Drug particle characterisation. The understanding of drug particle characterizations is one of the key issues in the development of novel nasal sprayers for targeted drug delivery. A comprehensive study is proposed for characterising drug formation in sprayers and particle deposition in nasal cavity using the latest experimental and numerical techniques. A computer-aided design technology will be developed to optimise drug delivery systems. The new technology has great potentials leading to the ....Drug particle characterisation. The understanding of drug particle characterizations is one of the key issues in the development of novel nasal sprayers for targeted drug delivery. A comprehensive study is proposed for characterising drug formation in sprayers and particle deposition in nasal cavity using the latest experimental and numerical techniques. A computer-aided design technology will be developed to optimise drug delivery systems. The new technology has great potentials leading to therapeutic and economic benefits in developing advanced/innovative drug delivery systems and in evaluating the potential biological effects by the drugs to be introduced through the nose.Read moreRead less
OPTIMIZED NASAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS -- COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN. The aim of this project is to develop a computer-aided design technology to assist in targeted drug delivery through the human nasal cavity which is being recognised to be an excellent alternative route for the administration of medication drugs. The aim will be achieved by conducting computer modelling of nasal flow under realistic physiological conditions and by performing experimental measurements and testing to validate computer ....OPTIMIZED NASAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS -- COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN. The aim of this project is to develop a computer-aided design technology to assist in targeted drug delivery through the human nasal cavity which is being recognised to be an excellent alternative route for the administration of medication drugs. The aim will be achieved by conducting computer modelling of nasal flow under realistic physiological conditions and by performing experimental measurements and testing to validate computer models. The new technology has great potentials leading to therapeutic and economical benefits in developing advanced/innovative drug delivery systems and in evaluating the potential biological effects by the drugs to be introduced through the nose.Read moreRead less
Modelling and Measurement of Flow-Structure Dynamics in the Human Upper Airway. Sleep disruption due to the common and disabling conditions of snoring and obstruction of the human upper airway can result in chronic fatigue, lost work and accidents caused by daytime drowsiness. To date the behaviour of the upper airway has not been adequately studied in terms able to reveal the mechanical causes of these conditions. This deficiency is addressed through the development and use of simulation tools ....Modelling and Measurement of Flow-Structure Dynamics in the Human Upper Airway. Sleep disruption due to the common and disabling conditions of snoring and obstruction of the human upper airway can result in chronic fatigue, lost work and accidents caused by daytime drowsiness. To date the behaviour of the upper airway has not been adequately studied in terms able to reveal the mechanical causes of these conditions. This deficiency is addressed through the development and use of simulation tools and measurement techniques that will elucidate the flow-structure dynamics leading to new diagnostic and improved treatment methods. Simulating the effect of treatment on any individual will permit it to be chosen to maximise its efficacy for a problem that costs the nation an estimated $2 Billion per year in lost productivity.Read moreRead less
Convergence of biomaterials and immunology: a technology platform for delayed burst release of vaccines. A large challenge in vaccination, particularly in wildlife such as for the growing problem of Chlamydia in koalas, is to provide the necessary booster shots. This project will develop implants that will be inserted under the skin at the time of the first shot, and will spontaneously burst later to release the booster shot to provide protection.
Minimally invasive monitoring of sleep for disease management. Sleep, diet and exercise are the three pillars of wellbeing with poor sleep associated with medical issues such as obesity and congestive heart failure. This project will advance sleep analysis by researching new ways of monitoring that are highly accurate and convenient, enabling physicians to improve the monitoring of significant health issues.
