Professor Rhodri Williams (pictured), who leads the acclaimed Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Complex Fluids and Complex Flows Portfolio Partnership at the University, has been awarded a Brian Mercer Feasibility Award, to celebrate outstanding innovation in science and technology.

Professor Williams' research in blood flow is also supported by the EPSRC and the National Health Service (NHS), and is an example of the lead established by the University's School of Engineering in Nanomedicine.

Professor Williams' research group is exploiting new techniques for wave propagation within 'complex fluids', of which blood is an example.

The research, which also involves Dr Matthew Barrow, Dr Rhodri L Williams, a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance specialist, and Dr Karl Hawkins at the University's Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Research Centre, aims to produce an advanced diagnostic instrument capable of being used at the point of care to detect the formation of potentially dangerous blood clots at the earliest possible stage in their development.

Professor Williams and his team work closely with Dr Adrian Evans, NHS Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Morriston Hospital, Swansea.

Commercial companies have located within the Digital Technium at Swansea University in order to work in close collaboration with Professor Williams and his team. One of these companies is Haemair Ltd, which selected Swansea as the location for its activities in order to benefit from the expertise of Professor Williams.

The Swansea University team provide the tools to assess blood clot risk and are assisting in developing prosthetic breathing aid designs that minimise such risk. In a recent joint development with Haemair Ltd the team have developed a rapid, and economical, method of assessing the blood compatibility of various materials used in biomedical devices.

Commenting on the award, Professor Rhodri Williams said: "This Award from the Royal Society is a great boost to the whole team, as we are well aware of the very stiff competition we faced from all areas of UK Science and Engineering. It is an important step forward in our plans to establish a range of new technologies for advanced blood clot detection and brings the everyday use of such technologies a bit closer."