Force Sensing Technology

ArtioSense is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge that seeks to commercialise a novel, conformable force sensing technology for applications in orthopaedic surgery, sports medicine and beyond.

Play Video

What We Do

ArtioSense was born out of a desire to solve force sensing challenges in precision orthopaedic surgery. Improper force balancing during joint replacement surgery is a major cause of implant wear and premature failure, which necessitates complex and difficult revision surgery. This is of course distressing for patients, severely impacting their quality of life. It also places further burdens on already overstretched public health systems. 

Solving this challenge requires sensors that can measure the large forces passing through weight-bearing joints, while still being thin and conformable to facilitate their use in curved geometries such as the hip. Leveraging state-of-the-art additive manufacturing techniques, the ArtioSense team has invented a microfluidic force sensor (patent pending) that addresses this unmet clinical need in a highly robust manner. 

The microfluidic sensor is thin, conformable, robust and capable of measuring a wide range of forces in different settings. A paper describing the underlying technology has been published in Cell Reports Physical Science, with follow up publications in preparation describing various different applications of the technology. We are in the process of conducting pre-clinical trials of the technology, following which we will plan first-in-human trials of the sensors as the next step of our translational pathway. 

Our Team

Our core team spans a wide range of expertise, from clinical medicine to the biological and physical sciences.

Prof. Sohini
Kar-Narayan

Co-Founder

Mr. Vikas
Khanduja

Co-Founder

Dr. Jehangir
Cama

Co-Founder

Dr. Alex
Samoshkin

Co-Founder

Research & Publications

ArtioSense epitomizes the cross-disciplinary nature of modern-day R&D. Emerging from conversations that spanned the domains of materials science, biophysics and surgical practice, the technology perfectly showcases the value of interdisciplinary collaborations fostered by Cambridge.

Our technology is built on years of research, and has been validated by our peers in the academic community.

Conformable and robust microfluidic force sensors to enable precision joint replacement surgery

L. Ives, A. Pace, F. Bor, Q. Jing, T. Wade, J. Cama*, V. Khanduja*,  and S. Kar-Narayan*. Materials & Design, Volume 219, 2022

Aerosol-jet printed, conformable microfluidic force sensors

Q. Jing, A. Pace, L. Ives, A. Husmann, N. Catic, V. Khanduja, J. Cama* and S. Kar-Narayan*. Cell Reports Physical Science (2) 2021 100386.

Aerosol-jet printing facilitates the rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices with versatile geometries and precise channel functionalization

N. Catic, L. Wells, K. Al Nahas, M. Smith, Q. Jing, U.F. Keyser, J. Cama* and S. Kar-Narayan*. Applied Materials Today (19) 2020 100618.

Commercials

To explore the commercial opportunities of our invention, we commissioned a detailed market report from IP Pragmatics Ltd., a specialist IP and technology management consultancy. The report confirmed the exciting commercial possibilities of our sensor in the medical technology space. A snapshot of the relevant market is provided here as an excerpt from the report. Data provided courtesy of BCC Research. 

News & Updates

SEPTEMBER 2024:

Our team has secured a £1.4 million NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Product Development Award for the core R&D underpinning the ArtioSense venture. This grant will bring together wide-ranging expertise to support 2 years of product development. Full press release available on the Cambridge University Hospitals website HERE, along with BBC coverage HERE.

JULY 2024:

Our co-founders Prof. Sohini Kar-Narayan and Dr. Jehangir Cama have been awarded the IOM3 Materials World Medal for their feature article, “The sixth sense”, describing the innovation behind ArtioSense.

The full article may be viewed HERE

APRIL 2024:

Our co-founder Prof. Sohini Kar-Narayan has won the “Innovator of the Year” award at the prestigious Women Leaders in Electronics Awards 2024!

NOVEMBER 2023:

ArtioSense has been selected as one of Hello Tomorrow’s Deep Tech Pioneers!

