Novel Silver Nanoparticle Coatings For The Prevention Of Infection Of Biomedical Implants And Devices
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$455,305.00
Summary
This project targets infections associated with implants and biomedical devices such as catheters, pacemaker leads, knee and hip implants, by the development and evaluation of coatings delivering antibacterial silver ions. The novel coating method is more uniform and reproducible and can be applied to a wide range of biomedical implants and devices. The novel coatings will be tested for antimicrobial effectiveness and safety using cell and tissue culture methods and animal clinical studies.
Development And Application Of A Pressure-sensing Electropalatograph For The Assessment And Treatment Of Speech Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,750.00
Summary
A multidisciplinary team of researchers aim to develop a unique, advanced, computer-based speech device that speech pathologists can use to assess and treat a variety of speech disorders. The device will record the location, timing and pressure of tongue contacts against the roof of the mouth (palate) during speech using innovative sensors embedded in an artificial plate placed over the roof of the mouth. State-of-the-art 3D graphics will be used to display tongue-to-palate contacts to both spee ....A multidisciplinary team of researchers aim to develop a unique, advanced, computer-based speech device that speech pathologists can use to assess and treat a variety of speech disorders. The device will record the location, timing and pressure of tongue contacts against the roof of the mouth (palate) during speech using innovative sensors embedded in an artificial plate placed over the roof of the mouth. State-of-the-art 3D graphics will be used to display tongue-to-palate contacts to both speech pathologist and patient.Read moreRead less
The Development Of A Cross-strain And Cross-subtype Pre Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Using Savine Technology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$159,500.00
Summary
The flu vaccines in use today work by inducing antibodies to surface proteins. Flu causes disease every year but occasionally a new strain arises that is distincly differnet from previous strains and can cause wides spread disease and deaths worldwide. Our new approach is to increase the level of T cells that can recognise and kill flu infected cells from all flu strains.
Ocular Implant For The Treatment Of Bacterial Endophthalmitis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$483,446.00
Summary
We seek to develop an ocular implant for the treatment of bacterial endophthalmitis. The implant will be a small device that can be administered directly to the affected ocular cavity to release an antibiotic in a controlled manner to clear any infection. The implant will erode and leave no residue. It will be produced from a novel drug-polymer conjugate technology that allows polymer devices that comprise >50% drug to be made.
Chronic infections and cancers are major causes of global disease burden. Harnessing the immune system to combat these diseases has proven difficult and cumbersome to date. We invented a new technology to boost the ability of the immune system to fight chronic infections such as AIDS and Hepatitis C. This involves using someone�s own blood treated with sets of short proteins. We term this therapy Overlapping Peptide Pulsed Autologous CelLs (OPAL). This shows great promise in robust animal models ....Chronic infections and cancers are major causes of global disease burden. Harnessing the immune system to combat these diseases has proven difficult and cumbersome to date. We invented a new technology to boost the ability of the immune system to fight chronic infections such as AIDS and Hepatitis C. This involves using someone�s own blood treated with sets of short proteins. We term this therapy Overlapping Peptide Pulsed Autologous CelLs (OPAL). This shows great promise in robust animal models. We now propose to refine this technique in animals in preparation for human clinical trials.Read moreRead less
The DietAdvice Website A New Innovation For Dietitians In Clinical Practice.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$140,975.00
Summary
Due to the growing incidence of obesity within Australia, use of computer technology may be a method of targeting these people by increasing access to dietary services. Currently available dietary software in the Australian context only allows analysis of nutrient information. Thus when a dietitian sees a patient they must manually translate food intake to nutrient information, a largely time consuming exercise. DietAdvice is a website that was developed for people to enter in their own food int ....Due to the growing incidence of obesity within Australia, use of computer technology may be a method of targeting these people by increasing access to dietary services. Currently available dietary software in the Australian context only allows analysis of nutrient information. Thus when a dietitian sees a patient they must manually translate food intake to nutrient information, a largely time consuming exercise. DietAdvice is a website that was developed for people to enter in their own food intakes. The food information is sent to a dietitian who develops individualised dietary advice for them. A pilot study of the website has already found it to be feasible in the primary healthcare setting. Tested for 12 months the website was used by 224 patients from GP practices in the Illawarra region of NSW. Approximately 73% of patients were overweight and patients with a high BMI were 1.88 times more likely to use the website in the comfort of their home. Further research about the website however was needed. The research to follow on from the pilot study will aim to refine the DietAdvice website, leading towards its commercialisation for dietitians in clinical practice. The research will be broken into 3 phases. Phase 1 will involve a usability test of the website, assessing the underlying algorithms and testing it with dietitians in private practice. Phase 2 will see volunteers using the website on multiple occasions after being given pre-weighed amounts of food to eat. This will determine how reliable and accurate the information is; and phase 3 will evaluate whether the website is cost effective and if it increases accessibility of health services especially in rural areas. By confirming these attributes there will be a sound basis to commercialise the product.Read moreRead less
