The Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced the total revenue generated from land deed issuance in the past year at the annual summary meeting in Vientiane Capital on 4 May.
Asian Young Scientist Fellowship Announces 2023 Fellow, 12 Early-Career Scientists from the Asian Region
The field of Life Science is characterized by an ongoing pursuit of innovative research that addresses various biological and medical challenges. In this context, four prominent young scientists, from mainland China, Japan, and Hong Kong S.A.R., have been selected to receive support for their respective research endeavors.

Daishi Fujita, Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, Kyoto University, Japan
Takaaki Yasuhara, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Ho Ko, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
(left to right)
Dr. Peng Du‘s work focuses on generating totipotent cells capable of generating both embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues. This research is expected to contribute significantly to the advancement of the stem cell field, which holds immense potential for regenerative medicine and disease treatment. Dr. Daishi Fujita, on the other hand, will be exploring the application of his method of autonomous assembly of artificial structures to trap transiently interacting proteins or their active form for structural analysis. This research could provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying protein-protein interactions, which play critical roles in various biological processes. Dr. Takaaki Yasuhara‘s research aims to define how, when, and where the first events of chromosomal translocations occur. This study has the potential to improve our understanding of the genetic basis of diseases such as cancer and could lead to the development of novel therapies for their treatment. Dr. Ho Ko‘s research is centered around targeting a brainstem-hypothalamus neural circuit to extend health span based on his pioneering work in uncovering the fundamental rules governing the functional organization of synaptic connections. This research could lead to new interventions that promote healthy aging, a critical goal in our society as the global population ages.
Physical Sciences comprises of a wide range of research that seeks to deepen our understanding of the natural world and provide insights that can be applied in engineering, medicine, and technology. Four distinguished young scientists from Hong Kong SAR., Mainland China, Japan, and Singapore have been selected as recipients of the Fellowship.

Yue Gao, Fudan University, China
Tomoki Ozawa, Tohoku University, Japan
Huaxing Zhu, Zhejiang University, China
(left to right)

Kyeongsu Choi, Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS), Korea
Hao Chen, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR., China
Reza Shokri, National University of Singapore, Singapore
(left to right)
In Mathematics, Dr. Yao Yao‘s research mainly revolving around the particle differential equations, fluid dynamics, and mathematical biology. This research is expected to contribute to modern applied analysis and continually discover in addressing challenging questions that arise in fluid mechanics and mathematical biology. Dr. Kyeongsu Choi conducts research in geometric analysis that has been selected as a prominent candidate for his research on the classification of ancient solutions to geometric flows. This research has enormous potential to advance the understanding of singularities for geometric flows.
In Computer Science, Dr. Hao Chen engages the research of trustworthy artificial intelligence, medical image analysis, deep learning, and healthcare. This research has the potential to contribute to the development of medical imaging and analysis techniques using machine learning. This could lead to the exploration of trustworthy AI technologies for medical imaging and analysis. Dr. Reza Shokri‘s research are centered on data protection and privacy, as well as trustworthy machine learning. This research has the potential to contribute to the algorithmic foundations of data protection and privacy, which could pave the way for the development of privacy protection mechanisms at scale and the design of trustworthy and privacy-preserving algorithms for decision-making.
Asian Young Science Fellowship (AYSF) is a privately funded research fellowship in the Asian region. It was launched in 2022 to encourage and support young scientists in Asia to conduct creative and transformative research, as well as providing long-term support to talented scientists at the early stage of their careers. Eligible candidates must be within 10 years post-completion of the terminal (Ph.D./MD) degree and have a full-time position at universities and academic research institutions. Furthermore, AYSF aims to create a community that promotes explorative thinking, cross-disciplinary collaboration, international exchanges, and mentorship.
The Selection Committee, comprised of highly regarded and esteemed scientists from Asia and the global scientific community, facilitates the process of recognizing outstanding researchers for their research potential. Candidates for the Fellowship are identified through nominations by deans and heads of the department at universities and research institutes across Asia. Candidates are then required to submit an application to participate in a rigorous reviewing process. Professor Hong Wu at Peking University, Professor Hong Ding at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Professor Katsushi Ikeuchi at the University of Tokyo respectively chaired the committee in Life Science, Physical Science, and Mathematics & Computer Science during the selection process of the 2023 Fellows.
