Research Projects

SFI Frontiers for the Future Project “Laser Functionalisation of Flexible Polymer-Carbon Composites for Medical Sensing.” 

Funded by Science Foundation Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future.
Principal Investigator: Dr Patricia Scully.

Using Ultrafast lasers and adaptive optics to create 3D structured porous carbon nano-materials, with conducting, sensing and membrane properties, for applications in medtech sensors, batteries, charge storage and energy harvesting.

New carbons, such as graphene, create novel electronics at an ultra-compact scale, replacing metals, silicon and semiconductors, but are disadvantaged by complex and toxic manufacturing methods, requiring process liquids/gases, clean rooms and controlled atmospheres.
This project creates flexible polymers, for sensing spatial variations in temperature, moisture and strain for smart polymer skins or smart dressings are required for wound healing, or contaminated or damaged surfaces in structural health monitoring.
We are developing a single step direct laser writing (DLW) process to structure the solid carbon material in 3D to tune the composite conductivity, functionalization and sensitivity to strain, temperature and moisture. It is a type of Laser Induced Graphene using an ultrafast laser to control pulselength, rep rate and optical beam profiling. 

Funded Investigator in I-Form

PJS is a Funded Investigator in I-Form_Phase 2    21/RC/10295_P2  with skills/track record and interests in Advanced Manufacturing, Laser Processing, Materials Characterisation, Materials Structure-Property Analysis, Nanotechnology, Process Optimisation, Sensor Development, Surface Engineering, Sustainable Manufacturing

https://www.i-form.ie/

I-Form brings together a nationwide pool of expertise in materials science, engineering, data analytics and cognitive computing. I-Form is actively engaged across a range of different materials processing technologies, with a particular focus on Additive Manufacturing (3D printing).

ENLIGHT Network: CARDIOPTIC - CARDIOvascular OPTICal Sensing. University of Galway ENLIGHT Research Networks 2024

Patricia Scully from SNS-Physics and Josh Bhathal, Bioinnovate Fellow from School of Engineering, have been awarded €80K to set up a multidisciplinary ENLIGHT network: CARDIOPTIC, focusing on  CARDIOvascular OPTICal Sensing using polymer photonics. This project is collaboration with Dr Adnan Elahi of the Translational Medicine Laboratory, and Prof William Wijns, SFI Professor of Interventional Cardiology, Smart Sensors Laboratory, in the School of Medicine, and with international experts in polymer photonics located in four ENLIGHT universities.

We’re investigating implantable Cardiac sensors using biocompatible polymers, and functional sensing materials to detect clinical measurands and biomarkers. We’ll use the funds to secure at least two large Horizon Europe grants, and establish durable partnerships to generate MedTech projects and networks.

Our partners include University of the Basque Country in Bilboa, Spain, University of Bordeaux in France and Ghent University in Belgium, who provide cutting-edge scientific expertise in photonics, including new materials and commercialisation strategies, applied to Medtech devices.

EPSRC Prosperity Partnership: EP/R00482X/1. Centre in Advanced Fluid Engineering for Digital Manufacturing (CAFE4DM). https://www.cafe4dm.manchester.ac.uk/

• Addressing challenges in understanding, creating and scaling up manufacturing processes for formulated products in fast moving consumer goods (home/personal care and food products).
• Develop a new modelling approach and the associated materials, measurement and validation to describe these mixtures to enable a significant reduction in conventional physical experimentation.
• This will accelerate the route from the laboratory to the market place through the increased efficiency of product and process identification and, therefore, a reduction in cost and minimisation of waste.

£3.836M  with matched funding from UoM (£757K) and Unilever (£2.373M) and in-kind support provided by Process Systems Enterprise Ltd ( £305K)  and Unilever (£500K). Suite of in-line techniques to enable the rapid development and manufacture of new formulated products. WP3.3

https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FR00482X%2F1

iRehabAngel: a remote rehabilitation device suitable for individuals with arthritis (rheumatoid and osteoarthritis)

iRehabAngel: a remote rehabilitation device suitable for individuals with arthritis (rheumatoid and osteoarthritis).It incorporates  remote monitoring electronic technology to provide continuous and long term monitoring. This project embedded a cushioned footboard with integrated electronics to form an inexpensive, easy to use, modular intelligent device providing objective measurements of clinical indicators, to monitor effectiveness of exercise regimes prior to/post therapist appointments. The remote RehabAngel will be able to monitor the patient’s pathomechanics, balance and movement to measure and integrate indicators of deterioration to alert health care professionals to a problem prior to an acute episode. Funded by Arthritis Research UK and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC).