Outreach and Public Engagement

Media Engagement

Unsolicited media engagement for a paper on sensorised surgical gloves: S. Jaufuraully et. al., 3: Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 2022.

Upcoming Public and Clinical Engagement Activities

1. Advanced Rotational Techniques & Safe Caesarean Birth at Advanced/Full Dilation Training (ART & CRAFT) 2025

Researchers from the Nanoengineered Systems Laboratory (NSL) team will participate in the ART & CRAFT course, organized by UCLH (Institute for Women's Health) under the leadership of Professor Dimitrios Siassakos and Dr. Dawn Parris. As part of this initiative, NSL researchers will utilize their multi-sensorized surgical gloves technology to record force traces during manual rotation procedures performed on pre-clinical models.

2. Participation in Pint of Science 2025

Dr. Carmen Salvadores Fernandez and Dr. Rohit Gupta have been invited to the Pint of Science festival 2025 (21st May at Winchester Pub, Archway) to deliver talks focusing on “how sensors and biosensors technology can be integrated with biology to help with experiments”.

3. Royal Society Summer Science Festival 2025

Nanoengineered Systems Laboratory along with their collaborators from neurosurgery (Mr. Hani Markus’s team at Queen’s square Neurology), obstetrics (Professor Dimitrios Siassakos’s team at UCLH), and virtual reality in surgery (Professor Rui Loureiro’s team at Department of Ortho and MSK Science, UCL) have been selected for Royal Society Summer Science 2025. The theme for the exhibit is “Nanotechnology and digital Platform for Safer Surgeries”, which will include several of our flagship research outcomes from sensorised surgical glove, VR in surgery, and safe fluorine-free surface for contamination prevention in surgery. The exhibit will be a week-long event between 1st to 7th July held at the Royal Society and is one of the largest science exhibitions in the UK.

Past Public Engagement

Festival of Engineering 2024 – UCL Engineering’s Flagship Exhibition

Researchers from the NSL were selected to present their cutting-edge innovations at the Festival of Engineering 2024 (held in July), UCL Engineering’s premier week-long public exhibition. The showcased research included sensorized surgical gloves designed for obstetrics and neurosurgery, a suite of miniaturized healthcare sensors for monitoring humidity, oxygen, and antigens, as well as fluorine-free liquid-repellent coatings applicable to various surfaces, including fabric, glass, and metal. In addition to participating in the exhibition’s regular open days, NSL was honored to be among the five featured exhibits during the festival’s inaugural events, attended by distinguished guests such as UCL Provost Dr. Michael Spence and Dean of Engineering Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker. The festival attracted an audience of over 7,000 visitors, providing an exciting platform to engage the public with pioneering advancements in nanoengineering and healthcare technology.

WEISS Science of Surgery 2024

The NSL team participated in the WEISS Science of Surgery 2024, demonstrating their latest advancements in sensorized surgical gloves. In collaboration with Professor Rui Loureiro’s team from the Department of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science (UCL), NSL also showcased the integration of real-time force measurement for manual rotation within a virtual reality platform, highlighting the future of precision in surgical training and intervention. The event took place on 12th April 2024 at Charles Bell House, home to the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (now the UCL Hawkes Institute), providing a dynamic platform for researchers, clinicians, and industry professionals to engage with pioneering surgical innovations.

Art & Craft course 2024 at UCLH 

NSL researchers presented their work at the ART & CRAFT course, organized by UCLH (Dr. Dawn Parris)—a specialized workshop designed to train mid-grade and senior obstetric trainees in mastering complex operative vaginal births and second-stage caesarean sections. The team demonstrated their multi-sensorized wireless surgical gloves and interactive graphical user interface. Several participants also had the opportunity to wear the gloves and perform manual rotation of a baby’s head, a fundamental procedure in assisted childbirth. 

Collaborative work for microsurgery (2024)

Researchers from the NSL team—Yang Xue, Dr. Ashish Kalkal, and Francesca De Coppi—along with Dr. Jialang Xu from Dr. Evangelos Mazomenos’s team, visited Dr. Oliver Burton, a member of Mr. Hani Marcus’s team. The visit aimed to collect data for the assessment of microsurgical skills using machine learning-based analysis of force measurements from sensorized surgical gloves, combined with video data.