Each fellow in AYSF will receive $100,000 USD over a two-year term to be spent on expenses supportive of their research. The funding is supported by individual donors who are leading venture capitalists in Asia. The initiation of the Fellowship is a pioneering effort to accelerate the advancement of science through philanthropy.
These twelve fellows will gather in Hong Kong on 16 October 2023 at the Asian Young Scientist Fellowship Annual Conference to introduce their research work in length to a public-oriented audience. The close workshops will be held for young scientists to discuss solutions of big issues about facing humanity jointly with world-renowned scientists.
For more information about the 2023 Fellows and the Annual Conference will be updated on the Asian Young Scientist Fellowship official website (www.aysfellowship.org).Hashtag: #AYSF #Science
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Dear Reality releases new EXOVERB MICRO reverb plugin
Your entryway into a new level of spatial perception
BERLIN, GERMANY – Media OutReach – 9 May 2023 – Elevate your stereo mix with EXOVERB MICRO, Dear Reality’s latest realistic and spacious reverb plugin for stereo production. The compact audio plugin packs a punch, powered by the same proprietary reverb engine as its bigger brother, EXOVERB. Choose from eight expertly hand-crafted acoustic scenes for a truly authentic sound, empowering any modern audio production. Streamline your mixing process with the intuitive triangle pad to perfectly balance late reverberation, early reflections, and dry signals.

EXOVERB MICRO provides the perfect entryway into spacious reverb, offering a selection of EXOVERB’s eight most-loved acoustic presets from four categories: Ambiences, Rooms, Halls, and Plates. Each acoustic scene is based on multiple synthesized impulse responses (IRs) developed with Dear Reality’s proprietary software, allowing you to create rich reverb effects that perfectly match the needs of your mix. Whether you’re looking for a subtle drum room or a deep plate for vocals, EXOVERB MICRO has got you covered.
“With EXOVERB MICRO, we want to enable everyone to benefit from the latest reverb technology,” explains Felix Lau, Product Owner at Dear Reality, adding that “EXOVERB MICRO’s easy-to-use interface with the triangle pad offers a perfect starting point for modern music and postproduction.” The results are natural reverbs with three-dimensional depth perception on all stereo playback systems – both speakers and headphones.

EXOVERB MICRO features a user-friendly interface that makes adding just the right amount of reverb to any mix as easy as you can imagine. Using the triangle pad, you can simply balance early reflections, late reverberation, and dry signals to create the perfect sound. And like its big brother, EXOVERB MICRO provides instant access to essential parameters like Pre-Delay and Decay without complicated menus or sub-menus. With EXOVERB MICRO, you’ll get all the power and versatility of a professional reverb tool in a compact, easy-to-use plugin.
EXOVERB MICRO is available now in the Dear Reality store.
Hashtag: #Sennheiser #DearReality #Reverb #Plugin
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Dear Reality
Dear Reality is a leading company in the field of immersive audio controllers, best known for its binaural, Ambisonics, and multi-channel encoders with totally realistic room virtualization. The company’s products are used worldwide by sound engineers, sound designers, broadcasters, and musicians. Founded in 2014 by Achim Fell and Christian Sander, Dear Reality strives to deliver high-quality, cutting-edge 3D audio software for interactive and linear audio production. Since 2019, Dear Reality has been proud to be a part of the Sennheiser Group.
Lao Prime Minister to Attend 42nd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia This Month
Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone and his delegation will attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, scheduled to take place on May 9-11.
Sokxay Group Gets Appointed as Sales Representative for Dao Coffee
The Sokxay Group has become the sales representative of Dao Coffee after both companies signed a contract to this effect on 5 May.
Lao Athletes Make Waves at SEA Games With Impressive Medal Tally

Lao athletes have been racking up more and more medals at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia and the country’s medal tally grew to an impressive 38 on 9 May.
ASEAN Relief Convoy Attacked in Myanmar; No Casualties
BANGKOK (AP) — A convoy including diplomats representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on a mission to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people in strife-torn Myanmar has been ambushed, state media and a member of an ethnic minority militia said Monday.
