Archive for IKC

A bespoke technology package for complex knee surgery will be tested in its first human trial later this year. The surgical technology, known as ToKa, is a new approach for an operation used on younger patients with osteoarthritis known as high tibial osteotomy (HTO). This involves an incision into the patient’s shin bone (tibia) to […]

A new diagnostic tool to identify hip dysplasia in newborn babies has successfully completed a small-scale trial at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool.  The device – which uses electronic acoustic technology – proved to be very sensitive at diagnosing the condition, which affects between one and three babies out of every thousand born in the […]

Collaboration with clinicians and NHS Blood and Transplant is enabling the evaluation of an existing technology to help prevent foot ulcers in diabetic patients. Nerve damage caused by diabetes can cause the foot to change shape, losing fatty areas that provide protection to the bones. The increased pressure on the skin can lead to ulcers […]

A gel that combines with regenerative cells from the omentum, the fatty layer inside the abdomen, is being developed to support wound healing following colorectal surgery. The project, a collaboration between regenerative cell therapy company, Cytori Therapeutics Inc. and the NIHR Surgical MedTech Co-operative, is being supported through an IKC proof of concept grant. The […]

Researchers at the University of Leeds Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering are using an approach they call SAFER – Stratified Approaches for Enhanced Reliability. The IKC’s strategy for implementing this approach is to develop technology to robustly model and rigorously test new implantable devices. With SAFER, new devices developed within the IKC and its […]

A UCL team working to design an osteochondral scaffold that can repair large joint defects has been awarded an Innovate UK grant to develop ways of manufacturing the device. The early development of the biomimetic scaffold was supported through the IKC’s partnership with Arthritis Research UK, which enabled it to be tested in sheep and […]

A prototype device that can repair damaged tooth enamel – developed thanks to IKC proof of concept funding – is ready to be trialled in human volunteers. The device, which lead researcher Professor Animesh Jha describes as looking ‘a bit like a water pistol’, delivers a synthetic calcium phosphate material directly to the tooth where […]

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 […]