We are delighted to announce a $30 million funding commitment from the Federal Government towards the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD).
According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, ACMD will keep the city at the global cutting edge of medical technology.
The Centre, which is the only facility where biomedical research and development takes place in a hospital, has already produced an incredible array of medical innovations. For Epilepsy sufferers there's a head implant that talks to patient's mobile phone, warning them when a seizure is imminent, and the 3D printing of human stem cells, which are injected into joints to prevent the onset of osteoarthritis.
Researchers at ACMD have also developed a 3D printing technique that produces replacement human bones and uses surgical robots to fit them to cancer patients or trauma victims.
The federal funding, along with the $60 million that has been promised by the state government, will allow the $180 million project to go ahead. Private philanthropy and commercial partners are expected to complete the required funding for this remarkable project.
Contribute to evidence-based healthcare highlight the range of research technologies and resources that draw the campus together.
For more information, visit the ACMD 2018 website, or refer to the attached key events flyer.
9:30am AEST, Tuesday 17 April, Melbourne, Australia – MTPConnect – the Medical Technology, Biotechnology, and Pharmaceutical (MTP) Industry Growth Centre – and the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, today announced that Biopen and 10 other projects are successful recipients of investment from the Australian Government's $35 million BioMedTech Horizons program. The program aims to help Australia move more cutting edge-ideas and breakthrough discoveries towards proof-of-concept and commercialisation, and stimulate collaboration across disciplines between the research, industry and technology sectors to maximize entrepreneurship and idea potential.
The BioPen is a handheld device which uses 3D-printing methods to let surgeons 'draw' live cells and growth factors directly onto the site of an injury – to help accelerate the regeneration of functional bone and cartilage. Orthopaedic surgeons have used it in test cases to design customised implants during surgery. It is designed to accelerate the regeneration of functional bone and cartilage. The pen delivers the patient's own live and growing cells inside a biopolymer, protected by a second, outer layer of gel material. The two layers are combined in the pen head as the surgeon 'draws' the ink on the damaged bone layer by layer to form a 3D scaffold in the damaged bone.
A low powered ultra-violet light source fixed to the device solidifies the inks to protect the embedded cells during dispensing. Once in the body, the cells multiply, differentiate into nerve cells, muscle cells or bone cells, and eventually form functioning tissue. The project is on the cusp of being ready for human trials. A key aspect of the project will be to develop a unique bioink formulation as well as work with or establish a new entity to produce and supply larger quantities of the ink formulation for commercial purposes. This will be done under the auspices of the ARC for Electromaterials Science (ACES), headquartered at the University of Wollongong.
This media release was first distributed on 30 October 2017 by ACMD partner RMIT. We have published this release as ACMD partners St Vincent's Hospital and RMIT University, and ACMD supporter Stryker, are participants or contributors to this research.
A major new Australian research project is set to transform the way physicians surgically treat tumours and bone cancer, and dramatically improve patient and healthcare outcomes. The five-year project, "Just in time implants", brings together the Australian Government, RMIT University, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne and global medical technology firm Stryker. Worth more than $12.1 million in research effort, the work is funded by Stryker with co-funding from the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), who is contributing $2.36 million in cash. Lead researcher, RMIT's Professor Milan Brandt, and the project team will combine 3D printing, robotic surgery and advanced manufacturing to create tailored implants for patients with bone cancer.
Professor Peter Choong from ACMD Partner, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, discusses the BioFab3D@ACMD MTPConnect Project Fund Program. Learn more about MTPConnect here.
The breakthrough Biopen paves the way for the Melbourne-led team eventually to repair damage to bones, muscles and tendons, and even to tissue in organs such as the heart, the liver, and the lungs.
It has been used in six sheep to repair knee injuries similar to those commonly suffered by Australian rules footballers.
St Vincent's Hospital orthopaedic surgeon Professor Peter Choong said the technique could be adapted to treat a range of conditions in humans.
"The healing was exceptional," Prof Choong said.
The Biopen was developed by the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery, based at St Vincent's Hospital, and the University of Wollongong.
It allows surgeons to use 3D printing technology to draw missing tissue into a patient. The toothpaste-like ink mixes a gelatine substance with pluripotent stem cells that can be taken from a patient on the day of the surgery. Growth factors spur the stem cells to grow into the specific type of tissue needed.