HKU’s innovative research novelties excel at 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

Research teams from Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, LKS Faculty of Medicine, and two HKU Inno Laboratories, established under the Hong Kong Government’s InnoHK programme, garnered two special grand prizes, one Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury, six Gold Medals, six Silver Medals and four Bronze Medals with their innovations in the event.
The Artificial Intelligence MGF Network for Anomalies Detection, developed by Dr Wilton Fok’s team from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was winner of the two grand prizes and a gold medal. The system uses AI to analyse in real time human posture and movements in a video to identify anomaly scenarios such as abuse, drowning, and criminal behaviour.
The Programmable Cell Niche Engineering Platform, developed by Professor Barbara Chan’s team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, won a Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury. The system ensures proper cellular functions and results that can enable predictable clinical studies by mimicing the biological environment for cells.
HKU has showcased this year a total of 17 research inventions that provide solutions to pressing human problems, spanning diverse areas such as biomedicine, vaccine development, artificial intelligence, and aging. Notably, the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre and the Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, established by HKU in 2021 under the Hong Kong Government’s InnoHK program, have demonstrated exceptional ability in successfully translating their biomedical research achievements into practical applications within a relatively short timeframe. Each have two research inventions selected, including an aptasensor for sepsis diagnosis, a capillary microfluidic platform for point-of-care testing, an interferon-integrated coronavirus vaccine, and NanoComplex vaccine technology.
“HKU takes immense pride in the recognition our researchers have received for their innovative research efforts. We are also dedicated to facilitating the transfer of our research findings into tangible applications in the market. Through the powerful synergies generated from our collaborations with global research and industry partners, we strive to facilitate the emergence of pioneering innovations and their transformation into products that improve the well-being of humanity,” said Professor Max Shen, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research).
Renowned as one of the most distinguished innovation exhibitions in the world, the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (IEIG) is an extraordinary annual global event devoted exclusively to inventions and innovations.
Since first participating in the event in 2018, HKU has received a total of 60 awards including 4 prestigious Gold Medals with Congratulations of the Jury and 21 other gold medals.
HKU’s award-winning inventions in 2023:
INVENTION & INNOVATION CAI AWARD (China Delegation) & PRIZE OF THE DELEGATION OF MALAYSIA & GOLD MEDAL
Artificial Intelligence MGF Network for Anomalies Detection
The invention can be deployed in children’s centres, swimming pools, public transport and exhibition centres to detect abnormal behaviours and situations for public safety and security. Using AI to detect human skeletons in a video and analyse their posture and movements, it is able to capture the context information in a long video and address specific portions for detecting multiple anomaly scenarios in real time such as abuse, drowning, terrorist attacks, traffic accidents, fighting and criminal behaviour, more accurately and efficiently.
The invention was developed by the research team of Dr Wilton Fok from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong.
GOLD MEDALS WITH CONGRATULATIONS OF THE JURY
Programmable Cell Niche Engineering Platform
One of the reasons many drugs that work in the lab do not work as expected in the clinical trial stage is that scientists grow cells on flat and rigid culture dishes for drug research, which are not biomimetic — leading to cell responses in lab testing that do not represent what would happen in native tissues of human bodies. The Programmable Cell Niche Engineering Platform mimics the biological environment for cells, which in turn ensures proper cellular functions and results that can enable predictable clinical studies. The multifactorial biochips invented identify the ideal niche for different cell types, equipping scientists with a comprehensive library of individual niche factors to develop optimal culture environments for different types of cells of specialised applications.
The platform was developed by Professor Barbara Chan and her team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Programme, The University of Hong Kong.
GOLD MEDALS
1. Respiratory Organoids
Biomedical research mainly relies on cell lines and animal models for experimentation, which has limited physiological relevance to human biology and pathology. Under this project, a complete respiratory organoid culture system has been the first of its kind to efficiently reconstruct and reproducibly expand the entire human respiratory epithelium in culture plates. All the differentiated respiratory organoids, including nasal, airway and alveolar organoids, adequately mimic the multicellular composition of native respiratory epithelium and phenocopy the functionality. Superior to most existing in vitro models, these organoids represent universal tools with biological relevance for diverse biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, including disease modeling, development of therapeutics, toxicological evaluation and personalised medicine.
