Biomaterials with multifaceted tunability and bio-specificity. Polyurethanes, a family of polymers with independently tunable mechanical and biodegradation properties, will be developed as a versatile platform material for biomedical implants. Novel energetic ion treatments that allow the coupling of bioactive agents to surfaces will eliminate adverse reactions and enable integration with surrounding tissue.
Growth of Bioartificial Tissue Containing an Inbuilt Blood Supply. The large and growing demand for replacement tissues and organs has spurred rapid growth in the emerging field of tissue engineering, which aims to form new tissues in the laboratory by combining living cells and synthetic scaffolds. A major challenge lies in the production of thick tissues, which require a blood supply in order to survive. Uniquely, this project aims to grow in the laboratory a vascular system based on natural ....Growth of Bioartificial Tissue Containing an Inbuilt Blood Supply. The large and growing demand for replacement tissues and organs has spurred rapid growth in the emerging field of tissue engineering, which aims to form new tissues in the laboratory by combining living cells and synthetic scaffolds. A major challenge lies in the production of thick tissues, which require a blood supply in order to survive. Uniquely, this project aims to grow in the laboratory a vascular system based on natural structures, which can then be used to support new tissue growth. Australia is well placed to reap the rewards of this work, having a track record in commercialisation of medical technologies, resulting in an improved quality of life for many Australians and substantial direct and indirect economic benefits.Read moreRead less
New Materials for an Implantable Blood Pump. Rotary blood pumps are at the leading edge of heart assist technology. VentrAssist has developed an innovative rotary blood pump with a hydro-dynamically suspended impeller. Advanced surface modifications will enable the device to be fabricated from polymers; this will make the device light, more compatible with the human body and less costly to produce. Surface treatments and coatings will be applied using ion implantation, to impart the required ....New Materials for an Implantable Blood Pump. Rotary blood pumps are at the leading edge of heart assist technology. VentrAssist has developed an innovative rotary blood pump with a hydro-dynamically suspended impeller. Advanced surface modifications will enable the device to be fabricated from polymers; this will make the device light, more compatible with the human body and less costly to produce. Surface treatments and coatings will be applied using ion implantation, to impart the required dimensional stability, impermeability and wear resistance. Following sophisticated experiments of modified materials, the best candidates will be used in prototype devices, for final selection of the optimal materials for the new device.Read moreRead less
Unified platform for real time QA in radiation therapy in brachytherapy based on high resolution silicon detectors (Magic Plate). This project will design and manufacture new devices for measuring the amount of radiation given to the patient during radiotherapy. This will improve the accuracy and safety of cancer treatment as well as greatly reducing the time needed to perform essential safety checks.
Hydrogel systems for effective encapsulation of functional pancreatic islet cells. This proposal addresses the problem of maintaining viability and function of cells encapsulated within an immuno-isolation barrier material. The research will develop biosynthetic materials that are able to meet design criteria for an effective biomaterial for this application. The major benefits to Australia will be in improved health outcomes by providing safer, more efficacious materials, economic growth develo ....Hydrogel systems for effective encapsulation of functional pancreatic islet cells. This proposal addresses the problem of maintaining viability and function of cells encapsulated within an immuno-isolation barrier material. The research will develop biosynthetic materials that are able to meet design criteria for an effective biomaterial for this application. The major benefits to Australia will be in improved health outcomes by providing safer, more efficacious materials, economic growth development of the Australian Medical Device industry and in high level training of researchers in this field.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100006
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
An adaptable and dedicated linear accelerator for medical radiation research. Leading radiation scientists developing innovative methods and devices for treating cancer patients will collaborate in future research using this highly adaptable linear accelerator for medical radiation research. Innovations in tumour targeting, better patient safety, new medical devices and improved cancer outcomes are expected.
The Scale-up and Evaluation of a Novel Dense Gas Technology Platform for the Production of Particles for Aerosol Drug Delivery. This project provides a unique opportunity to develop an Australian-invented technology in particle engineering, enabling it to enter the international pharmaceutical market. This will enhance the growth of Australia's pharmaceutical research and development, and benefit the Australian pharmaceutical industry. The outcome will also contribute to improvements in the heal ....The Scale-up and Evaluation of a Novel Dense Gas Technology Platform for the Production of Particles for Aerosol Drug Delivery. This project provides a unique opportunity to develop an Australian-invented technology in particle engineering, enabling it to enter the international pharmaceutical market. This will enhance the growth of Australia's pharmaceutical research and development, and benefit the Australian pharmaceutical industry. The outcome will also contribute to improvements in the health and well-being of Australians. The research falls within the Designated National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries.Read moreRead less
Scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration and use in orthopaedic applications. Damaged joints do not repair spontaneously, often leading to arthritis. Bone defects resulting from congenital defects or disease processes are challenging to regenerate and represent a major financial burden to our health system. Bone graft treatments are widely used but have considerable drawbacks. This created a need for scaffolds to provide temporary support for new bone. However they lack the combined physical/biolo ....Scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration and use in orthopaedic applications. Damaged joints do not repair spontaneously, often leading to arthritis. Bone defects resulting from congenital defects or disease processes are challenging to regenerate and represent a major financial burden to our health system. Bone graft treatments are widely used but have considerable drawbacks. This created a need for scaffolds to provide temporary support for new bone. However they lack the combined physical/biological properties necessary for bone repair. We developed new scaffolds with improved mechanical/biological properties to mimic bone which will lead to new treatments for bone damage.Read moreRead less
Functional drug-releasing polymer nano-composites for preventing medical device infection and encrustation. By developing new methodologies for producing functional biomaterials, this research will benefit Australia by continuing our high profile in this research field and by producing economic benefits arising from development and export of materials technologies to the major user groups in USA and Europe. With our demonstrated linkages with Australian based biomaterials developers at CSIRO an ....Functional drug-releasing polymer nano-composites for preventing medical device infection and encrustation. By developing new methodologies for producing functional biomaterials, this research will benefit Australia by continuing our high profile in this research field and by producing economic benefits arising from development and export of materials technologies to the major user groups in USA and Europe. With our demonstrated linkages with Australian based biomaterials developers at CSIRO and University of Queensland, as well as with companies involved in the commercialisation of polyurethane based medical devices (Aortech P/L), this group is well placed to continue the research at a more applied level once the early basic stage is complete.Read moreRead less
Non-invasive control of an implantable rotary blood pump used as a left ventricular assist device. The Holy Grail for developers of rotary blood pumps used as left ventricular assist devices is to control the pump to meet the body's metabolic demand and to do this without the need for implanting additional sensors. The controller must also detect and avoid dangerous states associated with over and under pumping.
In this research we will derive and implement a pump control algorithm that will ....Non-invasive control of an implantable rotary blood pump used as a left ventricular assist device. The Holy Grail for developers of rotary blood pumps used as left ventricular assist devices is to control the pump to meet the body's metabolic demand and to do this without the need for implanting additional sensors. The controller must also detect and avoid dangerous states associated with over and under pumping.
In this research we will derive and implement a pump control algorithm that will allow non-invasive prediction of pump flow, automatic detection of pumping states and adjustments for the metabolic demand of the body. The algorithms will be tested on the bench and in animal and human studies.Read moreRead less