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
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
Quantifying cortical thickness and white matter hyperintensity volumes and determining their relationship on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in ageing brains. Australia's population is ageing, with a significant projected increase in the number of people aged over 65 and 85. Mental health and quality of life for this ageing population have become an increasingly important issue. This project directly addresses the National Research Priority 2 in the terms of ageing well, ageing productively. Accurat ....Quantifying cortical thickness and white matter hyperintensity volumes and determining their relationship on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in ageing brains. Australia's population is ageing, with a significant projected increase in the number of people aged over 65 and 85. Mental health and quality of life for this ageing population have become an increasingly important issue. This project directly addresses the National Research Priority 2 in the terms of ageing well, ageing productively. Accurately measuring the distribution of brain structural changes is an effective way of differentiating normal ageing from various pathological conditions reflecting the underlying pathology. The project has access to an unprecedented large sample of longitudinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging and health/clinical data and will produce a set of algorithms to examine this issue and put Australia at the forefront of such research.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
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
Numerical investigation of signal mechanotransduction of bone cells - application to bone remodeling. The understanding of signal mechanotransduction of bone cells is directly related to mechanical activation of bone remodeling processes, i.e., resorption and formation of bone tissue. Understanding of bone remodeling is essential for the development of new bone implants, the prognosis of osteosporosis, and studies related to changes in microgravity (e.g. space flight) to name a few key applicati ....Numerical investigation of signal mechanotransduction of bone cells - application to bone remodeling. The understanding of signal mechanotransduction of bone cells is directly related to mechanical activation of bone remodeling processes, i.e., resorption and formation of bone tissue. Understanding of bone remodeling is essential for the development of new bone implants, the prognosis of osteosporosis, and studies related to changes in microgravity (e.g. space flight) to name a few key applications. This research proposal closely aligns with one of the major national research priorities, i.e., promoting and maintaining good health (ageing well, ageing productively). The research project is aimed to understand how mechanically induced loading may activate remodeling of bone.
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Biomimetic Insights from Enamel: A Nano-mechanical and Nano-structural Investigation of a Natural Ceramic-like Biocomposite. Enamel is a naturally developed example of an optimised material structure that constitutes the hardest tissue in the human body. In addition it is exposed to severe mechanical and environmental challenges and must last the lifetime of the individual and unlike other tissue is unable to heal or repair itself. Understanding the factors controlling the amazing mechanical pr ....Biomimetic Insights from Enamel: A Nano-mechanical and Nano-structural Investigation of a Natural Ceramic-like Biocomposite. Enamel is a naturally developed example of an optimised material structure that constitutes the hardest tissue in the human body. In addition it is exposed to severe mechanical and environmental challenges and must last the lifetime of the individual and unlike other tissue is unable to heal or repair itself. Understanding the factors controlling the amazing mechanical properties of this tissue will be of great benefit for the design of bio-inspired materials and be important for the development of advanced materials for which Australia already has an enviable reputation.Read moreRead less
Predictive models to study neuromuscular control of walking in older people. This project aims to address a major challenge in human motion simulation: to deliver computationally-efficient predictive simulations of movement biomechanics. It plans to bring together the latest developments in computational modelling, medical imaging and nonlinear optimal control theory to advance current understanding of how individual lower-limb muscles stabilise and control body movement during locomotion in hea ....Predictive models to study neuromuscular control of walking in older people. This project aims to address a major challenge in human motion simulation: to deliver computationally-efficient predictive simulations of movement biomechanics. It plans to bring together the latest developments in computational modelling, medical imaging and nonlinear optimal control theory to advance current understanding of how individual lower-limb muscles stabilise and control body movement during locomotion in healthy young and older adults. New knowledge of how age-related changes in muscle mechanical properties affect the neuromuscular control of walking may assist in the design of more targeted exercise-based therapies aimed at maintaining independent function and improving the quality of life for older adults.Read moreRead less
Improving orthopaedic/dental devices by surface chemical modification. The estimated world market for the orthopaedic implants is expected to be US$125 billion by 2010. Australia imports most of it's orthopaedic implants with an estimated cost in excess of AUD300 million by 2010. The current rate of prosthetic failures in orthopaedic patients is unacceptably high. The project aims to develop new implants that integrate better into bone, thus reducing the rate of revision arthroplasty. This would ....Improving orthopaedic/dental devices by surface chemical modification. The estimated world market for the orthopaedic implants is expected to be US$125 billion by 2010. Australia imports most of it's orthopaedic implants with an estimated cost in excess of AUD300 million by 2010. The current rate of prosthetic failures in orthopaedic patients is unacceptably high. The project aims to develop new implants that integrate better into bone, thus reducing the rate of revision arthroplasty. This would lead to a significant reduction in the cost of health care in our aging population and improve the quality of life for prosthetic recipients. Knowledge gained will facilitate the optimization of orthopaedic and implant dentistry, promoting the technology transfer from academia to the relevant medical device industry.Read moreRead less
Failure of Complex Biomechanical Structures. Layer structures are replete in biological systems, both natural and artificial. Issues concerning the lifetime of such systems are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our aging society. Our project will analyse damage in brittle layer systems that simulate dental crown structures. We are now at a critical point in the understanding of how these structures fail, and are beginning to make substantive predictions to improve des ....Failure of Complex Biomechanical Structures. Layer structures are replete in biological systems, both natural and artificial. Issues concerning the lifetime of such systems are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our aging society. Our project will analyse damage in brittle layer systems that simulate dental crown structures. We are now at a critical point in the understanding of how these structures fail, and are beginning to make substantive predictions to improve designs for prolonged life. The project is connected to the dental community and international crown material manufacturers through a broader NIH project in the USA. The improved materials and crown designs resulting from this project will have impact worldwide, including Australia.Read moreRead less