We’re looking forward to attending the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit in Paris next March, and interacting with a range of industry leaders, investors, startups, researchers and experts in the deep tech ecosystem from all over the world.

OCTOBER 2023:

ArtioSense has won the Lee Lucas business innovation award of the Institute of Physics! The founding team was at the Houses of Parliament to receive the award at a function hosted by the Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma MP

The press release can be viewed HERE

MARCH 2023:

Our co-founders Sohini and Jehangir have published an article showcasing ArtioSense and the novel hip sensor technology in the magazine of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

The article can be viewed HERE

JUNE 2022:

We are delighted to announce that ArtioSense has won the 2022 Armourers & Brasiers’ Venture Prize! The prize was awarded at the Cambridge Forum of The Worshipful Company of Armourers & Brasiers, which this year is celebrating its 700th Anniversary.

The Press Release about the Venture Prize may be viewed / downloaded HERE

MARCH 2022:

Our co-founder Vikas Khanduja has been elected President of the British Hip Society!

AUGUST 2021:

Our latest manuscript describing the ArtioSense sensors and their use in the hip implant prosthesis is online as a preprint on bioRxiv, Conformable and robust force sensors to enable precision joint replacement surgery

JULY 2021:

Our co-founder Vikas Khanduja is featured in an article in The Cambridge Independent,  Tackling a clinical research challenge in Cambridge amid the pandemic

JUNE 2021:

Our co-founder Dr. Sohini Kar-Narayan has been recognised as one of the top 50 Women in Engineering 2021!

APRIL 2021:

Cambridge Science Festival 2021 Wireless Finger Force Sensor.

The video below shows a conformable microfluidic capacitive force sensing device attached to a finger cot as a sensitive wireless pressure sensor. Forces on the finger cot can be read off wirelessly in real time on a handheld mobile device.

MARCH 2021:

Our paper describing the sensor technology underpinning ArtioSense has been published in Cell Reports Physical Science! 

SUPPORTED BY:

Contact

Registered Address:

80 Whitley Road,
Upper Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6HS
England, UK

Copyright Artiosense  2022 – All Rights Reserved

Prof. Sohini Kar-Narayan

Co-Founder

Sohini is a Professor in Device & Energy Materials at the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge, where she leads a research group specialising in functional nanomaterials for energy, sensing and biomedical applications. She is a co-inventor of ArtioSense’s core technology. She works closely with clinicians, surgeons and med-tech companies to find materials and device-based solutions to existing problems.

Mr. Vikas Khanduja

Co-Founder

Vikas is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Addenbrooke’s, Cambridge University  Hospital specialising in both sports surgery and arthroplasty aspects of hip and knee surgery and has a particular interest in arthroscopic surgery of the hip. He has been instrumental in setting up the tertiary referral service for Young Adult Hip Surgery in Cambridge. He is the co-inventor of ArtioSense’s core technology and is leading on the translational aspect of the use of this technology in orthopaedics and sports medicine.

Dr. Jehangir Cama

Co-Founder

Jehangir is a biophysicist who specialises in the development and use of microfluidic technologies for quantitative biology and biosensing. He obtained his PhD from Trinity College and the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. He has leveraged microfluidics to tackle a range of problems, including in antimicrobial research and development. Following a postdoc at the Cavendish Laboratory and Research Fellowship at Clare Hall, Cambridge, Jehangir spent 3 years as an Industry Research Fellow at the Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter. He is a co-inventor of ArtioSense’s core technology, and is now focusing on driving the translation and commercialisation of this technology.

Dr. Alex Samoshkin

Co-Founder

Alex is co-founder of ArtioSense and responsible for the multidisciplinary development and translatability of its technology. He currently works as a Translational Technology Manager at the University of Cambridge (School of Clinical Medicine). He has previous experience in  world class biomedical research laboratories (i.e. at the NIH, USA; UNC, USA and McGill University, Canada), where he mastered projects spanning basic, translational and drug discovery science.