Assessing Bone Quality and Health: Experimental imaging, structural characterisation, and mechanical modelling of bone in 3D. Age-related bone fractures due to osteoporosis impose a significant social and economic problem on our increasingly aging population. The assessment of bone quality is important in the diagnosis of age related bone fragility and for studying the efficacy of therapeutic intervens. In this proposal a unique interdisciplinary group with expertise in bone and mineral research ....Assessing Bone Quality and Health: Experimental imaging, structural characterisation, and mechanical modelling of bone in 3D. Age-related bone fractures due to osteoporosis impose a significant social and economic problem on our increasingly aging population. The assessment of bone quality is important in the diagnosis of age related bone fragility and for studying the efficacy of therapeutic intervens. In this proposal a unique interdisciplinary group with expertise in bone and mineral research, experimental 3D imaging and the characterisation and modelling of complex materials will tackle the problem of assessing bone quality and health. The proposed research will greatly improve our assessment of the mechanical competence of bone.Read moreRead less
Highly multiplexed rapid-analysis microarrays for early disease diagnosis. Molecular diagnostics are revolutionising the treatment of disease in hospitals by providing rapid and accurate identification of pathogens; saving costs, time and lives. This project will accelerate this revolution by combining new array technology from the University of Sydney with a proven multiplex method from the Sydney based company, AusDiagnostics.
Effectiveness and appropriateness of child restraints. This project aims to provide a definitive picture of the use, misuse and inappropriate use of child restraints in motor vehicles. It will evaluate the biomechanical and size deficiencies of current child restraints for the current population of children, and the implications for increased injury associated with these factors. This will provide a solid evidence base for improved child restraint design, education, and legislative changes.
Application of Silver Coatings to medical Devices for Antimicrobial Properties using Electroless Deposition. Silver compounds, eg. in topical creams, can be used to treat chronic infections. The results are mediocre, and there may be significant side effects. Metallic silver when coated on bandages or medical devices is gaining wider acceptance, but the dissolution rate muct be improved to minimise infection. In this project an electroless silver coating process will be developed, with bath ch ....Application of Silver Coatings to medical Devices for Antimicrobial Properties using Electroless Deposition. Silver compounds, eg. in topical creams, can be used to treat chronic infections. The results are mediocre, and there may be significant side effects. Metallic silver when coated on bandages or medical devices is gaining wider acceptance, but the dissolution rate muct be improved to minimise infection. In this project an electroless silver coating process will be developed, with bath chemistry and coating conditions optimised for an ideal dissolution rate. This project will lead to the development of improved medical devices that will have significant social and economic benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453623
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$164,640.00
Summary
Peripheral quantitative computed tomography facility for analysing bone material and structural properties. We aim to establish a facility that allows non-invasive measurement of apparent material and structural properties of small animal and human bone using leading-edge technology, peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). pQCT measurements, incorporated into our fundamental bone research will improve our understanding of the role of mechanical, environmental and local factors in re ....Peripheral quantitative computed tomography facility for analysing bone material and structural properties. We aim to establish a facility that allows non-invasive measurement of apparent material and structural properties of small animal and human bone using leading-edge technology, peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). pQCT measurements, incorporated into our fundamental bone research will improve our understanding of the role of mechanical, environmental and local factors in regulating bone and mineral metabolism and altering bone properties. This has implications for maximising bone strength and promoting optimal health throughout life. The facility will be used for a diverse range of multidisciplinary basic bone research and is vital in order to maintain international competitiveness in the field.Read moreRead less
Engineering Imaging and Supercomputer Prediction of Biofluid Flows. The potential of the information gained from the lung imaging for improving the diagnosis and monitoring of adult respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma, is enormous. Abnormalities in the structure and function of the kidney circulation are likely key factors causing hypertension, so a detailed understanding of the kidney circulation is required before we can cure or prevent hypertension. The rese ....Engineering Imaging and Supercomputer Prediction of Biofluid Flows. The potential of the information gained from the lung imaging for improving the diagnosis and monitoring of adult respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma, is enormous. Abnormalities in the structure and function of the kidney circulation are likely key factors causing hypertension, so a detailed understanding of the kidney circulation is required before we can cure or prevent hypertension. The research underpinning cardiovascular and renal flows will assist in the understanding of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which accounts for approximately 40% of all deaths in Australia and particularly high for dialysis patients. Read moreRead less