Public engagement (IHE impact fellowship) in a Spanish secondary school

On September 28, 2023, three talented scientists from the NSL had the incredible opportunity to visit IES Valverde de Lucerna, a high school in Spain. This dynamic event was part of a broader effort to engage the public with cutting-edge science and innovation, sponsored by the Institute of Healthcare Engineering (IHE).The visit featured captivating presentations on gravitational energy, nanoengineered surfaces, and individual research projects, sparking curiosity and enthusiasm among the attending secondary school students. The engaging sessions bridged complex scientific concepts with everyday applications, leaving the audience inspired and eager to explore further. The event was warmly received by students, school leaders, and members of the local community, all of whom participated with great enthusiasm. Its success was further highlighted by coverage in the local newspaper, showcasing the impact of science communication in bringing people closer to the wonders of research.
We are thrilled to see our scientists fostering a love for discovery and innovation among young minds around the world!

IP4U (an exclusive event showcasing new technologies in Sustainability and Future Health)

NSL, in collaboration with UCL-B and UCL-C, participated in the IP4U 2023 (University Tech Fair). IP4U was split across two themed and curated days. Each day offered unique technologies, speakers, presentations and rare opportunities to discover the cutting-edge IP produced from leading education institutes. We (Dr Vikaramjeet Singh, Dr Prasenjit Kabi, Dr Carmen, and Jianhui) showcased our patented works on “Re-usable and self-poled piezoelectric nanocomposite films” and “Sensorized Gloves”.

UCL MechEng Summer School 2023 - Nanoengineered System Lab Tour

We (Dr Vikaramjeet Singh, Dr Prasenjit Kabi) showcased our research on surfaces, diagnostics and additive manufacturing to the high school student to help them in selecting course for their undergraduate studies at UCL or outside.

Visiting from ICRA (IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation)

Our international guests from ICRA came to visit us at the WEISS center, on 29th, May. We introduced the most advanced research about sensors, 3D printing and nano-coatings in our NSL. Thank you so much for listening and sharing your ideas from different areas/perspectives. 

PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL: Why do junior neurosurgeons need nano sensor gloves?

Carmen Salvadores Fernandez gave a pubic speech on 24 May at Atlas Grinds: "If I tell you to press hard, how hard would you press? Your definition of hard could be different to mine. And maybe it is not that important in day to day life when you are kneading dough or pressing buttons in an elevator. But now imagine you are a neurosurgeon and you are told to press “hard” to clamp an artery during surgery. In some situations, being able to precisely measure pressure is much more important. Join me over a pint in Hackney and I will tell you about my project that uses nanosensors on the fingertips of a glove to measure pressure of a surgeon’s touch!"

Science of Surgery Open Day

Our team developed a game where finger tapping detection could be used to play a game. This may have potential use in monitoring and rehabilitation of patients with neurodegenerative disease. Additional demos included playing music through a force sensorised glove wirelessly connected to an Arduino chip and self-cleaning surfaces. This event was attended by >200 children at Charles Bell House, Foley Street, London.

 

Tomorrow’s Home exhibition by UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering (IHE)

Tomorrow’s Home was an immersive installation where the home of the future – 30 years from now – became a reality as an exhibition hosted at the Museum of the Home. It drew upon leading research from the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering to imagine how our dwellings could be designed to help us live independently and well as we age, and support our changing planet.

Find more details in the article here!

 

Career Paths for Early Career Researchers Panel

Professor Tiwari was a panel member on Career paths for early career researchers: academia and industry, BioMedEng22 meeting, UCL, 9 September 2022.

Matas presenting a force sensorised glove that played different musical notes depending on the force applied at the Science of Surgery event.

 The team presenting various technologies at the Science of Surgery event.

Public Patient Involvement (PPI) Panels

Led by clinical collaborators in the WEISS centre, NSL team has helped run the following panels:

• Tuesday 10^th January 2023: Updates, feedback and improved patient information sheets and recruitment poster (based on previous feedback and suggestions from the panel).
• Wednesday 12th October 2022: Updates and progress on the sensorised surgical glove project (based on previous feedback and suggestions from the panel).
• Tuesday 5th July 2022: Shaping and feedback on the recruitment poster and consent form.
• Tuesday 9th November 2021: Shaping the confidentiality agreement and feedback on it.
• Thursday 15th July 2021: Confidentiality and ethics for the sensorised glove.
• Wednesday 18th November 2020: Assisting Operative Birth using Wearable Technology – Sensorised surgical glove for vaginal examination.