On 23 September, 2022, valued Industry Partner Stryker, a Michigan, US-based medtech company, in partnership with QUT (Queensland University of Technology), The University of Queensland, the Queensland Government, and Metro North Health, officially opened the Stryker R&D Lab at the Herston Health Precinct in Brisbane today.
It was a pleasure for our Centre to attend and celebrate this significant milestone for medical innovation in Queensland.
Centre Director, Prof. Yuantong Gu and Centre Manager, Ms Maddie McIntyre attended the prestigious opening which is a landmark for Brisbane and places us at the forefront of biomedical and biotechnology innovation on the global stage.
Guest speakers Maurice Ben-Mayor, Kevin Lobo, Professor Deborah Terry, Prof Margaret Sheil AO, and Hon. Yvette D’Ath – Minister for Health & Ambulance Services acknowledged the profound impact this collaborative partnership and ecosystem will have on the advancement of technologies and #personalizedhealthcare while creating a unique opportunity for the next generation workforce right here in Queensland.
Through a focus on engineer-clinician collaboration in digital health, robotics, and personalised surgical planning we are excited to work closely with the R&D Lab over the coming years, with further visits from the centre to come.
On the 14th of September, we welcomed Ms Miranda Noblesse, Global Sales Director Materialise of Medical in Belgium to our Centre.
Our PhD student Mr Xiaolong Fan shared his project and gave a tour of the Medical Engineering labs and we had the chance to discuss future collaboration and placement projects for our PhD students.
Mr Fan takes a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses the modelling and experiment to support surgery selecting suitable implant for independent patients basic on CT image. He holds master’s degree from QUT which focused on understanding of biomechanical properties of red kangaroo shoulder humeral cartilage.
Materialise are one of our key partners providing access to cutting edge technology in the medical device and pre-operative planning spaces, particularly with the use of their 3D planning software the ‘Mimics Innovation Suite.’
Mr Xialong shows our visitors his project poster on “Evaluation of proximal humerus bone density on implant fixation in Shoulder Arthroplasty” and highlights from program 2 at the ‘Cube,’ level 4 P Block QUT Garden’s Point campus.
Thank-you to Ms Monica Russell (Medical Account Manager) & Mr Michael Mathews (Materialise Medical – Sales and Business Development Manager – ANZ) for organising the visit and joining us at QUT. Our partnership is a cornerstone in our vision to transform personalised surgical treatment of joints through integrated technologies of computer tools for pre-surgical planning and decision making, the computer simulation system and robot simulators for surgical training and medical device assessment, and post-surgical assessment tools.
By bringing together leading researchers, industry partners like Materialise and end-users, we continue to succeed in our mission to train a new generation of interdisciplinary and skilled graduates to tackle industry-focused challenges in joint biomechanics.
Congratulations to our post-doctoral fellow Dr Laith Alzubaidi who on 9 September 2022 was awarded a Société Européenne pour la Chirurgie de l’Epaule et du Coude and European Society for Surgery of the Shoulder and Elbow (SECEC-ESSSE) basic science grant to conduct research into ‘Quantitative Deep learning model for muscle assessment of the rotator cuff on MRI’.
The 30th SECEC-ESSE Congress was held in Ireland this year, with aims to foster ‘scientific cooperation and continuing training of European orthopaedic surgeons specialized in surgery of the shoulder and elbow’ as described on the conference website.
Dr Alzubaidi winning submission asks the question, ‘can we predict the rotator cuffs regenerative capacity and improve clinical decision making?’ where he will collaborate with Dr Freek Hollman (QUASR), Dr Ashish Gupta (QUASR), Prof Yuantong Gu (QUT), Dr Asma Salhi, Ruth Delaney, and A/Prof. Kenneth Cutbush.
This marks another milestone achievement for Dr. Alzubaidi and the Centre for Joint Biomechanics as our research impact makes a presence in Europe.
Congratulations again on this landmark achievement.
Our team presented at the Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA) QLD Branch and the Queensland Orthopaedic Research Fund (QORF) Combined Meeting held at the Sofitel, Brisbane Central September 8th 2022.
This was the second meeting of the year with the team excited to present their latest developments from the last 6 months since the last AOA QLD-QORF ASM & AGM at Noosa in February earlier this year.
‘Spotlight on Musculoskeletal Research in Queensland’ research groups and individuals were invited to present their latest research including a synopsis of problems encountered and how these were overcome with the centre for Joint Biomechanics at the forefront of research into shoulder 3D modelling and pre-operative planning tools, the use of robotics to assist in orthopaedic surgeries specifically shoulder arthroplasty and rotator cuff repair, and the invention of tissue scaffolds and post-operative monitoring.
