Sense & Sensitivity: Opportunities In Developing Point-Of-Care Sensors

The State of Sensors and Photonics Meeting

SENSE & SENSITIVITY: OPPORTUNITIES IN DEVELOPING POINT-OF-CARE SENSORS

A prospective meeting looking at the present state of Point-of-Use sensor R&D in UK & Ireland

We are delighted to announce our 3rd CAMS State of the Nation in Sensors and Photonics which is taking place on June 4, 2025 in Leeds. The event organised by the Community of Analytical Science (CAMS) will be a unique opportunity to discuss the current state of the field in the UK and its future needs. 

CAMS is an industry-led initiative aimed at promoting world-class analytical measurement science training, research and innovation by bringing together a network of industrial and academic partners with interests in these fields across the UK and Ireland.

The meeting will focus on the rapidly evolving field of Point-of-Use (POU) sensors, particularly in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and industrial applications. Photonics-based solutions and electrochemical sensors are leading the charge, yet several challenges remain in transitioning these technologies from lab to market.

Technologies which enable rapid, real-time analysis of biological, chemical, and physical parameters, have seen accelerated development due to innovations in materials, miniaturisation, and integration with digital platforms such as artificial intelligence (AI). Photonics-based solutions and electrochemical sensors are at the forefront of these advances, offering high sensitivity, non-invasive monitoring. Despite these advancements, several grand challenges remain. These include improving the sensitivity and specificity of sensors for complex, real-world environments, enhancing the stability and durability of these devices, and overcoming hurdles in scaling up from laboratory research to market-ready products. Furthermore, there is a need to strengthen collaborations between academia and industry to align research efforts and accelerate commercialization.

This meeting organised by CAMS will bring together key stakeholders in the UK and Ireland. We aim to foster knowledge exchange, and to identify emerging technologies and challenges that hinder widespread adoption. CAMS intends to use the outputs of the event to establish a roadmap for future innovations.

The morning session will consist of a series of presentations from invited speakers, from both industry and academia. These speakers will give us a flavour of the current state of the field, what is done well, challenges we face, and what we want in the future. Speakers include:

• Prof. Pedro Estrela - University of Bath
• Damion Corrigan - University of Strathclyde 
• Susan Pang - Nationa Measurement Laboratories 
• Richard Luxton - University of West England, Director of IBST

In the afternoon, attendees will participate in workshops where they will brainstorm solutions to critical challenges in POU sensor development. The outcomes of these discussions will help shape a roadmap for the future of sensor technology, including strategies for commercialization and collaboration.

Your expertise in this field will be highly valued and a great addition to the event. The event is free to attend and by invitation only. Due to attendance in person being limited, we ask you please to confirm your attendance by clicking here by 30 April, 2025. We would appreciate a fast response so we can accommodate as many as we can at the event.

We look forward to welcoming you on the day,

CAMS Secretariat 

secretariat@cams-uk.co.uk  

Pedro Estrela is Professor of Biosensors and Bioelectronics at the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering and Director of the Centre for Bioengineering & Biomedical Technologies (CBio) at the University of Bath. He has a background in Physics (degree and Masters from the University of Lisbon, PhD from the University of Amsterdam) and started working in the field of biosensors in 2000 (University of Cambridge until 2008 and University of Bath since 2008). He is Co-Director of the Centre of Excellence in Water-Based Early-Warning Systems for Health Protection (CWBE), Co-Director of the NERC Centre for Doctoral Training in Real-Time Digital Water-Based Systems for Environmental Health Protection (Red-ALERT CDT), and member of the Steering Committee of the Centre for Therapeutic Innovation. Prof. Estrela’s research focuses on the development of label-free electrical, electrochemical and plasmonic biosensors and lab-on-chip devices for a wide range of applications such as medical diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring as well as water/wastewater monitoring. He has over 170 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 49). He is an Associate Editor for the journals Biosensors & Bioelectronics, Sensors, Frontiers in Sensors and Advanced Devices & Instrumentation and Specialty Chief Editor in Frontiers in Lab on a Chip Technologies.

Dr Susan Pang is a Science Leader in Innovation at the National Measurement Laboratory at LGC. She has over 20 years’ experience in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, covering a broad range of analytical technologies and implementing measurement science. She primarily specialises in immunoassay development and devises novel approaches to assay development using open platform technologies to improve sensitivity, overcome matrix interference and enhance assay turnaround. She provides consultancy for immunoassay construction with developmental biosensor technologies and offers robust cross-platform evaluations. She has recently joined the IUPAC wearable sensors working group to input on general requirements for validation and metrology.

Richard Luxton, Director of the Institute of Bio-Sensing Technology studied clinical chemistry in the National Health Service for thirteen years at the Bristol Royal Infirmary before moving to the Institute of Neurology in London to study for a PhD in neuro-immunology.

At the University of the West of England he focused his research in the area of developing new rapid detection technologies for point of care diagnostics for use in primary care settings.  In 2008 he launched the Institute of Bio-Sensing Technology, which seeks to develop new collaborations between industry and academia through inter-disciplinary research. In 2012 he was instrumental in launching Medilink South West, a networking organisation for the Health and Life Science sector in the South West of England and is currently the company chairman.

In 2014, together with Professor Janice Kiely, he launched a European funded Business Technology Centre to develop cell monitoring technology and supporting companies develop their products by enabling access to cutting edge technologies. From this a new Health Technology Hub was opened in 2018 at the University of the West of England which has cutting edge laboratories and workshops that support research and development of bio-sensing technology, health-tech and devices for assisted living.  He currently is the academic lead of the South West NHS Centre of Digital Excellence at the University of the West of England, a NHS funded programme launched in 2024 to evaluate digital technologies used in the primary care sector.

He has led many large multi-partner projects to develop new technology for the rapid detection of analytes at the point of test.  Richard is the founder and Conference Chair of the successful International Conference for Bio-sensing Technology and Editor in Chief for the Journal Sensor and Biosensor Research.

Damion is our CAMS MSI co-Chair and a LGC Professor in Measurement Science for Health at the University of Strathclyde, leading the Centre for Advanced Measurement and Health Translation. His research focuses on electrochemical sensing, analytical chemistry, and device fabrication, aiming to develop improved diagnostic tests for conditions such as drug-resistant bacterial infections, COVID-19, sepsis, cancer, and epilepsy.

He is the founding Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Aureum Diagnostics, a company developing low-cost electrochemical diagnostic assays, and co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Microplate Dx, which specializes in selecting the best antibiotic treatments for infections.

Damion has received multiple accolades, including Academic Entrepreneur of the Year (2024) at the Praxis Auril Knowledge Exchange Awards.