Archive for case study

Orthopaedic surgeons are accustomed to carrying out joint repairs using devices made from titanium – but although it has many of the properties needed for success, titanium is many times stiffer than bone, and can cause deterioration in surrounding tissue. Researchers at Imperial College London are working with additive manufacturing experts, Renishaw, to design implants […]

Microspheres that deliver stem cells to accelerate bone repair and regeneration are being developed through a collaboration between the University of Nottingham and Johnson Matthey. Supported by an IKC Industrial Partnership Award, the research will explore whether silicate-based bioglass microspheres, can be manufactured into highly porous microspheres. These would be injected via small needles directly […]

A joint Arthritis Research UK and IKC proof of concept award has enabled a diagnostic tool for early stage cartilage disease to move closer to commercialisation. The tool is based on a technology called Raman spectroscopy, which uses lasers to identify the composition of materials. Combined with an optical probe, the technique can be used […]

An electronic acoustic sensor that can detect hip dysplasia in newborn babies could better equip doctors to identify the condition – and reduce the need for children to have corrective surgery after late diagnosis. Daniel Perry, a consultant surgeon at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is leading the project, called SHINE – Screening the Hips […]

A clinical trial of an arthroscopic brush that may enhance cartilage repair is underway in Leeds, to provide the evidence needed for full commercialisation of the device. The brush device was developed by Dr Thomas Baboolal from the University of Leeds, with proof of concept funding from the IKC. The trial is looking at its […]

When Professor Jennifer Kirkham and Dr Amalia Aggeli began looking at self-assembling peptides for use in dentistry, their idea was to create a mouthwash that would infiltrate the peptides into decay lesions in the teeth, where they could start to repair the damage. 2018 will see such a mouthwash launched in the UK, just one […]

VitalScan, a portable scanner that can help clinicians quickly rule out serious heart disease in patients, has been awarded medical device clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), opening up distribution in the USA. The device, based on research by Professor Ben Varcoe of the University of Leeds, was supported by the IKC at […]

A process designed to reduce the risk of rejection in heart surgery patients receiving donated aortic valves is now also being applied to pulmonary valves. The decellularisation process, in which cellular material is removed from tissue before a patient’s own cells repopulate the remaining matrix, was developed by Professor Eileen Ingham and colleagues at the […]

University of Bradford researchers are working with a York medtech company to refine its novel resorbable scaffold, created to promote healing in chronic wounds. The scaffold was developed by spin-out company, Neotherix, and is made by electrospinning a bioresorbable polymer into a mesh structure. Once implanted into a wound it is designed to encourage new […]