Ajay Kottapalli awarded ERC Proof of Concept Grant for safer IV infusion therapy

We are pleased to announce that our colleague Prof. Ajay Kottapalli, has been awarded a prestigious ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant for his project iVSEAL: Safer intravenous infusion therapy enabled by aerosol jet printed non-contact ultrasensitive flow sensors.

Intravenous (IV) infusion therapy is a widely used procedure in hospitals, with over a billion infusions administered annually globally. Despite its prevalence, IV infusions pose significant risks, with up to 60% experiencing incorrect flow rates, leading to adverse events for vulnerable patient groups such as preterm babies and critically ill individuals. To solve this problem, Kottapalli and his team developed an innovative aerosol jet printed micro-electromechanical-systems (MEMS) flow monitoring technology that measures IV flow rates in real-time and alerts clinicians instantly when a flow discrepancy is detected. The technology stands apart from the current standard of care due to its accuracy in measuring true flows, compact size, exceptional sensitivity, and cost-effectiveness heralding a new era in IV patient safety protocols. Through the iVSEAL project, Kottapalli proposed to use these printed MEMS flow sensors in IV infusion monitoring by developing them into a fully-functional medical device (‘works-like’ prototype).

The €150,000 grant supports the exploration of this commercial and societal potential of this promising new technology, helping to take it one step closer to real-world application. The PoC project builds directly on the foundations of Kottapalli’s earlier research funded by an ERC Starting Grant, further demonstrating the translational strength of his work.