The project was originated by Dr Jie Zhou, Dr Man Chun Chiu, Dr Cun Li and Professor Kwok Yung Yuen from the Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong.
2. Bismuth-based Cocktail Therapy for Coronavirus
There is an urgent need for safe and effective therapeutic options for COVID-19, with the SARS-CoV-2 variants associated with enhanced transmissibility, reduced vaccine-induced protection and emerging drug resistance. Under this project, the orally administrated bismuth drug colloidal bismuth subcitrate together with N-acetyl cysteine has been found to be a broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus cocktail therapy against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants and different coronaviruses. Mixing two US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved over counter drugs, 1 molar equivalent of colloidal bismuth subcitrate and 3 molar equivalents of a mucoactive drug N-acetyl cysteine, is a safe and highly potent therapy through oral administration and 10 times more selective in killing the virus than the first FDA approved drug. This therapy is now in phase II/III clinical trial in Hong Kong, with a phase III trial underway in China.
The invention was developed by Professor Sun Hongzhe, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, Dr Yuan Shuofeng, Dr Wang RunMing, Dr Li Hongyan, Dr Jasper Chan Fuk-Woo, Dr Cheng Tianfan, Mrs Wang SuYu, and Mr Chan Chun Lung of The University of Hong Kong.
3. PERfECT Wearables for Digital Health
Endorsed by over 100 leading scientists worldwide on social media, “HKU PERfECT” is the first wearable platform combining the distinctive features of being highly sensitive, energy efficient, lightweight and ultracompact, enabling decentralised medical technologies for remote and personalised healthcare to cope with an aging population, quarantine and the shortage of medical instrumentation. Compared to current wearable devices that can only measure vital signals (e.g. heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, etc.), PERfECT is able to detect molecular indicators in body fluids, which are more informative for fatal/chronic disease screening and monitoring.
The invention was developed by the WISE Research Group from The University of Hong Kong and SESIC LIMITED.
4. Method of Developing a Peptide-based Vaccine Conjugated with 1V209
This invention describes the development of a method to conjugate 1V209, a toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist, to antigens to induce antigen-specific responses. Past synthetic peptide vaccines must be used together with vaccine adjuvants to stimulate T cells against specific antigens to treat cancer, but a simple mixture of antigens and adjuvants can hardly induce enough specific immune responses. To address this issue, we designed bioinspired nanoparticles mimicking the structure of the virus to enhance the antigen-specific immune response. Through safer and greener methods, it used the TLR7 agonist 1V209 to generate peptide-drug conjugates and form a self-adjuvating vaccine to deliver antigens and adjuvants at the same time, inducing a stronger T cell response with improved stability and successful suppression of tumour growth.
The invention was developed by Professor Jiandong Huang and Dr Yefan Hu from the School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong.
5. DipμChip – Capillary Microfluidic Platform for Point-of-care Diagnostics
DipμChip is an automated capillary microfluidic-based point-of-care (POC) microsystem allowing rapid and portable detection of various high-impact and mortality diseases. It is designed and fabricated using state-of-the-art molecular biology and microfluidic technologies, utilising capillary pressure and surface-activating treatments that allow laboratory-level analytics to be conducted in an accessible manner. This microsystem paves the way for a versatile array of clinical and academic applications that require multiple conjugations and washings. End users of DipμChip include clinics, hospitals, homes and assisted living healthcare facilities, democratising access to adequate clinical care, and saving precious lives of patients in need.
The platform was developed by Professor Anderson Shum, Dr. Hassan Sammer Ul and Mr. Nicky Lee from Department of Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre.
SILVER MEDALS
1. Smart Address Plates for Pedestrian Indoor Navigation and Location-Based Services and Management
Traditionally, pedestrian navigation uses Location Positioning System (LPS) with trilateration to find the user’s position, which have very high positioning error for outdoor GPS and indoor positioning. This new solution adopts a cost-effective innovative Location Confirmation System (LCS) to accurately locate and guide the user to the destination by using Smart Address Plates (SAP) that transmit stored geographic coordinates with innovative 3D Smart Address (SA) codes to the users even without WiFi or telephone signals. This SAP system can help to find shops/ offices/ restaurants/ car parking spaces inside a multi-storey building accurately while providing location-based services and management for precise target marketing. It is highly scalable, connecting shops/rooms on a floor to a building, then to a district and to the whole city through a Smart Address Plate Management System (SAP-MS).
