Background
Christopher McCann founded Current Health (formerly Snap40 Ltd) which proposed a patient health early warning system for the hospital and community. Christopher explained:
“Research has shown that up to 35% of in-hospital cardiac arrests are preceded by warning signs that are missed by stretched healthcare staff. Current Health has developed a wearable medical device that continuously monitors the health of a patient across a wide range of indicators and then analyses this data in real-time to accurately detect the early warning signs of deterioration. Notifications are then pushed to healthcare staff through a mobile device, allowing interventions to be put in place earlier. This will save lives, as well as reduce healthcare expenditure and stress on resources”
Challenge
As dehydration is a significant problem in hospitals, accounting for approximately 83,000 bed days at a cost of £0.95 billion a year in the UK alone, Current Health wanted to incorporate an ultrasound measurement into their medical device for non-invasively monitoring hydration levels in individual patients.
Solution
The knowledge, expertise and facilities for producing wearable ultrasound sensors were available at the University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) Sensors and Imaging Group, who have a long history of developing ultrasound transducers. In particular, Dr. Dave Hughes, a Research Fellow at UWS, has devised a novel method for rapidly fabricating ultrasound transducers that operate at high frequency, vastly simplifying the process.
With the collaborative project between Current Health and UWS being funded by a Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher, administered by Interface, the University of the West of Scotland will demonstrate the feasibility of using Current Health’s current transducers for contact measurements of properties of skin with (a) coupling gel; (b) minimal coupling and (c) no coupling. The development of the Ultrasound sensor will feed directly into the product design of the Current Health device, with ongoing knowledge exchange between the University and the company.
Benefits
Wearable ultrasound is an emerging field that this project will drive. Currently, ultrasound measurements through skin are undertaken using large commercial scan systems whereas this project demonstrates the use of an ultrasound transducer, developed by the University of the West of Scotland, for portable, wearable, low-power systems. No existing wearable device with the ability to monitor hydration levels was on the market. This will be a significant move forward in the field towards the commercialisation of something completely novel and highly valuable.
The company will benefit via the addition of new value to its proposition, increased ability to sell their product and the revenue generated from this. It will also allow the company to generate a new barrier to competitors entering the market and increase the attractiveness of the company to private equity investment.
The Scottish Economy will benefit through the creation of new jobs, as well as the development of a high growth, high value business headquartered in Edinburgh.
Business Benefits
Academic benefits
Additional Note
In October 2016 Current Health (formerly Snap40) secured £2 million in Seed funding from investment firm Par Equity.
In March 2017, the company was awarded a £1 million SBRI healthcare development contract by NHS England. The contract supports Current Health to further scale its technology and provides critical validation funding for two clinical studies with NHS Fife and with NHS Lothian’s Emergency Medicine Research Group Edinburgh (EMERGE) based in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
In 2018 Current Health’s wearable device was selected as one of the exhibits for the Scottish Design Galleries when the new V&A opened in Dundee.
In January 2019, Current Health announced that it had closed a $11.5 million (£9 million) Series A funding round led by MMC Ventures. Legal & General, the FTSE 100 life insurer and asset manager, is Current Health’s first corporate investor and the largest investor in the round as it continues to invest in the future infrastructure of health and care globally.
Please note that Interface administers the Innovation Voucher Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. All funding applications are reviewed on a case by case basis by the Scottish Funding Council, guidelines can be found here.
Background
John White & Son, a Fife-based family business, is recognised as the oldest independent weighing company in the UK. The present Managing Director, Edwin White, is the eighth generation to be involved in the business since its foundation by his ancestor John White in 1715.
Challenge
Throughout the 20th century, the company expanded its range of industrial weighing equipment to include retail scales and pre-set weighing machines, from which the company’s flagship product, the Cartomat checkweigher was developed in the 1960’s and used widely across the spirit bottling industry.
By the 1970’s, with advances in technology and mechanical weighing machines being phased out, the company transitioned to electronic weighing, pioneering in the manufacture and development of a broad range of electronic weighing equipment.
However, the last decade has heralded a transformation in the use of weighing systems as the industry embraces huge technological advances in engineering software and in particular, the use of mobile weighing technology.
The commercial automotive industry remains a strong market for the company and John White is now expanding its product range to develop a new suite of mobile weighing systems for a wide range of automotive applications. In order to develop its mobile weighing systems for a range of vehicle types, the company’s Research and Development have focused on areas such as electronics, design, engineering, software, instrumentation and prototype development.
John White initially sought assistance from Technology Ventures Scotland – the independent body tasked with brokering Knowledge Transfer and R&D commercialisation opportunities in Scotland, who in turn referred John White to Interface.
Solution
Interface brokered links to David Kennedy, an academic working at University of the West of Scotland School of Engineering and Science (formerly the School of Science and Technology at Bell College, Hamilton).
Following discussions between the academic and the company they decided to apply for grant funding from The Scottish Government under the SCORE programme – a scheme designed to support R&D projects jointly undertaken between public sector research bodies (such as Higher Education Institutes, Research Institutes, and Scottish SMEs).
The funding application was successful and the 18 month collaborative project between John White and the University of West of Scotland started to work on a prototype that will herald the next generation of advanced electronic weighing systems and allow the company to further develop its manufacturing capabilities.
