Devices that use Ion Channels. The proposed device would supply the community of researchers in Australia and internationally with new techniques to enable them to quickly and conveniently investigate properties of ion channels and to speed the screening of potential ion channel targets for pharmaceutical hits and leads. In addition, the tethered membrane technology will be developed to fill an unmet need for a quick and biologically relevant test of EMC hazards. This will enhance the science an ....Devices that use Ion Channels. The proposed device would supply the community of researchers in Australia and internationally with new techniques to enable them to quickly and conveniently investigate properties of ion channels and to speed the screening of potential ion channel targets for pharmaceutical hits and leads. In addition, the tethered membrane technology will be developed to fill an unmet need for a quick and biologically relevant test of EMC hazards. This will enhance the science and technology infrastructure within Australia, taking it into original and exciting directions, contribute to training young Australian scientists and students, as well as enhance Australia's competitive position in the field of nanobiotechnology.Read moreRead less
Automated pathogen detection using time-gated luminescence microscopy. A rapid and general means of in-situ pathogen identification would benefit the community by ensuring that appropriate treatments can be applied in the early stages of a disease. Patient prognosis is thereby improved and opportunities for multi-drug resistant organisms to arise are limited. Time-gated luminescence microscopy (TgM) exploits persistent luminescence to overcome autofluorescence, a serious problem in pathogen dete ....Automated pathogen detection using time-gated luminescence microscopy. A rapid and general means of in-situ pathogen identification would benefit the community by ensuring that appropriate treatments can be applied in the early stages of a disease. Patient prognosis is thereby improved and opportunities for multi-drug resistant organisms to arise are limited. Time-gated luminescence microscopy (TgM) exploits persistent luminescence to overcome autofluorescence, a serious problem in pathogen detection. Drug-resistant 'Golden Staph' (MRSA) will be used as the model organism to evaluate TgM efficacy. Ultimately however, TgM will be applied for the detection of tuberculosis, a highly contagious disease affecting the respiratory system of more than one-third of the world's population.Read moreRead less
Novel Motion Correction Technologies for Simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The recent development of the world's first prototype combined MR-PET scanner for human use has prompted immense interest. MR-PET is likely to revolutionize clinical diagnosis and basic research, by providing exquisite structural images co-registered with simultaneous functional PET images. We will exploit the as yet unexplored potential for motion information derived from the MR sy ....Novel Motion Correction Technologies for Simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The recent development of the world's first prototype combined MR-PET scanner for human use has prompted immense interest. MR-PET is likely to revolutionize clinical diagnosis and basic research, by providing exquisite structural images co-registered with simultaneous functional PET images. We will exploit the as yet unexplored potential for motion information derived from the MR system to be used to correct the simultaneously acquired PET data for patient motion. This research is an excellent opportunity for Australian researchers to make important contributions to an emerging technology with high economic potential, and will strengthen Australia's international position in engineering and biomedical systems development.Read moreRead less
The photonic immunochip: retrieving individual Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) array-units using optical waveguide multicolour fluorescence. Improving the sensitivity and availability of in-vitro immuno-diagnostic tests is a critical goal towards developing real time efficient tools for the detection of infectious diseases, cancers, allergies and auto-immune diseases. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of these tests by reducing background noise that has been a feature of the com ....The photonic immunochip: retrieving individual Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) array-units using optical waveguide multicolour fluorescence. Improving the sensitivity and availability of in-vitro immuno-diagnostic tests is a critical goal towards developing real time efficient tools for the detection of infectious diseases, cancers, allergies and auto-immune diseases. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of these tests by reducing background noise that has been a feature of the commonly used ELISA technology. This will be achieved by developing a novel optical integrated waveguide array supporting a large range of distributed tests, including several based on a novel multi-colour detection scheme. This massively parallel approach will underpin a new generation of low-cost, efficient diagnostic tests.Read moreRead less
Development of microwave tomography techniques and inverse methods for biomedical imaging applications. Microwave tomography is a rapidly emerging imaging technology with highly significant applications in industry and medicine. In particular, given its sensitivity to differences between normal and malignant breast tissue, non-invasive microwave imaging has been the subject of intense research interest in the last ten years. In collaboration with workers at Chalmers University in Sweden, we wi ....Development of microwave tomography techniques and inverse methods for biomedical imaging applications. Microwave tomography is a rapidly emerging imaging technology with highly significant applications in industry and medicine. In particular, given its sensitivity to differences between normal and malignant breast tissue, non-invasive microwave imaging has been the subject of intense research interest in the last ten years. In collaboration with workers at Chalmers University in Sweden, we will develop and evaluate a scanning microwave imaging tomographic system with a number of potential industrial and biomedical applications. This appears to be a new Australian initiative.Read moreRead less