The Smart Address Plates and Location Confirmation System were developed by Professor Anthony Yeh, Dr Zhong Teng and Dr Run Shi from the Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong.
2. A Novel Stem Cell-based Platform for Antiviral Discovery, Vaccine and Healthy Natural Products
There is an urgent need for the vaccine industry to establish a new type of human cell model for anti-virus drug development in order to enhance sensitivity and efficiency. The human Expanded Potential Stem Cells (hEPSCs) developed under this project help generate trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) and syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs), which express high levels of SARS-CoV-2 host factors and are highly susceptible to the viral infection. Remarkably, the infected eSTBs are 1,000 times more sensitive to antiviral drugs, making the TSC-STB platform a more ideal human cell source for viral production and performing antiviral discovery, including SARS-CoV-2, MERS, their variants, and the FDA approved anti-virus drugs and natural products.
The platform was developed by Professor Pengtao Liu from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, and Dr Degong Ruan and Professor Fang Liu from the Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology, The University of Hong Kong.
3. Ultra-thin Flexible Robotic Instruments for Endoluminal Surgery
Under this project, a robotic system with highly miniaturised and flexible instruments has been developed to address challenges in the endoluminal treatment of early-stage gastrointestinal and urinary tract cancers. In current practice, there is a steep learning curve for resecting tumours in their entirety due to a lack of instrument dexterity and poor tissue retraction. The developed system provides two robotic instruments as small as Ø2.5 mm with 5 degrees of freedom each, enabling enhanced endoluminal surgery with conventional rigid and flexible endoscopes. Overall, the system will help to flatten the learning curve so that more clinicians can provide patients with effective early-stage care.
The system was developed by the research team of Dr Ka-Wai Kwok from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong.
4. Automatic Alignment of Microparticles
This groundbreaking chip-size invention revolutionises the way to align micro-particles in liquids. Using a microchannel with specifically arranged roadblocks that effortlessly guides disordered particles into an ultrafast-flowing chain, it provides outstanding performance at a low cost. As compact as a credit card and priced at less than USD10, each device can align up to one million particles per minute with precision down to 0.001 mm. This game-changer bypasses the limitations of current methods, thereby enhancing the efficiency of applications that involve microparticle analysis and processing, particularly blood cell screening and water filtration.
The invention was developed by Professor Kevin Tsia and Dr Kelvin Lee from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong.
5. Interferon-integrated coronavirus vaccine: a next-generation universal live vaccine protects against pan beta-coronavirus infection
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to develop a next-generation coronavirus vaccine that can offer protection against current and potential future beta-coronavirus infections. However, there are several technical hurdles that must be overcome in order to create an ideal vaccine that has three key properties: 1) universal protection against a broad range of beta-coronaviruses, 2) enhanced mucosal T cell immunity, and 3) activated innate anti-viral mechanisms to ensure safety. The team has developed an innovative immunological design and genetic engineering technology that has resulted in the creation of a universal beta-coronavirus mucosal vaccine and a streamlined production pipeline. Preclinical studies in two animal models have demonstrated the efficacy of the vaccine in terms of the three key properties.
The technology was developed by Dr KH Kok and the team from the Department of Microbiology of The University of Hong Kong and the Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics.
6. NanoComplex
NanoComplex is a next-generation vaccine technology designed for nasal use and carries the potential to target all kinds of viruses. Viruses have proteins as antigens and nucleic acids as genomes, and both are critical components to alert our immune system and generate strong protection. The NanoComplex technology takes full advantage of these components, combines viral proteins and nucleic acids with innovative methods, and creates a nano-sized complex that can be used as a nasal vaccine. Since all viruses have the same components, the NanoComplex can switch its internals for different viruses, and therefore can potentially defend against all known viruses.