One of our goals is to break down barriers and actively promote conversation, collaboration, and ideas between the clinical and academic sectors. It was fantastic to attend and present some of our research projects at this forum.
Prof. Travis Klein joined the newly established QORF Research Committee to represent us together with the Centre for Biomedical Technologies and QUT (Queensland University of Technology).
It was also great to catch up with our industry partners Stryker, Zimmer Biomet ANZ and research collaborators from the Herston Biofabrication Institute: Dr Kevin Tetsworth and Dr Deniz U. Erbulut.
Our team presented the following scientific talks:
Peter Pivonka – ‘Recent advances in musculoskeletal modelling of the shoulder’
Affiliate researcher Dr Kristin Italia – ‘All-arthroscopic muscle advancement slide technique to repair massive posterosuperior rotator cuff tears’
Dr Laith Alzubaidi – Deep learning for Orthopaedics
Dr Eleonore Bolle – ‘An engineering approach to improve healing outcomes with rotator cuff tears.’
Prof Saulo Martelli – ‘Time-elapsed micro-CT imaging of the failure mechanism of reverse shoulder replacement’
Affiliate researcher Mr Luke Gilliland – ‘A 3-Dimensional method to estimate restoration of native joint line preoperatively’
Mr Ahmed Sewify – ‘use of ultrasound tomography to build dynamic shoulder models’
Thanks to the team from the ARC Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics & QUASR for presenting their projects!
In September 2022, Mr Bruyer-Montéléone joined the centre team from France to pursue his PhD within the School of Mechanical, Medical & Process Engineering at QUT under Centre Deputy Director, Prof Peter Pivonka.
Mr Bruyer-Montéléone’s research is focused upon rigid-body models, which provide general understanding of movement control, design & plan treatments of musculoskeletal (MSK) pathologies and evaluate the impact of surgical interventions with emphasis on the shoulder.
Since he has joined the centre, he has shown enthusiasm for all things biomedical and technical ability, recently passing his ‘stage 2‘, which is a critical milestone for PhD students at the Queensland university of Technology as it is the second and final stage of admission to their PhD course, due within the first three months of full-time study.
As our newest PhD student, we asked him to provide insight into his PhD journey with the centre thus far:
What has been you biggest challenge so far with your PhD ?
Well, as my topic has changed a lot since I started my PhD, I’d say that I have had to adapt a lot and got out of my comfort zone to find an interesting and feasible project to undertake throughout those three years of research.
I must recognize that it can be really frustrating not being able to know where everything is going, but I guess it’s part of this stimulating job. I know that I will be facing many more obstacles but I am really determined to overcome them.
Despite some initial changes, Mr Bruyer-Montéléone has successfully confirmed his topic and presented his project summary at our 2022 Research Symposium:
From L to R: Miss Laura Meszaros (affiliate PhD student, QUT), Mr Alex Lee-Medland (affiliate PhD student, QUT), Mr François Bruyer-Montéléone (PhD student, QUT), and Miss Natalia Mühl Castoldi (Affiliate PhD, QUT).
PhD Project Summary:
Rigid-body models describe human internal forces and simulate body stability and motion to investigate complex systems such as joints. The shoulder is composed of three major bones stabilized with soft tissues and muscles. This extremely mobile system has a large range of motion hence is highly subjected to dysfunction. The glenohumeral (GH) instability is one the most common shoulder problems which frequently leads to anterior shoulder dislocation (ASD). The Latarjet procedure (LP) is the gold standard surgical intervention for treating ASD. However, because of the high variability in human anatomy, single morphology based MSK models cannot thoroughly predict the forces and moments for every patient. Similarly, it is still unclear how the GH joint stability is affected by the anatomical variants. Thus, this PhD project aims to address questions related to MSK model outcomes fidelity, anatomical variation and surgical intervention efficiency. By developing an MSK model representative of anatomically diverse shoulder complexes, the objectives are to (i) identify the different shoulder anatomical clusters and highlight the leading trends of shape variation, (ii) analyse the impact of muscle attachment site definition and (iii) investigate workhorse surgical LP effect in a population.
How is your experience so far at the ITTC ?
Honestly, being at the ITTC-JB Centre and QUT is really rewarding as I get to be involved in multidisciplinary projects within a welcoming and dynamic team of international researchers.
