Labman is probably the only place where shipping container pottery sheds and unicycle-riding chairmen meet cutting-edge automation and engineering excellence. It’s a uniquely cool place to work, and from my first day, I’ve had an absolute blast here!
After spending my first couple of months learning the ropes and chipping in on the assembly and testing of other systems around the electronics department, I then started working on POCcardio. The POCcardio project is a point-of-care device aiming to screen for heart disease using a microfluidic “lab on a chip” approach. I was given responsibility for developing the “hydration module”, which is used to precisely rehydrate the powdered reagents on the chip. This started off with simple test rigs, then quickly progressed into iterations of PCBs and mechanical designs, collaborating with the rest of the team to make the module fit the needs of the POCcardio device as it was being developed.
The latter part of my time here has been spent fine-tuning and testing the hydration module, writing firmware to allow control of the module’s capabilities as an integrated module on the POCcardio device.
Outside of work time, I’ve felt completely welcomed into Labman’s vibrant community. I kept going with my interests in running and football, while also having the opportunity to try pottery, fell running on the beautiful North York Moors, and the gym. The highlight though has to be starting the table tennis club with some of my friends here. What started as a lunchtime distraction became a full-blown league with an automated “ELO” scoring system, spreadsheets and lots of graphs! I think this well embodies the Labman atmosphere of creativity and playful curiosity (and competitiveness…).
When I started here, I had never designed a PCB, written complex firmware, or managed my time on a project this large. 12 months later, I have created a working microfluidic module for a groundbreaking point-of-care device, integrating a mechanical assembly, circuit boards and firmware.
This placement year has been an incredible opportunity in which I’ve grown personally, professionally and technically. I’m very grateful to everyone at Labman for giving me big responsibilities and trusting me to work through challenges, whilst also being so willing to teach me about their technical expertise or their hobbies.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for the POCcardio project and Labman as a whole. Hopefully I’ll be back soon to see!