The technology was developed by a research team lead by Dr Kin Hang Kok from the Department of Microbiology of The University of Hong Kong, and the Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics.
BRONZE MEDALS
1. Remote e-Inspection System for the Manufacturing and Delivery of Offsite Modular Construction
This e-Inspection System is a Modular Construction Supply Chain Quality Assurance system that includes i-Core (an loT device attached to each MC module to monitor the position, humidity, temperature and collision data), e-InStar (an App for uploading the checking result of each production step in a remote factory to the block chain), e-TranStar (an App for monitoring the location and condition of the MC module in the transport process) and a blockchain-based backend. Designed for offsite modular construction use to help solve housing problems, it reduces resources required for supervision and paperwork while ensuring tamper-proof data, helping overcome the current difficulties in monitoring the quality of production and transportation from remote sites. The system has been piloted in an HKU project in Hong Kong with two 17-storey buildings using 952 MiC modules.
The system was developed by Prof Wilson Lu, Director of the iLab of the Faculty of Architecture, together with Professor Anthony Yeh, Chair Professor of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, and Mr KL Tam, Former Director of the Estates Office of The University of Hong Kong.
2. On-site Fertilizer Production for Perpetual Farming
The EC Flow device developed under this project is an energy-neutral system that fully integrates with solar panels and battery storage systems to detect and remove numerous toxic residual nitrates and nitrites (NOx) in soil using renewable energy. It can further upcycle NOx and feed fertilizer back into urban farming sites, achieving waste remediation, pollution mitigation and resource recovery to reach nitrogen neutrality. This solution can be applied to plantation areas of any scale and type, including farms, lawns, roof gardens and balconies. The goals are lowering toxin levels in municipal waste and alleviating ecological strains on urban sewage systems, ultimately improving the urban municipal discharge situation and local marine environment.
The device was innovated by Dr Edmund Tse, Wanying Wang from the Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, and commercialised with the help of Yip Jackson Ho So.
3. Smart Elderly Walker
This is a smart and handy device pairing advanced Artificial Intelligence with a home-friendly design, helping the elderly stay healthy, active and independent while making their lives easier and more secure. It brings together several advanced features, including a stable mechanical structure with smooth omnidirectional mobility, dual-mode actuation and control for simultaneous walking/standing support and fall prevention/recovery, soft robotic handles and privacy-friendly sensors for event detection and control and fall detection, as well as specialised sound-source localisation to locate the user quickly and effectively, providing enhanced safety protection and superior walking assistance for older adults.
The device was developed by the research team of Professor Chuan Wu, Dr Hao Luo, Dr Zhao Chongyu and Dr Wen Rongwei from the Department of Computer Science of The University of Hong Kong; and Professor Wang Zheng from the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering of The Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen.
4. Aptasensor for Sepsis Diagnostic
Diagnosing sepsis in a timely manner to ensure optimal patient survival with prompt treatment remains a major challenge. This invention utilises a novel DNA-based biosensor that integrates aptamers into a point-of-care platform to advance sepsis diagnosis. Aptamers recognise biomarkers by specifically binding to unique structures on their surface. Unlike antibody-based tools, aptamers provide multiple advantages in terms of stability, production cost, reproducibility and flexibility that can readily be integrated into various platforms, such as electrochemical platforms (quantitative device) and/or colorimetric assays (rapid test). The aptasensor provides a quick and highly sensitive solution for sepsis detection that can help revolutionise point-of-care sepsis detection.
The invention was developed by Dr. Louisa Hoi-Ying Lo, Dr. William Whitehouse, supervised by Professor Julian Tanner, from the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre.
The University’s participation in this year’s competition was coordinated by the Technology Transfer Office of HKU.
For details about the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, please visit: https://inventions-geneva.ch/en/home/.
Hashtag: #HKU
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Technology Transfer Office, HKU
The Technology Transfer Office (TTO) manages the use of HKU’s intellectual property assets by providing patenting, licensing and other commercialisation support to the University’s researchers and inventors. Acting as the bridge linking HKU to society in the area of technology commercialisation, TTO helps industries and businesses to access HKU’s powerhouse of knowledge, innovation and expertise through close collaboration. Website: http://www.tto.hku.hk.