Application Of Follistatin To The Resolution Of Liver Fibrosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,990.00
Summary
Liver fibrosis or scarring is a consequence of a number of diseases, leading eventually to extensive damage known as cirrhosis. It is a significant health problem both here in Australia and overseas with around 180,000 patients diagnosed each year in the Western world. Cirrhosis arises from many causes, two major groups being patients who contract hepatitis and alcoholics. People with cirrhosis have a much increased risk of liver failure, which requires liver transplantation, or of developing li ....Liver fibrosis or scarring is a consequence of a number of diseases, leading eventually to extensive damage known as cirrhosis. It is a significant health problem both here in Australia and overseas with around 180,000 patients diagnosed each year in the Western world. Cirrhosis arises from many causes, two major groups being patients who contract hepatitis and alcoholics. People with cirrhosis have a much increased risk of liver failure, which requires liver transplantation, or of developing liver cancer, for which current treatments have limited success. We have been studying two proteins, activin and follistatin, both of which are made in the liver. We are interested in activin because it is one of the body's mechanisms to control cell growth, and also seems to stimulate the development of scar tissue. Follistatin is the natural inhibitory substance for activin. It blocks the effects of activin and helps promote cell growth in the liver. We believe that follistatin may also be useful in controlling liver scarring. This process will be studied in animal models of cirrhosis, in the hope that follistatin treatment will reduce the level of liver damage. If successful, this would be important information that would enable us to design treatments applicable to human sufferers of these liver diseases. In another part of the project, we will assess whether activin and follistatin might be useful markers of liver disease. Most patients require a liver biopsy to assess the amount of liver damage, and a simple blood test would be a far easier, less traumatic and cheaper alternative.Read moreRead less
The Development Of Novel, Biofilm-resistant Biomaterials
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$147,360.00
Summary
Almost all patients who are catheterised long term develop a bacterial infection. Most often, the infection is the result of colonisation of the catheter surface by bacteria. Bacterial colonisation of the surface of biomedical devices represents a significant health threat as such bacterial biofilms are extremely resistant to traditional antibiotic regimens. This project aims to develop novel materials that prevent bacterial colonisation on catheters and other biomedical related devices. Our tec ....Almost all patients who are catheterised long term develop a bacterial infection. Most often, the infection is the result of colonisation of the catheter surface by bacteria. Bacterial colonisation of the surface of biomedical devices represents a significant health threat as such bacterial biofilms are extremely resistant to traditional antibiotic regimens. This project aims to develop novel materials that prevent bacterial colonisation on catheters and other biomedical related devices. Our technology is based on compounds identified from a marine alga that prevent bacterial colonisation of its surface. Similarly, we have shown that these compounds, when coated onto test surfaces, prevent bacterial colonisation of a range of materials.Read moreRead less
Development Of A Serum Based Test For Aggressive Prostate Cancer.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$144,950.00
Summary
Prostate cancer is relatively slow growing, taking decades to reach clinical significance. A critical phase in the progression of prostate cancer is the transformation from latent (or dormant) to aggressive tumours; hence the saying that many men die with prostate cancer, rather than of prostate cancer. We aim to develop a test utilising inhibin-activin proteins as surrogate markers of aggressive disease based on our previous studies of a significant correlation between the expression of inhibin ....Prostate cancer is relatively slow growing, taking decades to reach clinical significance. A critical phase in the progression of prostate cancer is the transformation from latent (or dormant) to aggressive tumours; hence the saying that many men die with prostate cancer, rather than of prostate cancer. We aim to develop a test utilising inhibin-activin proteins as surrogate markers of aggressive disease based on our previous studies of a significant correlation between the expression of inhibins in tissues from men with high grade prostate cancer. This study aims to validate the correlation using serum rather than a tissue based assay.Read moreRead less