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
Novel methods for detecting changes in soft tissue microstructure and biomechanical properties using multi-modality MR imaging. This project will lead to novel methods for studying the internal structure of the soft tissues of the body, such as muscles and brain tissue, and how this is affected by mechanical loading and disease states. The project will thoroughly validate these new methods. This will not only provide new techniques for research use, but lead to improved diagnostic techniques in ....Novel methods for detecting changes in soft tissue microstructure and biomechanical properties using multi-modality MR imaging. This project will lead to novel methods for studying the internal structure of the soft tissues of the body, such as muscles and brain tissue, and how this is affected by mechanical loading and disease states. The project will thoroughly validate these new methods. This will not only provide new techniques for research use, but lead to improved diagnostic techniques in the future.Read moreRead less
Development of Advanced Wear Debris Analysis Techniques for Osteoarthritis Study. Wear and tear of joints is the common cause of osteoarthritis, costing $19.25 billion/year. With this cost on the increase, and no cure to date, comes a need to develop effective methods for its diagnosis. This study will provide new knowledge on osteoarthritis progression by allowing strategic use of national health resources. A fuzzy expert system, to be developed utilising the diagnostic/prognostic techniques of ....Development of Advanced Wear Debris Analysis Techniques for Osteoarthritis Study. Wear and tear of joints is the common cause of osteoarthritis, costing $19.25 billion/year. With this cost on the increase, and no cure to date, comes a need to develop effective methods for its diagnosis. This study will provide new knowledge on osteoarthritis progression by allowing strategic use of national health resources. A fuzzy expert system, to be developed utilising the diagnostic/prognostic techniques of this study will significantly reduce cost and time. The project will contribute to the National Strategy by helping older Australians; the major group of osteoarthritis sufferers, to retain their health, independence and productivity.Read moreRead less
Modelling and Measurement of Flow-Structure Dynamics in the Human Upper Airway. Sleep disruption due to the common and disabling conditions of snoring and obstruction of the human upper airway can result in chronic fatigue, lost work and accidents caused by daytime drowsiness. To date the behaviour of the upper airway has not been adequately studied in terms able to reveal the mechanical causes of these conditions. This deficiency is addressed through the development and use of simulation tools ....Modelling and Measurement of Flow-Structure Dynamics in the Human Upper Airway. Sleep disruption due to the common and disabling conditions of snoring and obstruction of the human upper airway can result in chronic fatigue, lost work and accidents caused by daytime drowsiness. To date the behaviour of the upper airway has not been adequately studied in terms able to reveal the mechanical causes of these conditions. This deficiency is addressed through the development and use of simulation tools and measurement techniques that will elucidate the flow-structure dynamics leading to new diagnostic and improved treatment methods. Simulating the effect of treatment on any individual will permit it to be chosen to maximise its efficacy for a problem that costs the nation an estimated $2 Billion per year in lost productivity.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of initiation and remodelling of intracranial aneurysms: a synthesis of hemodynamics and molecular biomarkers. Rupture of brain aneurysms can lead to severe disability and death. This project proposes novel ways of assessing risk of rupture using sophisticated mathematical models of blood flow in aneurysms and biochemical substances released in the blood. This will enhance basic understanding of aneurysm formation and improve treatment and management.
QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF LOOSENING IN HIP ARTHROPLASTIES USING MECHANICAL VIBRATION DIAGNOSTICS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$185,665.00
Summary
Recent advances and improvements made to the mechanical design of artificial joints have led to greater strength, fatigue life and wear resistance. However, this extension to the working life of joint replacements has led to patients becoming increasingly vulnerable to the problem of joint loosening. There are over 500 000 hip joint replacements performed every year, on a worldwide basis. Of these 7 to 13% will require revision surgery because of loosening at some stage of their working life. Th ....Recent advances and improvements made to the mechanical design of artificial joints have led to greater strength, fatigue life and wear resistance. However, this extension to the working life of joint replacements has led to patients becoming increasingly vulnerable to the problem of joint loosening. There are over 500 000 hip joint replacements performed every year, on a worldwide basis. Of these 7 to 13% will require revision surgery because of loosening at some stage of their working life. This is becoming a major concern to health services around the world since revision surgery is associated with a higher risk to the patient and costs are far greater than for the primary operation. Current diagnostic techniques using radiographic imaging are both invasive and lack diagnostic accuracy. The ability to detect joint loosening and to discriminate between the various causes of joint loosening following arthroplasty is of great importance to the success of subsequent care plans. This study will be the first in the world to assess the validity of a new diagnostic test that uses low energy mechanical vibration to quantify the degree of loosening in both components of the implanted hip joint. Once the technique has been proven it could readily be extended to evaluate the degree of fixation of other implanted prostheses used to replace the knee, ankle or joints of the upper limbs.Read moreRead less
Tissue Engineering of Human Heart Valve Grown In Vitro. Tissue engineering (TE) of heart valves is a new approach to cultivate a functional heart valve from human autologous cells. This innovative study aims to develop the technology to transplant cells onto a 3D biocompatible valve scaffold that is capable of mimicking native valve. The work proposed is a ground breaking study that will encompass development of a new biomaterial, manufacture of scaffolds using the Fused Deposition Modelling ra ....Tissue Engineering of Human Heart Valve Grown In Vitro. Tissue engineering (TE) of heart valves is a new approach to cultivate a functional heart valve from human autologous cells. This innovative study aims to develop the technology to transplant cells onto a 3D biocompatible valve scaffold that is capable of mimicking native valve. The work proposed is a ground breaking study that will encompass development of a new biomaterial, manufacture of scaffolds using the Fused Deposition Modelling rapid prototyping process, hemodynamic optimisation and in vitro cell culture. This will advance our knowledge in cellular and scaffold technologies and may ultimately lead to the development of a TE heart valve.Read moreRead less
Intelligent Freeform Bio-fabrication for Customised Anatomical Structures for Reconstructive Surgery. This project contributes towards the ARC priority goal on advanced materials and frontier technologies by developing an intelligent freeform biofabrication facility to produce accurate anatomical biocompatible replica structures and implants for reconstructive surgery. The products, produced from patient's CT or MRI scan data, will contribute to complex surgical procedure planning and patient ed ....Intelligent Freeform Bio-fabrication for Customised Anatomical Structures for Reconstructive Surgery. This project contributes towards the ARC priority goal on advanced materials and frontier technologies by developing an intelligent freeform biofabrication facility to produce accurate anatomical biocompatible replica structures and implants for reconstructive surgery. The products, produced from patient's CT or MRI scan data, will contribute to complex surgical procedure planning and patient education. The proposed facility will be based on multifunctional freeform fabrication process supported by intelligent software tools and database of biocompatible materials. The prospective outcomes are likely to have an excellent commercial and patenting potential that may help Australia become a leader in biomanufacturing technology.Read moreRead less
Fluid dynamics and mechanical stress of tissue heart valves. Major problems with thrombo-embolic complications and leaflet failure and calcification still exist with bioprosthetic valves. Valves fabricated from polyether urethanes are efficient and can offer more resistance to calcification. No complete study on the haemodynamics and structure interactions is found in literature. Moreover, todate the effect of aortic wall motion on the blood flow has never been examined. A complete holistic ap ....Fluid dynamics and mechanical stress of tissue heart valves. Major problems with thrombo-embolic complications and leaflet failure and calcification still exist with bioprosthetic valves. Valves fabricated from polyether urethanes are efficient and can offer more resistance to calcification. No complete study on the haemodynamics and structure interactions is found in literature. Moreover, todate the effect of aortic wall motion on the blood flow has never been examined. A complete holistic approach to simulataneuosly simulating the fluid dynamics, the valve motion and the stress in a synthetic Polyether urethane valve is proposed. Cell adhesion study will also be carried out. The findings may yield to new insights into valve research.Read moreRead less
Rapid Development of Biocompatible Stent Grafts for Aortic Aneurysms. Weakening of the aorta may cause an aneurysm. The present technique of its treatment involves replacing the weakened portion of the aorta with a synthetic graft. Failure of this treatment often occurs due to non-compatibility of the stent graft with natural aorta. One possible reason for this is a mismatch between elastic natural aorta and the non-elastic artificial graft. The core component of our project is the selection and ....Rapid Development of Biocompatible Stent Grafts for Aortic Aneurysms. Weakening of the aorta may cause an aneurysm. The present technique of its treatment involves replacing the weakened portion of the aorta with a synthetic graft. Failure of this treatment often occurs due to non-compatibility of the stent graft with natural aorta. One possible reason for this is a mismatch between elastic natural aorta and the non-elastic artificial graft. The core component of our project is the selection and development of a suitable biomaterial and optimization of the stent design based on hemodynamics flow analysis and its fabrication with the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process.Read moreRead less