An ultraviolet light fixed to the pen causes the ink mixture to dry on contact, allowing surgeons to build up layers and fill in the damaged area.
St Vincent's orthopaedic surgeons used the Biopen to treat 1cm cartilage tears in sheep. After short periods of rehabilitation, the sheep were all able to bear weight and had regrown cartilage far stronger than "repair cartilage" found after existing treatments.
Prof Choong said the results were now being used to push for a National Health and Medical Research Council grant to perfect the treatment over the next three years.
Victoria's Small Business, Innovation and Trade Minister, Philip Dalidakis, said the breakthrough was nothing short of astounding.
BioFab3D@ACMD is one of 14 national projects to receive funding over two years from MTPConnect - the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre. These projects could also leverage as much as $32 million in industry partner funds.
Funding is via MTPConnect's Project Fund Program, a "competitive, minimum dollar-for-dollar matched funding program that aims to invest in big, bold ideas to boost the innovation, productivity and competitiveness of Australia's MTP sector."
For a full list of successful applicants and to see the full media release, visit MTPConnect.
May 28, 2016: The discovery could help return full movement and the sense of touch to amputees and aid recovery for patients with paralysis.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne believe they have discovered a way to help amputees and stroke victims, developing a robotic arm which will allow users to experience the sensation of touch.
The discovery could help return full movement and the sense of touch to amputees and aid recovery for patients with paralysis.
Research into the development is being overseen by the St Vincent's Hospital-based Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery.
St Vincent's Director for Orthopaedics Peter Choong said a prototype arm would be developed based on research and technology that allowed for an enhanced sensory element, which could restore the sensation of touch.
It will expand upon current robotic limbs that use electrodes – or "buzzes and clicks" – to assist a person's senses, pushing boundaries in transmitting messages from the brain directly to the arm, Prof. Choong said.
The enhanced limb would function by "using the patient's own nerves and tissue engineering, muscle and nerve engineering and hooking it up to the artificial limb to act in a normal way," he told 9news.com.au.
"We're trying to build up something that can also feel and perceive strength and pressure, feeding it back to the patient through an artificial means.
"What we really want is for the machine to talk back to the brain and that's where a lot of the science is."
University of Melbourne robotics engineer Denny Oetomo told 9NEWS the team working on the research don't think of the arm as a "tool".
"Essentially it would be a limb rather than a tool," he said.
The Aikenhead Centre combined forces with engineers from the University of Melbourne and the University of Wollongong to use 3D printing to create microchips for communication between limb tissues and electrodes. The chips allow movement messages to pass from the brain to the robotic arm.
A prototype will be developed by the University of Melbourne within the next year. It builds on the work of St Vincent's Hospital neurologist Mark Cook, who decoded the signals of the brain to be able to control complex robotics.
Prof. Cook described the process as "turning thoughts into mechanical action".
While there is no indication of costs for individual models, Prof. Choong said the outcome would be priceless.
"It will be costly, but for patients, losing an arm is costly," he said.
The collaborative group is pushing for an Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) to be built, which would bring together leading research centres including St Vincent's, University of Melbourne, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Bionics Institute, O'Brien Institute, Australian Catholic University, University of Wollongong, Centre for Eye Research Australia, RMIT University, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, and Swinburne University.
The proposed centre would continue developing biomedical solutions, and would be built on the corner of Nicholson Street and Victoria Parade for $180 million.
Researchers hope to continue their developments to include prosthetic legs, and technology to help people who have been affected by incontinence.
The proposal has seen leading centres chip in $60 million, along with a further $60 million pledged by the state government.
The team are now urging the federal government to follow suit.
"We're now looking for the federal government to put their money where their mouth is – it says it's in for innovation, that's what it has to do," he said.
Cooking at home when the meal can be tailored is one thing. But going out for dinner invariably means counting carbs before consuming. If it's pizza, Dane's favourite meal, the thickness of the base, size of the slices and topping ingredients are closely scrutinized.
Thank you to all our researchers, our ACMD collaborators, visitors and special guests, for helping to make ACMD Research Week such a wonderful success! The talents of our hardworking medical researchers was on display, and it was extremely impressive. The week involved a public debate, a Nobel Laureate, an art prize, poster display, and a series of workshops and presentations. The campus was abuzz, and research was rightly at the centre.