A world-first system that keeps transplant livers alive
How do you keep transplant livers alive during transport?
Liver transplantation is typically a challenging process that can lead to many organs being discarded. OrganOx, a University of Oxford spin-out, wanted to develop an automated, transportable liver perfusion device that actually keeps the liver alive outside the body during transport.
Team Consulting helped this new start-up take their initial idea from device specification through to manufacture. Our aim was to transform the liver transplantation process with a robust, autonomous system controlled by embedded multi-tasking software, along with a safety-critical architecture.
The device is now a multi award-winning commercially available product. It not only enables the transplant liver to be stored safely for longer, it also provides surgeons with more data to transplant, reducing the number of discarded livers.
Client: OrganOx
Awards: MacRobert Award 2019 (shortlisted)| Medtech Insight award 2019 | Medawar Medal
While the whole process took four years from the original meeting to MHRA approval to conduct clinical trials, Team Consulting delivered the first fully autonomous proof-of-principle system in just nine months. This helped OrganOx to secure further funding.
Sandrine Cuney, Programme Director, Team Consulting.
The system design and development work involved a combination of electro-mechanical systems engineering, sterile fluid circuit design, embedded PCB design, industrial design, firmware coding, touch-screen interface design, and specification and risk management.
Paul Greenhalgh, Director of Design, Team Consulting.
Designed and developed by Team Consulting for OrganOx
We are an award-winning medical device consultancy, working with companies to design and develop medical devices. That’s all we do and we are proud of this focus.
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