In three months here, I have spread my general knowledge of biomechanics by discovering new subfields that I have never heard of before while attending exciting events such as the Symposium, the Seed Grant, the ABC13 and a lot of online conferences.
Mr Bruyer-Montéléone has already integrated himself well into the centre and he is set to achieve great things over the next few years. We look forward to supporting your development and career aspirations as you grow in your PhD journey!
Today Ms Maddie Mcintyre (Centre Manager) and Prof, Yuantong Gu (Centre Director) had the pleasure to visit Australian Biotechnologies Head Office in Sydney to learn more about their impressed allograft processing facility and discuss some exciting research projects we have in the works.
As described on their website, Australian Biotechnologies Pty Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is located in Sydney, Australia. As a specialist in allograft tissue processing, Australian Biotechnologies delivers optimal solutions for all clinical biologic and allograft requirements, to supply allografts for a wide range of patient needs and surgical procedures.
Supplying allograft solutions for orthopaedic, spinal, dental and oral-maxillofacial surgeries both nationally and internationally, Australian Biotechnologies’ world-class manufacturing facilities and proprietary processing technology have become renowned as the gold standard of allograft production.
Australian Biotechnologies are specifically known for their applications in bone void and structural applications in orthopaedic, spinal, dental, and oral-maxillofacial surgeries , such as for ACL replacements, glenoid reconstructions for femoral head structural defects, and to fill voids in the trabecular/cortisol bone during shoulder surgeries.
At the Centre for Joint Biomechanics, Australian Biotechnologies is a valued industry partner assisting us with the aims of Program 3, where we are developing new soft tissue replacement techniques and engineered scaffolds for rotator cuff repair.
On August 17th 2022 our new PhD student Amy Ma visited QUT’s campus to meet the extended Centre team and get introduced to the broader research programs.
Amy will conduct her PhD within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland with Prof Paul Hodges. Her research is focused on using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Electromyography data, to explore the central mechanisms of neuromuscular control in patients with healthy and pathological shoulders.
The shoulder complex is highly mobile which is capable of movements in multiple directions and planes. While it being highly functional, the shoulder complex relies on sophisticated coordination between multiple shoulder muscles for control and stability. It has been proposed that aberrant muscle coordination may be one of the mechanisms for injury or sustained dysfunction. Central Nervous System (CNS) including the corresponding brain areas and neural pathways responsible for muscle contraction is of crucial importance.
However there is yet a consensus on how muscle control is altered in people with shoulder pain or pathologies. This is partly due to a limited understanding on the underlying mechanism involving the CNS in both healthy and symptomatic population. She hypothesises that 1) there is a pattern of muscle coordination and CNS features that is task specific in the healthy population, and 2) this pattern is altered/absent in people with shoulder pain or pathology.
The project will help both researchers and clinicians understand how and why neuromuscular control is impaired after onset of pathology or pain, which may shed light on shoulder rehabilitation and potentially diagnosis.
A big welcome from our Program 4 team Prof Graham Kerr & Dr Wolbert van den Hoorn and the whole Centre.
On August 8th 2022, Australia’s Acting Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Defence, the Hon. Richard Marles visited the QUT (Queensland University of Technology). As hosted by the Centre for Robotics Joint Director and key ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics CI, Prof. Michael Milford, he toured with the acting PM and Margaret Mary SheilAOFAAFTSE, Vice Chancellor and President of Queensland University of Technology.
During the visit Prof. Milford showcased the capabilities of robots to assist in different manoeuvres which are translatable to the clinical and surgical context. Specifically, highlights from our work in Program 2.
Program 2 is focused on the use of robots and emerging ultrasound technologies for studying the bone and joint response to complex three-dimensional and time-varying loads experienced during physical activity. These technologies will be used for developing robot-assisted procedures for improving precision in current shoulder arthroplasty procedures and will enable in-vitro testing of orthopaedic devices for the assessment of current and novel orthopaedic devices. This will assist surgical methods for optimal joint function and precision tracking in human motion experiments for rehabilitation and the comprehensive assessment of clinical intervention.
On hand to demonstrate our robotic technologies was PhD student Mr Morgan Windsor. Surgical robots are an emerging technology used for shoulder arthroplasty as this procedure is the fastest growing joint replacement procedure in the world with growth expected to continue.
A major cause revision surgery is glenoid component failure such as loosening and wear with malpositioning being recognised as a key factor in component failure.Surgical planning systems are already a mature technology available to assist surgeons determine optimum implant positioning but tools to assist translating these plans into precise and accurate execution are limited and have low acceptance rates among surgeons.The use of surgical robotics has been shown to improve the precision and accuracy of implant positioning in other orthopaedic procedures such as knee arthroplasty but none are available for the shoulder.