Development of improved technologies for high throughput screening of potential disease susceptibility genes. This research is aimed at developing more efficient strategies to identify genes involved in common, human disorders. We aim to develop cost-effective, high throughput approaches for DNA extraction and preparation, accurately determining DNA concentration and quality and for undertaking extensive polymorphism genotyping and analysis. The suitability of equipment, analysis packages and so ....Development of improved technologies for high throughput screening of potential disease susceptibility genes. This research is aimed at developing more efficient strategies to identify genes involved in common, human disorders. We aim to develop cost-effective, high throughput approaches for DNA extraction and preparation, accurately determining DNA concentration and quality and for undertaking extensive polymorphism genotyping and analysis. The suitability of equipment, analysis packages and software, will be assessed and better technologies and packages developed. The study involves collaboration between a research centre with considerable expertise in molecular genetics and Corbett Research, a leader in the field of molecular equipment production. The development of better gene screening technologies has both molecular and commercial significance.Read moreRead less
Computational Scaffold Optimisation for Tissue Engineering. Due to exceptional potential, tissue engineering has attracted over US$4.5 billion research and development investment and another US$2.6 billion market capital since 1990. It is important to cement Australia's position in such a highly competitive field. This project aims to develop a novel technology for scaffold-based tissue engineering, which would help Australia lead in the relevant area and increase its competitiveness in the futu ....Computational Scaffold Optimisation for Tissue Engineering. Due to exceptional potential, tissue engineering has attracted over US$4.5 billion research and development investment and another US$2.6 billion market capital since 1990. It is important to cement Australia's position in such a highly competitive field. This project aims to develop a novel technology for scaffold-based tissue engineering, which would help Australia lead in the relevant area and increase its competitiveness in the future global market of biomaterials, tissue products, biomedical software and instruments. An enormous socio-economic benefit to Australia would be a significant improvement in the clinical success rate for our ageing population. Read moreRead less
Engineering cartilage homeostasis in health and disease. Arthritis is a common, painful and often debilitating disease affecting 16% of the Australian population and costing this community $11 billion every year. It is not well understood why cartilage degenerates into joint disease, nor how it may be reversed - partly due to the large number of mechanisms involved. This project aims to overcome this complexity by developing a computational model of cartilage that can integrate the various mech ....Engineering cartilage homeostasis in health and disease. Arthritis is a common, painful and often debilitating disease affecting 16% of the Australian population and costing this community $11 billion every year. It is not well understood why cartilage degenerates into joint disease, nor how it may be reversed - partly due to the large number of mechanisms involved. This project aims to overcome this complexity by developing a computational model of cartilage that can integrate the various mechanisms of cartilage degradation. New experiments will be used to validate the model and test predictions. The model developed will provide fundamental insights into what is required for the maintenance of healthy cartilage, and what happens in injury-induced degradation of cartilage.Read moreRead less
Techniques for probing biological media with holographic angular scattering spectroscopy. Huge effort in the biological and medical sciences is spent in using simple software to laboriously mark, count and measure cells and structures in microscope images of samples. We could replace this incredibly inefficient process in many instances with single-shot size-map images of unstained samples. If depth selectivity can be added, we could perform non-invasive measurements on animals, making a huge re ....Techniques for probing biological media with holographic angular scattering spectroscopy. Huge effort in the biological and medical sciences is spent in using simple software to laboriously mark, count and measure cells and structures in microscope images of samples. We could replace this incredibly inefficient process in many instances with single-shot size-map images of unstained samples. If depth selectivity can be added, we could perform non-invasive measurements on animals, making a huge reduction in their usage. We could assess thick tissues enabling early noninvasive diagnosis of malignancy in tumours in situ or muscle characterization for meat quality or muscular dystrophy. These benefits impact on research, animal ethics, and on health, and have commercial potential in life and medical sciences, and the meat industry.Read moreRead less