Development of new methods to measure in vivo properties of human body tissues. This project will develop new methods of noninvasively measuring the viscoelastic properties of soft tissues in live humans, using a novel magnetic resonance elastography technique. These methods will be applied to study the operation of the human muscle-tendon system, differences in neck muscle properties with age and gender and to measure the properties of the human brain, kidney and liver in vivo. These techniques ....Development of new methods to measure in vivo properties of human body tissues. This project will develop new methods of noninvasively measuring the viscoelastic properties of soft tissues in live humans, using a novel magnetic resonance elastography technique. These methods will be applied to study the operation of the human muscle-tendon system, differences in neck muscle properties with age and gender and to measure the properties of the human brain, kidney and liver in vivo. These techniques may be useful in diagnosing soft tissue disease or injury which are currently difficult to detect using standard imaging techniques. It will also explain how the muscle-tendon unit moves during normal motion in live humans.Read moreRead less
Building a Smart Diagnostic System for Low Back Ailments. This research will develop an early back ailment diagnostic system that will reduce the recurrence of low back pain, and hence reduce the cost to the health system. This is significant to the community from prevention of pain, to the health care system that spends billions of dollars combating this modern day ailment and towards the industry where the low back pain is the single largest reason for sick leave in Australia. It will also giv ....Building a Smart Diagnostic System for Low Back Ailments. This research will develop an early back ailment diagnostic system that will reduce the recurrence of low back pain, and hence reduce the cost to the health system. This is significant to the community from prevention of pain, to the health care system that spends billions of dollars combating this modern day ailment and towards the industry where the low back pain is the single largest reason for sick leave in Australia. It will also give rise to employment of skilled technical people and an opportunity to increase high-value exports from Australia.Read moreRead less
Peripheral aberrations of the human eye. This project will benefit Australia from several perspectives. It will make an important contribution to understanding limitations to peripheral vision of the eye, particularly as a result of refractive surgical intervention. This is important because many Australians will require such surgery. Being able to better measure and correct peripheral aberrations will lead to improved imaging of the eye and thus contribute to improved detection and diagnosis of ....Peripheral aberrations of the human eye. This project will benefit Australia from several perspectives. It will make an important contribution to understanding limitations to peripheral vision of the eye, particularly as a result of refractive surgical intervention. This is important because many Australians will require such surgery. Being able to better measure and correct peripheral aberrations will lead to improved imaging of the eye and thus contribute to improved detection and diagnosis of ophthalmic disease. The study will benefit ophthalmologists, optometrists, and engineers involved in designing visual instruments. This project will provide training in adaptive optics for graduate students not available in any other Australian institution.Read moreRead less
Non-invasive measurement of intracranial pressure by means of transcranial doppler blood flow and central aortic pressure. The investigation will produce a device that will aid doctors measuring brain pressure without drilling holes through the skull. The device will use the technology of an Australian company that has the only patented system to deduce the pressure in the brain by measuring pressure close to the heart and the brain and by recording the pressure pulse wave at the wrist. The comm ....Non-invasive measurement of intracranial pressure by means of transcranial doppler blood flow and central aortic pressure. The investigation will produce a device that will aid doctors measuring brain pressure without drilling holes through the skull. The device will use the technology of an Australian company that has the only patented system to deduce the pressure in the brain by measuring pressure close to the heart and the brain and by recording the pressure pulse wave at the wrist. The community benefit will be in terms of the safety and ease with which changes in pressure in the brain can be detected. It will also advance the world renowned Australian technology in a new area of application.Read moreRead less
X-ray Micro-tomography Validation of HRCT-Based Airway Measurements. This project brings together a newly emergent modality of microscopy in the form of 3D X-ray micro-tomography (XRMT) along with leading-edge image analysis to develop breakthrough science in respiratory research aimed at improving the reliability of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The project will develop novel 3D lung image segmentation protocols, a stereotactic registration program allowing 3D matching of XRCT and ....X-ray Micro-tomography Validation of HRCT-Based Airway Measurements. This project brings together a newly emergent modality of microscopy in the form of 3D X-ray micro-tomography (XRMT) along with leading-edge image analysis to develop breakthrough science in respiratory research aimed at improving the reliability of high resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The project will develop novel 3D lung image segmentation protocols, a stereotactic registration program allowing 3D matching of XRCT and HRCT data sets, and a validation protocol for quantitative HRCT analysis of airway disease. These outcomes will allow wider application of HRCT to non-invasively follow the dynamics of pulmonary function.Read moreRead less