Measuring large deformation tissue mechanical behaviour in living humans. This project aims to develop new in vivo imaging methods to characterise the nonlinear mechanical behaviour of soft biological tissues, and use them to measure the properties of muscle, liver and adipose tissue in human subjects. Comprehensively characterising the mechanical properties of an individual person’s body tissues in vivo is a long-standing challenge in biomechanics and biomedical engineering. These new methods a ....Measuring large deformation tissue mechanical behaviour in living humans. This project aims to develop new in vivo imaging methods to characterise the nonlinear mechanical behaviour of soft biological tissues, and use them to measure the properties of muscle, liver and adipose tissue in human subjects. Comprehensively characterising the mechanical properties of an individual person’s body tissues in vivo is a long-standing challenge in biomechanics and biomedical engineering. These new methods aim to overcome major imitations of current biomechanical imaging methods, and make new measurements of the nonlinear mechanical properties of muscle, liver and adipose tissues. These techniques may be useful for future diagnostic, biomechanics and mechanobiology applications.Read moreRead less
An innovative manufacturing technology enabling new generations of hip joint prostheses. The success of the present project will revolutionise the way we produce hip joint prostheses, resolve the critical issues caused by the wear of the hip joint bearing surfaces, and dramatically improve patients' life quality. The project will open an entirely new application field for the Australian made materials which have a very limited market so far. With the innovative technology and the new generations ....An innovative manufacturing technology enabling new generations of hip joint prostheses. The success of the present project will revolutionise the way we produce hip joint prostheses, resolve the critical issues caused by the wear of the hip joint bearing surfaces, and dramatically improve patients' life quality. The project will open an entirely new application field for the Australian made materials which have a very limited market so far. With the innovative technology and the new generations of hip joint prostheses, the international competitive edge of the Australian industry will be markedly sharpened. Patients, and the Australian economy, are expected to benefit greatly from successful developments in this project.Read moreRead less
Effects of prosthesis design on bone remodelling and longevity of dental restorations. The project targets both the 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health' and 'Advanced Materials' designated research priority areas. The research will underpin Australia's leading role on some emerging interdisciplinary frontiers of biomechanics, biomaterials, health sciences and biomedical software. The development of computer aided clinical plan will help optimise dental restorations for 'long-term success'. Th ....Effects of prosthesis design on bone remodelling and longevity of dental restorations. The project targets both the 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health' and 'Advanced Materials' designated research priority areas. The research will underpin Australia's leading role on some emerging interdisciplinary frontiers of biomechanics, biomaterials, health sciences and biomedical software. The development of computer aided clinical plan will help optimise dental restorations for 'long-term success'. The benefit will be to improve the ongoing performance and longevity of dental restoration, which complies with the highly demanding national goal of 'ageing well'. The study will also provide a new means to improve the therapy effect for many young Australians' effort towards a 'healthy start to their life'.Read moreRead less
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
Fundamental theoretical and experimental investigation of cartilage mechanics. Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms are one of the leading causes of disability in the community, yet a fundamental understanding of joint mechanics has yet to be realised. The aim of this project is to develop a new state-of-the-art mathematical model describing cartilage behaviour in humans. The model will explain how activities like walking maintain healthy cartilage by transferring growth factors through the tiss ....Fundamental theoretical and experimental investigation of cartilage mechanics. Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms are one of the leading causes of disability in the community, yet a fundamental understanding of joint mechanics has yet to be realised. The aim of this project is to develop a new state-of-the-art mathematical model describing cartilage behaviour in humans. The model will explain how activities like walking maintain healthy cartilage by transferring growth factors through the tissue, and quantitatively explain how wear is minimised in cartilage through weeping lubrication. This model will progress our understanding of cartilage mechanics in health and disease, and so help Australians age well and productively.Read moreRead less
Topography Optimisation of Implants for Enhancing Osseointegration. With recent increased life expectancy, the ratio of implant recipients to total population has dramatically increased. The project will address a critical issue in ensuring long-term success of prosthetic treatment. The proposed computational multiscale modelling will provide a sound scientific alternative means to optimisation of overall implant design including surface topography. The anticipated outcomes of this research will ....Topography Optimisation of Implants for Enhancing Osseointegration. With recent increased life expectancy, the ratio of implant recipients to total population has dramatically increased. The project will address a critical issue in ensuring long-term success of prosthetic treatment. The proposed computational multiscale modelling will provide a sound scientific alternative means to optimisation of overall implant design including surface topography. The anticipated outcomes of this research will help improve the quality of prosthetic therapy, and benefit our prosthodontic and orthopaedic professionals and their patients. The study clearly aligns with the national research goals of frontier technologies and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
How do mechanics, neural drive and muscle architecture interact in muscles? This project will determine how an individual person’s muscle activity, muscle structure and mechanical properties, and the local mechanical conditions around the muscle interact as muscles move and deform, by using experiments and personalised computational models that can examine these factors and their interactions concurrently. To achieve this, we will develop novel magnetic resonance imaging methods to measure the m ....How do mechanics, neural drive and muscle architecture interact in muscles? This project will determine how an individual person’s muscle activity, muscle structure and mechanical properties, and the local mechanical conditions around the muscle interact as muscles move and deform, by using experiments and personalised computational models that can examine these factors and their interactions concurrently. To achieve this, we will develop novel magnetic resonance imaging methods to measure the mechanical properties of muscles in humans and methods for modelling muscles. As well as answering fundamental scientific questions about muscle function, these new techniques will provide a platform for studying other muscles, and for future development of muscle training methods and technologies to optimise muscle function.Read moreRead less
Biotransport design for engineering microenvironment in scaffolds. Tissue engineering signifies an exciting opportunity to solve shortage of transplantable tissues. This project targets a critical issue in engineering thick tissue and aims to introduce computational structural optimisation to biotransport problems. The optimal scaffold is expected to create a more desirable microenvironment for better tissue growth.
Topology Optimisation of Periodic Structures for Stent Design. Stenting therapy offers new therapeutical strategies to improve the quality of healthcare for numerous cardiovascular disease patients. This project will address the critical issues in stent design involving the delivery, dilatation and ongoing interaction with blood vessel and fluid. The novel topological configurations are expected to bring significant improvement to stent ensuring long-term success. The numerical techniques to be ....Topology Optimisation of Periodic Structures for Stent Design. Stenting therapy offers new therapeutical strategies to improve the quality of healthcare for numerous cardiovascular disease patients. This project will address the critical issues in stent design involving the delivery, dilatation and ongoing interaction with blood vessel and fluid. The novel topological configurations are expected to bring significant improvement to stent ensuring long-term success. The numerical techniques to be developed for optimising topology will provide new tools for design of periodic structures, making a broader impact on an important class of engineering structures and thus benefiting many relevant fields.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