Did you know that disposable nappies account for approximately 400,000 tonnes of waste each year, representing 2-3% of household waste? Period products don't fare much better with one study indicating 200,000 tonnes of waste annually and then there's also adult incontinence products - we’re looking at 3 billion waste products annually for that. These are staggering numbers and ones we just aren't aware of.

In this episode we speak to Elze Porte and Ayse Allison who are working to reduce waste with absorbent hygiene products - that's things like nappies, period products and adult incontinence products. Hear how they're working with manufacturers, users and waste management systems to make sure we’re not adding to the landfill.

Transcription link:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/healthcare-engineering/health-handbasket-podcast/reduce-reuse-recycle-nappies-and-period-products-edition

Date of episode recording: 2024-07-18T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:25:29
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Elze Porte; Ayse Allison
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter; Shakira Crawford

In this episode, we speak to Chloe He, Postgraduate researcher at UCL, who educates us on fertility treatments. We cover the 50-50 split between male and female infertility factors, the rising rates of infertility (now affecting one in six people), and the worrying impact of pollution on male fertility. The conversation also touches on the challenges of accessing fertility services, including the frustrating "postcode lottery" in the UK. Chloe breaks down the IVF process—from ovarian stimulation to embryo selection—and unpacks the ethical dilemmas around pre-implantation genetic testing. Plus, we discuss the unique barriers the transgender community faces in fertility care. So, yes, we cover a lot in 33 minutes!

Transcription link:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/healthcare-engineering/health-handbasket-podcast/engineering-solutions-infertility

Date of episode recording: 2024-06-10T00:00:00Z
Duration: 33:00
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Chloe He
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter; Shakira Crawford

In this episode, we speak to Stephen Morris, VaxHub's Senior Outreach and Partnerships Manager, and Ludovica Vaiarelli, VaxHub's Partners Relationship Manager, to learn a bit more about how vaccines are manufactured and distributed worldwide. We'll hear how the process works, and how we're working with partner Universities like Oxford, along with manufacturers and industry, to ensure we create the next vaccine as quickly as possible. During the conversation, we cover notable projects that the VaxHub has worked on plus how antimicrobial resistance (so from things like antibiotics in poultry) is affecting global initiatives in vaccine production.

Transcription link:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/healthcare-engineering/health-handbasket-podcast/making-next-global-vaccine

Date of episode recording: 2024-10-08T00:00:00Z
Duration: 37:00
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Stephen Morris; Ludovica Vaiarelli
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter; Shakira Crawford

How is super small tech (we're talking a billionth of a meter small) going to change healthcare? It sounds like quite a far-fetched - really small things helping to diagnose cancer and other diseases? It's a type of X-ray? In this episode, we speak to Alessandro Rossi is a Research Fellow in Electronic and Electrical Engineering at UCL to answer these questions and explain how nanotechnology is changing the healthcare landscape. Alessandro is currently working on nanofabrication and although it's jargon at the moment, we uncover what nanofabrication is, how it links to x-rays and how we're helping to diagnose cancer further in this episode.

Transcription link:
www.ucl.ac.uk/healthcare-enginee…huge-possibilities

Date of episode recording: 2024-07-04T00:00:00Z
Duration: 23:10
Language of episode: English
Guests: Alessandro Rossi
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter, Shakira Crawford

How are we improving dental health so we don't have to keep going back to the dentist? Anastasios Koulogiannis is a Post Graduate Researcher at UCL. He's looking at engineering applications in healthcare in the department of Mechanical Engineering and so whilst he's not a dentist (although he does have a lot of dental knowledge after spending a lot of time with dentists), Anastasios speaks to us about his research using ultrasound technology and the way its changing dental care. We cover the 'basis' like what root canal treatments are (did anyone else just think that teeth were inanimate objects?) and how Anastasios and his team are working on a treatment device that will make sure you get the treatment you need, won't have to keep going back to the dentist with tooth pains and ultimately save the NHS money.

Date of episode recording: 2024-05-22T00:00:00Z
Duration: 00:15:40
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Anastasios Koulogiannis
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter; Shakira Crawford

We all know that meat production emits a substantial amount of greenhouse gases, nearly 60% by some estimates, and so we need to do something about it. Darren Player, Associate Professor in Musculoskeletal Bioengineering, discusses the development of lab-grown meat, why he's working on engineering new, sustainable sources of meat and how he's doing it. We're also joined by Beren Fidan, a Colotaruna Soprano, who is vegan and shares her thoughts on the ethics of lab-grown meat and whether it's a viable option for her.

Date of episode recording: 2024-04-22T00:00:00Z
Duration: 35:08
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Darren Player; Beren Fidan
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter; Shakira Crawford

In this episode, we discuss the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society with Stephen Hughes, a social scientist, and Reese Campbell, a freelance project coordinator. Stephen explores the mixed public sentiment towards AI, highlighting its benefits in healthcare and concerns about its ethical implications, particularly in mental health services. Reese shares her negative views on AI, citing deepfakes and privacy violations. They also discuss AI's potential to exacerbate social inequalities and the role of AI in the art world. The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of AI and its governance.

Date of episode recording: 2024-06-04
Duration: 00:33:22
Language of episode: English
TAGS: #HealthcareEngineering #AI #Metaverse #Facebook #Twitter #Deepfakes #SocialMedia #Governance #AIinArt #Conspiracy
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Stephen Hughes; Reese Campbell
Producer: Ferdouse Akhter; Shakira Crawford
Link to transcript: From Innovation to Alarm: Understanding AI's Impact on Society | UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering - UCL – University College London

The care problem. It’s a problem address by every Prime Minister yet we’re still here with an ageing population and more and more people needing care with not enough carers to care for them. So, what are we doing about it? In this episode we talk to Bea about the care crisis in the UK, why she’s working on diagnosing rare forms of dementia and how there’s a certain lack of community in the UK, the "S" word and how we’re going to solve all this. It’s a meaty episode and we hope you enjoy It as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Date of episode recording: 2023-10-05T00:00:00Z
Duration: 23:47
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Beatrice Taylor
Producer: Alice Hardy; Cerys Bradley