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
Innovative hands-free technology to give the severely disabled greater mobility control. Half of the serious neurological injuries in Australia result in tetraplegia. Combined with other disabilities that involve severe mobility impairments the cost to the community economically, psychologically and socially is huge. This new Australian technology will facilitate effective sharing of control between a disabled person and a computer control system, taking advantage of their unique strengths and e ....Innovative hands-free technology to give the severely disabled greater mobility control. Half of the serious neurological injuries in Australia result in tetraplegia. Combined with other disabilities that involve severe mobility impairments the cost to the community economically, psychologically and socially is huge. This new Australian technology will facilitate effective sharing of control between a disabled person and a computer control system, taking advantage of their unique strengths and enabling each to aid the other in areas of weakness. The social and personal benefits are potentially very large. Scope also exists to significantly reduce healthcare costs and to develop a new industry in hands-free technology.Read moreRead less
Cochlear Implants: Identifying Current Paths through Computational Modelling of MRI Data. The Cochlear implant is an Australian invention (first prototype 1978), leading to the formation of Cochlear Ltd. to commercialise it. Cochlear Ltd. has now delivered implants to over 60,000 people in 70 nations across the world. Copycat companies have arisen overseas, but Cochlear Ltd. remains the market leader, due to their commitment to ongoing R&D. The present project involves magnetic resonance imaging ....Cochlear Implants: Identifying Current Paths through Computational Modelling of MRI Data. The Cochlear implant is an Australian invention (first prototype 1978), leading to the formation of Cochlear Ltd. to commercialise it. Cochlear Ltd. has now delivered implants to over 60,000 people in 70 nations across the world. Copycat companies have arisen overseas, but Cochlear Ltd. remains the market leader, due to their commitment to ongoing R&D. The present project involves magnetic resonance imaging and finite element analysis to study the current leakage pathways in the cranial cavity for the purpose of optimizing the design and placement of the return electrode. The obvious benefit of this is longer battery life. Better understanding of current leakage over other intracranial nerves is the other anticipated benefit.Read moreRead less
New techniques for modelling, diagnosis and counter measures for cardiac related sleep disordered breathing. Around 50% of congestive heart failure sufferers have some form of sleep disordered breathing. However, little has been done so far to simultaneously monitor, analyse and treat the two conditions. Therefore, this project proposes to develop new technology incorporating mathematical models for heart rate variability, considering the links between sleep disordered breathing and cardiovasc ....New techniques for modelling, diagnosis and counter measures for cardiac related sleep disordered breathing. Around 50% of congestive heart failure sufferers have some form of sleep disordered breathing. However, little has been done so far to simultaneously monitor, analyse and treat the two conditions. Therefore, this project proposes to develop new technology incorporating mathematical models for heart rate variability, considering the links between sleep disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease. This innovation will enable, for the first time, a device capable of accurate and reliable diagnosis of various sleep disorders using only conventional ECG data. Such technology has the potential to produce significant community health benefits, and save several millions of lives worldwide.Read moreRead less
Novel antimicrobial surface coatings for Cochlear implants. The objective of this project is to develop new antimicrobial coatings for materials used to manufacture biomedical devices. Infection associated with the use of biomaterials such as biomedical implants, catheters and orthopaedic prostheses is a major barrier to the use of these devices. The coatings that the project plans to develop are based on novel antimicrobials which have been shown to prevent adhesion and colonisation of biomater ....Novel antimicrobial surface coatings for Cochlear implants. The objective of this project is to develop new antimicrobial coatings for materials used to manufacture biomedical devices. Infection associated with the use of biomaterials such as biomedical implants, catheters and orthopaedic prostheses is a major barrier to the use of these devices. The coatings that the project plans to develop are based on novel antimicrobials which have been shown to prevent adhesion and colonisation of biomaterials by bacteria in vivo. This strategy has the potential to prevent device-related infections and revolutionise the biomaterials industry.Read moreRead less
Automated texture selection and classification methods for detection of osteoarthritis in knee radiographs. In Australia there are 1-2 million OA sufferers, a condition that costs approximately $9 billion annually. This project will address an important problem of early detection and monitoring of OA and this remains in line with the National Research Priority 2. Potential outcomes of the project will result in better diagnosis and treatment of OA, reduced discomfort to the individual and saving ....Automated texture selection and classification methods for detection of osteoarthritis in knee radiographs. In Australia there are 1-2 million OA sufferers, a condition that costs approximately $9 billion annually. This project will address an important problem of early detection and monitoring of OA and this remains in line with the National Research Priority 2. Potential outcomes of the project will result in better diagnosis and treatment of OA, reduced discomfort to the individual and saving to the national economy. This project will improve existing activity and rehabilitation programs such as exercise of lower limbs and it will help in developing diets for healthy people and OA sufferers.Read moreRead less