Morgan’s research focuses on improving the existing “gold standard” in orthopaedic surgical robots, which use optical tracking markers attached to bone during the surgery. The issue with these are that these markers are time consuming to attach and register, require additional or larger incisions and limit how the surgical team can move in the operating room as they require line of sight with a base station while in use.
Both Mr. Windsor and Prof. Milford were quick to highlight advancements the Centre for Joint Biomechanics is making on tracking guidewire attachment for shoulder implants.
Along with the rest of the Program 2 team (Adj. Prof. Ashish Gupta, Prof. Peter Pivonka, and Dr. Jing Peng we wish to thank the QUT Centre for Robotics’ Centre Manager Ms Ilana Bolingford, Mr Paul Turner the Director of Government Relations and Protocol at QUT, and Mr David Russo the Government Relations Manager at QUT for co-ordinating the visit.
From the 1st to 4th of August, members of the ITTC for Joint Biomechanics attended the combined ANZBMS (Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society) – MEPSA (Molecular and Experimental Pathology Society of Australasia) -ANZORS (Australian & New Zealand Orthopaedic Society) conference.
Held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach, our students and postdocs presented several scientific talks on their emerging research on joint biomechanics and modelling:
👉 Wed 3rd – Dr Dermot O’Rourke – Geometry and bone mineral density determinants of femoral neck strength changes following exercise
👉 Thurs 4th – Prof Peter Pivonka – Assessment of strategies for safe drug discontinuation and transition of denosumab treatment in PMO – insights from a mechanistic PK/PD model of bone turnover
👉 Thurs 4th – Xiaolong fan – Time-elapsed micro-CT imaging of humeral implant failure in reverser shoulder replacement
Our students and post-docs also had the chance to join a technical workshop with the ARC Centre for Implant Technologies (CMIT) on the Friday afternoon in conjunction with one of our key industry partners Materialise. We thank you David Lloyd, David John Saxby, Peter Vee Sin Lee, Meg Belmonte and ARC Training Centre for Medical Implant Technologies for inviting us to take part.
Image: Our researchers Dermot O’Rourke, xiaolong fan, Marco Branni, Peter Pivonka together with our Industry Partner Materialise’s team Monica Russell, Kyle Shapland, Michael Mathews enjoying the #ANZBMS #MEPSA #ANZORS combined meeting this week.
On July 20, 2022 Create magazine, one of Engineers Australia’s media publications featured an article on the center’s work from Program 2: Robot assisted testing and surgery.
Program 2 uses robotic and ultrasound technologies for studying bone and joint response due to complex loads experienced during everyday activity and for precision tracking in both human motion experiments and clinical interventions.
The article highlighted how surgical robots designed by our engineers can improve patient outcomes and reduce the need for repeat surgery.
As described in the article by Ms Sophie Deutch, “In every surgery, no matter how skilled or capable a surgeon is, there’s always some risk of human variability. As internal surgery requires the manipulation of tools through incisions as small as 10 mm, this can sometimes pose a challenge for surgeons.”
One of our key clinical partners Adj. Prof. Ashish Gupta who is driving the research and development into the use of surgical robots to perform guidewire placement for shoulder arthroscopy surgeries believes that the future of surgical practice will be defined by the engineering developments that the centre is focusing on now as “Orthopaedics is inherently tied to engineering. Nothing we do in orthopaedics is possible without engineering.”
Our robots team in Program 2 features several academics and PhD students from the Queensland University of technology, A/Prof. Saulo Martelli, Dr Jing Peng, Mr. Arun Jolly, Mr. Morgan Windsor, and Mr. Ahmed Sewify. Our expert team also features Prof. Michael Milford as one of leading CIs, Prof. Peter Pivonka from program 1, and Dr. ken Cutbush our other key clinical partner who were featured in the article.
As Michael states: “If surgeons have a robot assisting them then there is also the potential for them to be relieved of some of the cognitive load of performing a task. It would still be a collaborative process but it wouldn’t just be on the surgeon.”
Although many researchers at the centre don’t believe that AI will ever completely replace surgeons, the use of robotics and AI technology will greatly increase the safety and accuracy of several components of surgical procedures, potentially reducing surgical times and/or errors, and thus improving patient outcomes overall.
With this vision, the centre will continue with the mission of transforming and personalising patient care in the orthopaedics industry.