Business benefits
Edwin White, Managing Director, John White & Son (Weighing Machines) Ltd. said:
“We are delighted with the progress of this collaboration. By combining the input from our own staff who have long experience in the field of weighing with the knowledge and expertise from the University of the West of Scotland, we are able to cut down on the time needed to develop our new range of products. Using Interface has been of great benefit and it can do the same for other companies in a similar position to ourselves”.
Aqualife Services, based in Stirling, is the largest dedicated fish vaccination company in the world.
Business Challenge
Aqualife recognised the need to address issues with the current vaccination process which can lead to repetitive strain amongst staff and limited accuracy in vaccinating the fish.
Solution
Interface facilitated a partnership between Aqualife and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and a project looking at design options for a new vaccination gun was funded through the UWS Inspired Scheme. It soon became evident that a much bigger project was evolving looking at the whole fish handling process. Aqualife have embarked on a two year £100k Knowledge Transfer Partnership with UWS to develop the ideas.
One of the UK’s leading salt traders, Peacock Salt, turned to Scotland’s academic sector to help in the technical challenge of designing a new, natural, green and economically viable method to make (sea) salt domestically.
Initially a shipping company, J C Peacock & Co Ltd is a small family business based in Ayr, which was established in 1874, evolving into a salt trading firm. Peacock salts are used for general de-icing and water softening properties as well as for industrial use in the food, agriculture, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
Keen to investigate salt production in Scotland, the company met with Interface – the knowledge connection for business – to help source an academic partner that could provide the right mix of experience required for the project.
With help from Interface, Peacock Salt was able to connect with Dr Carl Schaschke from the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Chemical and Process Engineering. Dr Schaschke had experience with natural salt production methods, such as purification of brine from volcanic craters and solar evaporation.
The Business Challenge
Earlier methods of making salt in Scotland were uneconomical; therefore Peacock was keen to lead the way in developing a new, industry-leading method. Ultimately, they envisaged a new salt production plant being built – similar to innovative new plants in other parts of the world, such as Bad Salzuflen in Germany.
The main challenge in production terms was turning sea water (ca. 3% saline solution) into a concentrated solution of ca. 26%, which is when salt crystals start to drop out of solution. The quality of the crystals is affected by the latter stages of the evaporation procedure.
Peacock Salt offers the largest variety of salts available in the UK. With over 6,000 customers, the company’s range includes salts from around the world such as Rock, Sea and Manufactured salts.
Peacock Salt’s operations manager, Gregorie Marshall, was keen that the process used as natural a method as possible: “Ideally we wanted to develop a salt production process that used green energy, where little additional input of heat and electricity is required, while also developing a new plant which itself would become a tourist attraction.
“We needed expertise in the areas of chemistry, chemical technology, chemical or process engineering to carry out research which would investigate and design the most suitable method of producing salt in Scotland. We also wanted to identify and analyse suitable sites using geographical and meteorological data.”
Three universities came forward as potential partners for the project but ultimately, Peacock Salt chose to move forward with Strathclyde as Dr Schaschke had direct experience in salt production.
Initial discussions were leaning towards taking the project on as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), however it was decided that an initial financial feasibility study was required before progressing the KTP.
The Solution
Peacock Salt was introduced to Carrie Shaw from the Strathclyde Links project, who was able to assist the firm source funding for the feasibility study, which was completed by Professor John Finch, of the University of Strathclyde Business School’s Department of Marketing.
Professor Finch, working with PhD student Emma Reid, provided Peacock Salt with a market/business viability report that provided in-depth analysis of the market for a sea salt produced at a facility in Scotland, including developing business scenarios in order to assess product positioning, price and current competitors in the market place.
A KTP to investigate a Scottish salt production facility took place in 2011.
Follow On activity
Following this successful project, Peacock Salt got back in touch with Interface to seek an academic partner to develop chemical brine which would allow them to extend their current offering of liquid de-icer.
This required the development of an additive that lowers the freezing point of the brine, and therefore the working temperature of the de-icer, without having any detrimental impact on the handling of the material. The additive would also enhance the salt or brine’s ability to adhere to the surface it has been applied to, offering a longer residual effect whilst not impairing the de-icing capabilities.
Interface successfully matched Peacock with Dr Mohammed Yaseen and Professor Andrew Hursthouse from the University of the West of Scotland to lead on this project. The team investigated the additives that can be applied to de-icers and examined performance improvements such as freeze-point suppression, reduced environmental impact and increased residual effect.
As a result, this would deliver an enhanced product offering for the business in the relatively innovation-free winter maintenance market. It will also have a positive impact on the business operating in the UK and potentially open up new market opportunities further field.
In addition, Peacock Salt is currently working on another collaboration project facilitated by Interface.
As a key supplier of de-icing salt and winter equipment to local authorities, businesses and private individuals, Peacock Salt were keen to tackle another industry challenge. During winter, de-icer salt is spread on the roads every day when the weather conditions dictate, mostly when the temperature is predicted to be below a certain level. When spreading for multiple days no account is taken as to how much de-icer salt is left on the road.
The company was keen to develop an innovative method to measure the amount of di-icer salt on the road as the vehicle moves along, so it can be determined whether any more de-icer salt is required. Additionally, they wanted to develop a method of reporting this information back to the vehicle driver/equipment to enable them to alter the spread rate of de-icer.
Interface successfully matched Peacock Salt with Professor David Flynn from Heriot-Watt University, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, to draw on his experience in research and knowledge exchange and guide the project. The project is funded by the Scottish Funding Council Follow-On Voucher, administered by Interface.