Life sciences
Continuous, comprehensive healthcare monitoring will keep us healthier for longer. Early disease detection will speed interventions. Omics and analytics will deliver individualised risk predictions for better lifestyles and preventative treatments. Precision health is a key to this future.
When treatment is needed, precision diagnostics will help map disease states to targeted therapeutics. And thanks to advances in integrated photonics, digital microfluidics and genome profiling, precision health is closer than ever. Our relevant, multidisciplinary expertise in regulated development is ready to propel innovative solutions – and better outcomes for all.
What we do
Our teams of technology consultants have word-class expertise in engineering, physics, chemistry, microfluidics – all necessary to deliver precision health. We deploy the latest sensing, imaging and data analysis techniques for targeted, individualised treatments and disruptive, next-generation diagnostic solutions.
We can transform the management of chronic and acute diseases through molecular diagnostics and cutting-edge liquid biopsy techniques.
Optics
We specialise in measurement systems utilising visible light, NIR and UV. Our teams can maximise performance, turning low-cost sensors into highly sensitive sensors for innovative products such as minimally invasive wearables.
CC has also developed several imaging platforms that target cells, including a high-throughput flow cytometer, a live single cell fluorescent imaging solution and a Fourier ptychography system for high-resolution computational imaging of cells. Our dedicated optics facility allows rapid prototyping and development of optical systems.
Microfluidics
Microfluidics plays a key role in many areas of life sciences, from exploiting physical phenomena to reducing reagent volumes. We have extensive experience in the design, prototyping and manufacture of microfluidic systems. This includes:
- Design of microfluidic chips/cartridges from first principles, using analytical and computational modelling
- Prototyping devices utilising advanced manufacturing techniques
- Robust experimental testing, including surface characterisation and incorporating state-of-the-art biosensing technologies into systems to accelerate breakthroughs in personalised and precision medicine
Biosensing
Precision diagnostics begins with the ability to detect a particular disease state either through direct or indirect measurement of analytes and biomarkers. Combining our chemistry, biology and engineering expertise, CC develops biosensing platforms to target diverse applications.
We work at the frontier of molecular biology, which means that novel analyte and biomarker detection can be achieved in record time. Our internally developed design, build and test tools enable highly tuneable sensors to your specifications, while the biotechnology and life science labs allow rapid experimentation on site.
AI and analytics
To deliver precision health systems you need to understand the links between patient data (collected through monitoring), diagnostic and omics data, and the underlying patient condition. Our experts bring insights to large data sets by leveraging AI and other advanced data analysis techniques. Expertise in AI, data science, computational biology and consulting puts us in a position to transform your business – from initial market research to full system implementation.
Complex systems
Our expertise in all core science and engineering disciplines is fused with systems engineering techniques to deliver fully integrated systems. User centred design ensures we produce desirable products for your customers. Our agile project team formation accelerates innovation across life sciences – whether that’s a wearable continuous sensor or an automated workflow platform.
Featured insights
Our expertise
CC has a deep understanding of AI and its applications, including Bayesian inference, real-time signal processing and data analysis combined with extensive technical skills in areas such as predictive analytics, deep learning, edge AI and empathetic AI.
We are pushing the boundaries of the human-machine interface to develop edge AI use cases, generative AI models, new supervised machine learning models and types of data analytics.
Our work is unlocking new frontiers in areas such as uncrewed aerial vehicles, synthetic biology, remote monitoring systems, telecoms and beyond.
We understand the extraordinary business potential and practical application of engineering biology. From novel materials to new medicines, data storage to living sensors, bioengineering offers new ways to sense, organise and process matter efficiently and cleanly. With our synthetic biology expertise, you can turn bioengineering theory into practice.
We help synthetic biology start-ups get innovative biodesign products to market. We assist them in scaling-up novel bioengineering processes – ensuring robust quality control, consistent product delivery and competitive cost.
Using our skills in biological manipulation, automation, measurement and process control, we help mature organisations already engaged in synthetic biology to build consistent and predictable processes for the rapid and cost-effective development of new products and services.
We develop optical solutions for many applications, including low-noise fluorescence imaging, fibre optic sensing, high-accuracy spectroscopy and interferometry, photonics, opto-fluidics and sensor systems.
At CC, sophisticated optical and algorithmic technologies solve challenging machine vision problems, from monitoring cars through to complex robotic control. Our expertise in microscopy and optical coherence tomography has led to significant breakthroughs in the medical sector.
Continual investment in state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation is combined with world-class multidisciplinary expertise to deliver display and illumination breakthroughs on an increasingly miniaturised scale.
Understanding and optimising the flow of liquids, gases and heat can be critical design parameters. By understanding how heat will flow and how fluids and gases will interact with the proposed system, the time and cost of iteration and testing can be greatly reduced.
One of the earliest examples of our success in this field is inkjet printing, from which we created numerous spinouts, including billion-dollar companies Domino and Xaar.
Our consultancy teams are adept in nanofluidics, microfluidics and multiphase fluidics, with particular strengths in aerosol generation at a range of temperatures. We’ve also made significant progress in DNA liquid aerosols and nebulisers.
Our work
Our facilities
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AI infrastructureCC’s comprehensive onsite compute infrastructure allows us to explore options and train and test models more rapidly to get better results. We run petaflop-scale, containerised compute on site, with multiple NVIDIA DGX-1 deep learning supercomputers and other GPU and FPGA-accelerated servers. This links to petabyte-scale local NetApp storage, project-specific cloud and our continuous integration systems. |
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Life science labsOur suite of restricted class 2 laboratories are specifically designed for the handling and experimentation of pharmaceuticals, licensed substance and biological hazards in a controlled and regulated environment. Instrumentation rooms are equipped with metrology, microscopy and product test equipment for rigorous verification and quality assurance of prototypes and products. |
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Engineering biology labsOur microbiology lab spaces enable us to genetically modify micro-organisms and characterise them. The CC bioengineering facilities are containment level 2 rated for handling pathogenic strains and our in-house libraries allow rapid modular DNA construct design and assembly. With deep synthetic biology expertise, we are particularly adept at building organisms as biological sensors for healthcare and industrial biotech applications. |
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Optics labOur suite of optics labs enable us to build complex and high-precision optical layouts, typically for testing prototype designs and novel techniques before deployment. Featuring six high-spec optical benches with configurable interlocked controlled areas for high-power (class 4) laser work and specialist facilities for interferometry, spectroscopy, low-noise fluorescence imaging and photon counting. This space can be split into separate laser-controlled areas, allowing multiple experiments to run simultaneously, giving our optical engineers the capability to develop creative solutions without instrumentation restrictions. |
Our experts
Symon Cotton
Head of Lifesciences
Andrew Goulter
Vice President of Life Sciences
Mary Karavengleman
Senior Consultant and Group Leader, Biomedical Engineering
John Hainsworth
Associate Director and Group Leader of Fluidics and Simulation
