved patient outcomes. Industry can also benefit from the tool as part of the implant design process. The performance of new and existing implants can be robustly evaluated rapidly at the design stage, and the number of physical tests required can be reduced dramatically. In addition, designs that are predicted to perform poorly can be eliminated at an early stage, leading to substantial cost and time benefits for the design process. The commensurate benefit of this tool will be more robust implants with a longer lifespan, benefiting both the patient and the healthcare provider.