RGU partners on development of national Medical Device Manufacturing Centre

The £3.7M Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC) will provide small and medium-sized companies with an enabling step towards first-in-patient-studies.

The project is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) managed by Scottish Enterprise, other partners, the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal and the universities.

Its mission is to provide expert advice on manufacturing engineering, regulatory issues and sources of funding, coupled with technically-supported access to manufacturing facilities, to assist small and medium sized companies in the translation of medical device concepts through to small batch commercial prototypes.

RGU’s role in the MDMC, led by the School of Engineering’s Radhakrishna Prabhu, will focus on providing expertise in the areas of medical biosensors and instrumentation.

Professor Paul Hagan, Deputy Principal and Vice Principal for Research at RGU, commented: “During the current pandemic, it has become abundantly clear just how critical medical devices, such as ventilators, are for both routine healthcare and large public health crises.

“The Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC) will provide a broad range of technical support for medical device companies across Scotland.

“The creation of the MDMC will allow the wealth of research expertise distributed across some of Scotland's leading universities to be harnessed to support improvements in healthcare and the economy. 

“The specialist expertise in fibre optic sensors we have here at RGU has the potential to be applied across a range of medical devices and will play a significant role in the MDMC going forward.”

MDMC, which will be based on the Heriot-Watt University campus, is a close collaboration between engineers, clinicians and business development experts from four universities across Scotland: RGU, Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with track records in manufacturing, testing and clinical translation of medical devices. 

In partnership with medical device design companies, clinicians, and patient groups, MDMC will seek to translate engineering and clinical knowhow to ensure that medical device manufacture is both practical and commercially viable. 

To ensure that the MDMC deliver an optimum effect, the Centre is supported by an Independent Advisory Group consisting of representatives from the NHS; regulatory and clinical trials experts; medical device companies; and clinicians.