Future neural electrodes: probing the electrical activity of nerves using 3D graphene networks. This research aims to develop a totally new type of neural electrode that will for the first time, allow reliable and long-term stimulation and recording. The approach incorporates graphene based biomaterials with tunable electrical and biological properties within supportive three-dimensional cellular microenvironments, greatly enhancing the electrical interactions between cells and the electrode. Th ....Future neural electrodes: probing the electrical activity of nerves using 3D graphene networks. This research aims to develop a totally new type of neural electrode that will for the first time, allow reliable and long-term stimulation and recording. The approach incorporates graphene based biomaterials with tunable electrical and biological properties within supportive three-dimensional cellular microenvironments, greatly enhancing the electrical interactions between cells and the electrode. The electrical properties of nerve cells will be probed using our three-dimensional graphene network, providing insight into the the brain-machine interface. This project is important as it directly addresses the inherent limitations of current electrode designs.Read moreRead less
Chip-scale implantable bionics for next generation therapeutic neural prostheses. Australia has an unmatched reputation as a world leader in neuroprostheses. Most notable of these is the bionic ear and, more recently, leading edge research towards a bionic eye. This project will combine the research strengths and experiences from both the hearing and visual bionics fields to address the main obstacles that prevent the number of electrical stimulation channels (equating to the number of frequenci ....Chip-scale implantable bionics for next generation therapeutic neural prostheses. Australia has an unmatched reputation as a world leader in neuroprostheses. Most notable of these is the bionic ear and, more recently, leading edge research towards a bionic eye. This project will combine the research strengths and experiences from both the hearing and visual bionics fields to address the main obstacles that prevent the number of electrical stimulation channels (equating to the number of frequencies heard by the deaf, and the number of spots of light seen by the blind) from increasing. The study will improve our understanding of the electrode-tissue interface, the life-long implantablity, and electrical circuitry that will allow future bionic devices to significantly improve their performance.Read moreRead less
Generation of peptidomimetic surfaces for biomaterials applications. Biomedical implants are increasingly being used for the treatment of a variety of ailments. This project will significantly contribute to the development of these bioengineered constructs, by introducing an innovative method for tailoring the nature of the surface of these materials with structures that mimic the response of biological surfaces. This technology has the potential to promote favourable interactions of cells with ....Generation of peptidomimetic surfaces for biomaterials applications. Biomedical implants are increasingly being used for the treatment of a variety of ailments. This project will significantly contribute to the development of these bioengineered constructs, by introducing an innovative method for tailoring the nature of the surface of these materials with structures that mimic the response of biological surfaces. This technology has the potential to promote favourable interactions of cells with biomedical implants, and an initial targeted application will be to use these bioengineered constructs in the treatment of preventable blindness and severe visual impairment, afflictions which affect over 180 million individuals worldwide.Read moreRead less
Functional Electronic Stimulation of Muscles - Development of a Model for Sensory Feedback to Amputees and Vision for the Blind. Electrical stimulation of nerve fibres is an emerging physiological technique with great promise towards rehabilitation. The field lacks techniques for detailed, focal application of stimuli to recruit specific fibres for fine muscle control or conveying useful neurosensory information. The investigator has developed microtechnology for delivering stimuli to 100 sites, ....Functional Electronic Stimulation of Muscles - Development of a Model for Sensory Feedback to Amputees and Vision for the Blind. Electrical stimulation of nerve fibres is an emerging physiological technique with great promise towards rehabilitation. The field lacks techniques for detailed, focal application of stimuli to recruit specific fibres for fine muscle control or conveying useful neurosensory information. The investigator has developed microtechnology for delivering stimuli to 100 sites, conceivably facilitating recruitment of specific fibres within a given bundle. Effects of muscle stimulation are readily measured and shall be used to model and refine techniques for generic high-resolution fibre recruitment. Benefits include, improved muscle control in functional electrical stimulation, sensory perception for amputees and patterned vision from optic nerve stimulation.Read moreRead less