Engineering An Osteochondral Tissue For Cartilage Defect Repair
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,568.00
Summary
Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of pain and disability in Australia. Our team has developed a novel method to make new cartilage tissue from patients' own bone marrow stem cells. Through NHMRC funding we will optimize this process and test the repair technology in a large animal model.
Clinical Trial Of A Suprachoroidal Visual Prosthesis For The Profoundly Vision Impaired
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,098,802.00
Summary
For 15 years we have been designing a bionic eye. We have made a device called the Phoenix99 and shown in short term animal tests that it is both safe to implant but also that it potentially performs better than any other device in the world. We are requesting funds to complete longer term animal testing of the device and then commence a small human clinical trial to demonstrate the benefits of the technology – specifically that it is able to help blind people navigate without assistance.
‘Intelligent’ Antibacterial Coatings For Improving Outcomes With Infections Associated With Dialysis Catheters
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$653,806.00
Summary
The outcomes of this projects will set the framework for the rational design of novel and ’intelligent‘ antibacterial coating that selectively respond to the ‘virulent’ bacteria that cause such significant and recurrent issues in routine kidney dialysis regimens and will underpin future academic and commercial collaborative efforts to rationally-design and manufacture kidney dialysis catheters with substrate surface characteristics that will enhance utility, function and clinical application;
Neuro-feedback For Improved Efficacy Of Retinal Prostheses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$653,655.00
Summary
Bionic eyes offer the possibility to return sight to the blind. Existing retinal implants are effective at delivering basic visual percepts, namely brief spots of light. Our team is now working on building the second generation of bionic eyes that include the ability to both stimulate the visual system (the retina) and record its response. By recording the evoked responses, we can adjust and optimize the stimulation to restore a persistent high spatial resolution sense of vision to the blind.
Coupling An Injectable Gel And MSC Microtissues To Enhance Cartilage Repair
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$534,022.00
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of pain and disability in Australia. The OVERALL AIM of this project is to use a photo-activated hydrogel containing growth factors and stem cell-derived cartilage microtissues to repair cartilage defects. The gel and small diameter microtissues combination makes this innovative repair process compatible with less invasive and less costly orthoscopic surgical procedures. Effective cartilage defect repair will delay or prevent the onset of OA.
Bilateral Cochlear Implants: Restoring Binaural Processing By Experience And Training With Binaural Cues
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$968,030.00
Summary
Cochlear implantation in both ears is increasingly common and while there are benefits, performance falls short of expectations, likely due to the degradation of the long-term deaf brain’s sensitivity to small timing differences of sounds reaching each of the two ears. By confirming the hypothesis that experience with high-fidelity timing information will improve performance, this study will drive the technical innovations required to maximise the benefits and investment of bilateral implants.
Enhanced Sensory Perception Via Jitter Reduction And Neural Synchronisation Evoked By Subsensory Electrical Noise Stimulation – Restoring Sensitivity In Peripheral Neuropathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,473.00
Summary
The elderly and patients with diabetes are at high risk of losing sensation in their feet and currently no treatment for this condition exists. This loss of feeling leads to falls, fractures and foot ulcers, which in many cases end with amputation. We have developed a new subsensory stimulation technique which for the first time restores lost sensation. Development of this novel treatment is made possible by a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, neuroscientists, physiologists and podiatrists.
Predicting Treatment Response To Mandibular Advancement Splints: A Novel Biomechanical Imaging Method
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$689,062.00
Summary
Mandibular advancement splints are an alternative to continuous positive airway pressure for patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). However, they are effective for only about half of OSA patients, and it is not currently possible to predict who will benefit. This project will explore a new magnetic resonance imaging method to see if it can predict who will respond to mandibular advancement splint therapy.
Next Generation Brain-Machine Interface: Minimally-Invasive Endovascular Stent-Electrode Array For Robotic Limb Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,735,574.00
Summary
Persons affected by quadriplegia and hemiplegia from stroke and spinal cord injury have few treatment options. Brain Machine Interfaces (BMIs) reconnect brain to a prosthetic limb, bypassing damaged nervous system. Our group has developed a BMI that can be implanted minimally-invasively, inside a blood vessel within the brain. We propose to evaluate this device in animal studies, and continue on to a human clinical trial pilot study. The aim is to restore mechanical control over the physical env ....Persons affected by quadriplegia and hemiplegia from stroke and spinal cord injury have few treatment options. Brain Machine Interfaces (BMIs) reconnect brain to a prosthetic limb, bypassing damaged nervous system. Our group has developed a BMI that can be implanted minimally-invasively, inside a blood vessel within the brain. We propose to evaluate this device in animal studies, and continue on to a human clinical trial pilot study. The aim is to restore mechanical control over the physical environment for a paralysed patient.Read moreRead less
Development Of Novel Immunotherapeutic Approaches For The Treatment Of Epstein-Barr Virus-associated Malignancies.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,940.00
Summary
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is attributed to cause 200,000 cancer cases annually. Malignancies associated with EBV include nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkins lymphoma. These malignancies have been treated, with limited success, by “adoptive immunotherapy” in which the patients T cells are expanded in the laboratory by stimulation with this virus, and infused back into the patient. This project aims to assess three novel approaches to enhance this form of treatment for therapeutic consideration.