The biomedical diagnostics institute at DCU is combining industry knowledge and investment with cutting edge research to produce solutions for the future.

Scientific research with a human health perspective is set to revolutionise the way we heal ourselves in the near future.

Several ongoing projects in Ireland are forming the basis of a new generation of diagnostic options that will allow people to detect life-threatening events long before a critical stage is reached.

The impacts of this research have far-reaching consequences for society, the economy and Ireland's citizens.

With SFI, research projects seeking funding are strategically assessed to see how they can contribute to embedded industries in Ireland such as the biomedical diagnostics sector.

Groundbreaking diagnostic devices are being developed at Irish institutes such as the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science at NUI Galway and the Tyndall National Institute at UCC.

At DCU, the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI) is the quintessential example of the innovative synergy that results from academic industry collaborations.

A multidisciplinary research institute focused on the development of next generation biomedical diagnostic devices, the BDI was established in October 2005 at DCU through an award of €16.5 million from SFI under the Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) programme, in addition to a €6.5 million contribution from industry partners.

The BDI now has more than 100 people involved in its day to day activities, explains Prof Brian MacCraith, director of the institute.

"It's a considerable size," he admits.

MacCraith explains that there are six companies involved in the institute's activities, and each company would have at least nine or 10 researchers working full time on site in DCU. That degree of involvement is unusual, but is a key feature of the BDI.

"We have a mix of academic researchers, clinical researchers and, in particular, industrial researchers.

"It's a very good model. The CSETs are intended to be industry-academic partnerships and there are a number of ways of running that sort of thing. But the model we chose was to ask the companies, not for money, but to put their researchers in on the ground in our labs," he says.

"It's a real hotbed of innovation because we are getting many perspectives together and we don't have to wait on weekly or monthly meetings to take place."

MacCraith explains that a key byword for the BDI is "integration".

"In order to make devices that work in the diagnostics stage, you must bring a lot of elements together to make them work. In our first two and half years of operation we have focused on getting our integration platforms up and running."

Many of the devices developed at the institute are now firmly on the path to commercialisation, says MacCraith.

"We have all the bits - the microchips, the antibodies, as well as the worked-up samples we have been generating. That's important, that it's not just about academic research, it's about developing real devices that can go all the way to commercialisation," he explains.

The devices will also meet the very real and prevalent needs of the healthcare industry, he adds.

To this end, MacCraith believes that the BDI is at the core of translational research, where products and services that will enrich people's lives are produced from groundbreaking scientific research.

"It's about delivering research that not only goes all the way to commercialisation but is informed by the needs of society, as defined by both the clinicians and the industrial people. We regularly interact with the clinicians in all the key disease areas."

The BDI also has an external advisory board, which is comprised of world-leading experts in the fields associated with their work."Anything we do is very well informed and defined by what people need," admits MacCraith.

To illustrate, he explains that one of the institute's current projects involves developing a blood coagulation monitor which can be linked wirelessly into a medication management system that will deliver heparin (a blood thinning agent) to a patient.

A similar product does not currently exist, and only within a unique setup as that which exists within the BDI could such innovation in healthcare happen, explains MacCraith.

"There is nothing like that on the market anywhere. The concept came from eight of our clinical partners meeting and identifying the need, and then two of our industrial partners, Analog Devices and Hospira, coming on board."

These two companies would never have had cause for communication previously, yet with the project they are working closely together, adds MacCraith.

The institute is also working to develop low cost testing devices to detect serious diseases at an early stage without having to go to the hospital or the GP for a check-up. These "lab-on-a-chip" devices will use blood, sweat, saliva or breath samples to detect early indicators of cardiac disease. The information can be then transmitted wirelessly to a GP or doctor, using mobile phone technology.

Indeed, the market for over the counter medical diagnostic tests is ever increasing, says MacCraith.

"Self-testing in the home is a growing market, although it's not applicable to all diseases.

"It's a tricky one but it will be revolutionary in some areas," he says.

"You wouldn't be encouraging self testing for some of the critical diseases where you would need medical advice and possibly counselling," he adds.

MacCraith says that, in the future, the BDI will continue to answer the needs of society by providing innovative healthcare products and services.

Funding is crucial, and the cutting edge research that takes place at the BDI would not have been possible 10 years ago, admits MacCraith.

"The key aspect is that you need a critical mass of people, and that costs money. What we have achieved would not be possible without proper investment."

Furthermore, the vast array of expertise available at the BDI means that their industry partnerships are continuing to increase, says MacCraith.

"In a recent meeting with a potential new industrial partner, one of our attractive features was defined as that we don't provide just one solution - we have a whole toolbox of capabilities that can provide a number of different solutions to a number of problems," he explains.

One future vision is that of a hospital on site with academic and industrial researchers, in order to develop applied innovative concepts.

"This concept works best when you bring the three elements together and co-locate them - industry, academia and clinical. In terms of Ireland's economic future, this approach will have the biggest impact," he says."With the way this field is growing, there are certainly possibilities for us being involved in significant growth in the future."