Matched experimental observation and finite-element simulation of flow-induced oscillations in uniform and tapered-stiffness collapsible tubes. Flexible tubes that can be flattened are widespread in the body and can act to limit flow-rate. Limitation is usually associated with spontaneous oscillation (repetitive opening and closing). There are many candidate explanations, but none has been shown to correspond with a given experiment. Through computer models and matched experiments on this couple ....Matched experimental observation and finite-element simulation of flow-induced oscillations in uniform and tapered-stiffness collapsible tubes. Flexible tubes that can be flattened are widespread in the body and can act to limit flow-rate. Limitation is usually associated with spontaneous oscillation (repetitive opening and closing). There are many candidate explanations, but none has been shown to correspond with a given experiment. Through computer models and matched experiments on this coupled system (the fluid flow interacts with the tube shape), we seek to demonstrate for the first time that a given theory/computer model encompasses the physics controlling a given observed oscillation. The solution will find application in other flexible-structure design problems in engineering, and also potentially in medicine.Read moreRead less
Matched experiments and numerical simulations of flow-induced oscillations in uniform and tapered-stiffness collapsible tubes. Flexible tubes that can be flattened are widespread in the body and can act to limit flow-rate. Limitation is usually associated with spontaneous oscillation (repetitive opening and closing). There are many candidate explanations, but none has been shown to correspond with a given experiment. Through computer models and matched experiments on this coupled system (the ....Matched experiments and numerical simulations of flow-induced oscillations in uniform and tapered-stiffness collapsible tubes. Flexible tubes that can be flattened are widespread in the body and can act to limit flow-rate. Limitation is usually associated with spontaneous oscillation (repetitive opening and closing). There are many candidate explanations, but none has been shown to correspond with a given experiment. Through computer models and matched experiments on this coupled system (the fluid flow interacts with the tube shape), we seek to demonstrate for the first time that a given theory/computer model encompasses the physics controlling a given observed oscillation. The solution will find application in other flexible-structure design problems in engineering, and also potentially in medicine.Read moreRead less
Improving immune response to vaccines by selective targeting of epithelial regions with the Nanopatch. Vaccination protects us from infections like measles and flu. In principle, it could protect us from all diseases, even from skin cancer and arthritis. In practice, however, vaccines to diseases like cancer have largely proved ineffective. One problem is that we don't really understand how the body's immune system responds to vaccination. Our aim, therefore, is to investigate changes in the imm ....Improving immune response to vaccines by selective targeting of epithelial regions with the Nanopatch. Vaccination protects us from infections like measles and flu. In principle, it could protect us from all diseases, even from skin cancer and arthritis. In practice, however, vaccines to diseases like cancer have largely proved ineffective. One problem is that we don't really understand how the body's immune system responds to vaccination. Our aim, therefore, is to investigate changes in the immune system when a vaccine enters the skin, as might happen by injection. Experimenting with laboratory mice and a special vaccine-injecting Nanopatch that is attached to each mouse's ear, we are starting to understand how a vaccine affects the immune cells in the skin. In the future we plan to apply this knowledge to improve vaccination in people.Read moreRead less
Optimising the body's immune response with a Nanopatch that delivers biomolecules to the skin. The team is developing a new improved way to vaccinate against deadly infectious diseases such as influenza and malaria. They believe their Nanopatch technology will boost the power of seasonal influenza vaccination and could even solve vaccine shortages in an influenza pandemic. This is because the Nanopatch needs much less vaccine per person than a conventional syringe. They also predict that vaccine ....Optimising the body's immune response with a Nanopatch that delivers biomolecules to the skin. The team is developing a new improved way to vaccinate against deadly infectious diseases such as influenza and malaria. They believe their Nanopatch technology will boost the power of seasonal influenza vaccination and could even solve vaccine shortages in an influenza pandemic. This is because the Nanopatch needs much less vaccine per person than a conventional syringe. They also predict that vaccines delivered with a Nanopatch will require less refrigeration than conventional vaccines and can be safely administered by individuals without medical training, making the benefits of vaccination accessible to more people more cheaply, even in remote areas.Read moreRead less
Flow-induced oscillation in flexible tubes: experimental and numerical investigation of mechanism and onset. We seek to understand when instability arises in flow over very deformable structures. This will help us to design highly flexible structures specifically either to avoid the danger of flow-induced oscillations, which may be damaging (cardiac surgery, sails, parachutes), or in other circumstances to take advantage of them as an innovative way involving no sliding-parts mechanisms to crea ....Flow-induced oscillation in flexible tubes: experimental and numerical investigation of mechanism and onset. We seek to understand when instability arises in flow over very deformable structures. This will help us to design highly flexible structures specifically either to avoid the danger of flow-induced oscillations, which may be damaging (cardiac surgery, sails, parachutes), or in other circumstances to take advantage of them as an innovative way involving no sliding-parts mechanisms to create vibration, or flow pulsation, or sound, or motion (as in swimming-pool cleaners). Confidence in designing with highly flexible tubes will allow minimal resource consumption in manufacture of products to transport fluids, and will allow design use of the flow limitation property, whereby such a tube can control flow-rate.Read moreRead less