22 research outputs found
Healthy aims: developing new medical implants and diagnostic equipment
Healthy Aims is a €23-million, four-year project, funded under the EU’s Information Society Technology Sixth Framework program to develop intelligent medical implants and diagnostic systems (www.healthyaims.org). The project has 25 partners from 10 countries, including commercial,
clinical, and research groups. This consortium represents a combination of disciplines to design and fabricate new medical devices and components as well as to test them in laboratories and subsequent clinical trials.
The project focuses on medical implants for nerve stimulation and diagnostic equipment based on straingauge
technology
Preliminary assessment of the environmental baseline in the Fylde, Lancashire
This report presents the collated preliminary results from the British Geological Survey (BGS) led project Science-based environmental baseline monitoring associated with shale gas development in the Fylde, Lancashire. The project has been funded by a combination of BGS National Capability funding, in-kind contributions from project partners and a grant awarded by the Department of Business Energy and Investment Strategy (BEIS). It complements an on-going project, in which similar activities are being carried out, in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire. Further information on the projects can be found on the BGS website: www.bgs.ac.uk.
The project has initiated a wide-ranging environmental baseline monitoring programme that includes water quality (groundwater and surface water), seismicity, ground motion, atmospheric composition (greenhouse gases and air quality), soil gas and radon in air (indoors and outdoors). The motivation behind the project(s) was to establish independent monitoring in the area around the proposed shale gas hydraulic fracturing sites in the Fylde, Lancashire (Cuadrilla Resources Ltd) before any shale gas operations take place.
As part of the project, instrumentation has been deployed to measure, in real-time or near real-time, a range of environmental variables (water quality, seismicity, atmospheric composition). These data are being displayed on the project’s web site (www.bgs.ac.uk/lancashire). Additional survey, sampling and monitoring has also been carried out through a co-ordinated programme of fieldwork and laboratory analysis, which has included installation of new monitoring infrastructure, to allow compilation of one of the most comprehensive environmental datasets in the UK.
The monitoring programme is continuing. However, there are already some very important findings emerging from the limited datasets which should be taken into account when developing future monitoring strategy, policy and regulation. The information is not only relevant to Lancashire but will be applicable more widely in the UK and internationally. Although shale gas operations in other parts of the world are well-established, there is a paucity of good baseline data and effective guidance on monitoring. The project will also allow the experience gained, and the scientifically-robust findings to be used, to develop and establish effective environmental monitoring strategies for shale gas and similar industrial activities
Environmental monitoring : phase 4 final report (April 2018 - March 2019)
This report describes the results of activities carried out as part of the Environmental
Monitoring Project (EMP) led by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in areas around two
shale gas sites in England – Kirby Misperton (Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire) and Preston
New Road (Fylde, Lancashire). It focuses on the monitoring undertaken during the period April
2018–March 2019 but also considers this in the context of earlier monitoring results that have
been covered in reports for earlier phases of the project (Phases I–IV)
2
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The EMP project is a multi-partner project involving BGS together with Public Health England
(PHE), University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Manchester, Royal
Holloway University of London (RHUL) and University of York. The work has been enabled
by funding from a combination of the BGS National Capability programme, a grant awarded
by the UK Government’s Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and
additional benefit-in-kind contributions from all partners.
The project comprises the comprehensive monitoring of different environment compartments
and properties at and around the two shale-gas sites. The component parts of the EMP are all
of significance when considering environmental and human health risks associated with shale
gas development. Included are seismicity, ground motion, water (groundwater and surface
water), soil gas, greenhouse gases, air quality, and radon.
The monitoring started before hydraulic fracturing had taken place at the two locations, and so
the results obtained before the initiation of operations at the shale-gas sites represent baseline
conditions. It is important to characterise adequately the baseline conditions so that any future
changes caused by shale gas operations, including hydraulic fracturing, can be identified. This
is also the case for any other new activities that may impact those compartments of the
environment being monitored as part of the project.
In the period October 2018–December 2018, an initial phase of hydraulic fracturing took place
at the Preston New Road (PNR) shale-gas site (shale gas well PNR1-z) in Lancashire. This was
followed by a period of flow testing of the well to assess its performance (to end of January
2019). The project team continued monitoring during these various activities and several
environmental effects were observed. These are summarised below and described in more
detail within the report. The initiation of operations at the shale-gas site signified the end of
baseline monitoring. At the Kirby Misperton site (KMA), approval has not yet been granted
for hydraulic fracturing of the shale gas well (KM8), and so no associated operations have
taken place during the period covered by this report. The effects on air quality arising from the
mobilisation of equipment in anticipation of hydraulic fracturing operations starting was
reported in the Phase III report, and in a recently published paper3
. Following demobilisation of the equipment and its removal from the site, conditions returned to baseline and the on-going
monitoring (reported in this report) is effectively a continuation of baseline monitoring
Technology developments to initiate a next generation of Cochlear Implants
In the framework of the EU-supported research project Healthy Aims, we developed a range of novel electrode arrays and related technologies for use in hearing prosthesis. This paper summarizes our ongoing research activities on alternative electrode manufacturing routes, functional electrode interfaces and smart intra-cochlear and intra-modiolus electrode arrays