Filtration and fluid control
Gadegaard’s team in Glasgow have started to 3D print the tooling used. “3D printing doesn’t require much for a new person to go in and learn – you can design the tooling, have it ready, and create your prototype devices within a day,” says Gadegaard. “That’s many, many times faster than you would get in a metal workshop. The other advantage is because we use commercial 3D printers, we can send that file to anyone else in the world, so it’s a very easy way of sharing standards and protocols. The idea was to try and lower the threshold for new people and new ideas within microfluidics.”
Since the 3D printed tooling is made from plastic, there will be some wear and tear over time compared to metal, meaning 3D printing won’t entirely replace traditional production methods. However, it gives companies much greater scope to perfect their device and make changes over time. “I think there’s a big opportunity in the market for small volume production and rapid prototyping using this technology,” says Gadegaard. “It may well be that it can develop into something that will replace machining in the future, though the industry isn’t trained on this technology yet and the transition has yet to happen.”
Future applications
As for what else is around the corner for microfluidics, he is particularly excited about organ-on-a-chip devices. These devices, which simulate the physiology of human organs, could one day replace animal models within drug development. “Animals are poor representatives of what humans are in terms of physiology, and it’s well known that a lot of drugs do not pass an animal test that actually could have potential for human use,” says Gadegaard. “With organ on a chip, it’s possible to humanise the technology. In other words, you would use human cells in these devices, to mimic how the drug would work in a patient. You can also start looking at rare genetic diseases, which only affect a very small population and are therefore difficult to run clinical trials for.” On the whole, though, he thinks we need to spend less time focusing on the future possibilities, and more time acknowledging the ways that microfluidics are already being used. “They’re more widely used than you would think,” he says. “One that came
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
across my table the other day is just a glucose monitor you would pick up in Boots. It’s not how you might think of a microfluidic device, but it’s a small confined environment with dimensions very similar to a microfluidic device. We always keep thinking, where will this really take us, but I think it’s taken us a long way already. And it will take us much, much further in the future.”
Microfluidics, then, aren’t just the ‘next big thing’ – they’re a dominant force in the medical device industry already. And while the regulatory and manufacturing challenges should not be downplayed, neither should we underestimate the industry’s incentive to keep pushing at the frontiers of medical science. ●
11 enablingMNT
The number of years, along with approximately $50-200m of funding, needed for a microfluidic company to create a new diagnostic device.
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