Bioengineering: Research Student Profiles and Projects
Examples of possible PhD project titles
Here are some suggested PhD projects which you may wish to consider when applying to join the School as a postgraduate research student. Please note that this list is not exhaustive and other projects may be available.
- Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering
- Bioceramics for Bone Replacement
- Magnetic Bioceramics for Hyperthermia
- Additive Manufacturing for Medical Applications
- 3D Printing of Biomaterials
- Analysis of failed metal-on-metal hip prostheses – preventing future failures
- The biotribology of orthopaedic biopolymers
- Better than bovine blood – superior lubricants for wear testing biomaterials
- Biomimicry – learning from the joints of insects for engineering applications
- Quantifying the damage to human cells from metallic wear debris
- How does a patient’s synovial fluid influence the performance of an artificial joint implanted into them?
- Computational modelling of artificial hip joint performance – reverse engineering based on patient-specific explant analysis
- Surface processing for control of biological reactions at biomedical device surfaces
- Tissue engineering: scaffolds
- Biomimetic design of biomedical devices
- Novel bioreactor for osteochondral tissue engineering
Examples of current and recent research student projects
Brian Abraham
e-mail: b.b.abraham@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: An examination of the relationship between handle-forces and space requirements in four-caster manual vehicle manoeuvres
Supervisors: Prof Garth Johnson
Funding source: self-funded
Project Description: Four-caster manually manoeuvred vehicles have many functions including transporting assisted wheelchair users indoors to carry out essential daily living activities such as showering. While four-caster vehicle manoeuvres have been identified as hazardous (Health and Safety Executive 2004) no dynamic studies of manoeuvres exist. In the domestic setting, confined spaces, larger occupants and older assistants with reduced strength raises the possibility that manoeuvres could be injurious or abandoned if too difficult. This project examines the relationship between the applied forces and the space required during manoeuvres. The objective is to inform architectural design so that manoeuvring forces are minimised.
Pauline Addis
e-mail: pauline.addis@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: The role of tendon stiffness in the development and degeneration of locomotion in the equine athlete
Project Description: The high frequency of flexor tendon injury in horses leads to economical loss to an industry worth £4bn in the UK alone as well as concerns for equine welfare. Stiffness in the flexor tendons changes throughout the horse’s life, and since these tendons support the joints of the distal limb, it is likely that the kinematics of these joints are also age-dependent. This project investigated the changing kinematics in horses from youth to senescence, and has found that as tendon stiffness increases during growth, joint range of motion (RoM) decreases and towards old age, as tendons weaken, RoM increases.
Emma Kennard
e-mail: e.kennard@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: The study of retrieved total knee prostheses
Supervisor: Dr Tom Joyce
Funding source: School studentship (EPSRC DTA)
Project Description: There are 70,000 primary and 4,000 revision knee replacement procedures performed annually in the UK. A primary joint replacement costs circa £6,000 to £8,000 and a revision procedure, excluding a prolonged in-patient hospital stay and any other associated risks, may cost up to £25,000 resulting in an annual total UK cost for revision knee procedures standing at c£100 million. There is also the unavoidable social burden of surgery in an increasingly frail and older population and the impact of additional trauma for the patient. The above facts and figures succinctly highlight that there are definite financial, social and clinical needs for a thorough investigation into the failure modes of total knee replacements in order to help support future developments in prosthesis design and surgical techniques and treatments. The PhD involves taking failed knee prostheses and examining them to understand how and why they have failed and how they can therefore be improved.
James Lord
e-mail: j.k.lord@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: What can be learned from the analysis of failed prostheses?
Supervisors: Dr Tom Joyce
Funding source: EPSRC
Project Description: Prosthetic joints are becoming more common and are being implanted in younger patients, with over 71,000 hip replacements and over 75,000 knee replacements occurring in the UK in 2008. Even in successful operations with the most modern devices, failure is expected to occur. A major reason for this is wear at the bearing surface. This leads both to a need for revision surgery and potentially to serious medical issues. This project aims to create a novel way of accurately assessing volumetric wear on failed prostheses, investigate the factors which influence wear rates and suggest modifications to minimise failures for the benefit of patients.
Richard Morris
e-mail: r.g.morris@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: Is the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis linked to the kinematics of walking and the degeneration of the human shock absorber?
Supervisors: Dr Sian Lawson and Dr David Swailes
Funding source: Jersey Government, Institute of Mechanical Engineers
Personal webpage: http://research.ncl.ac.uk/crest
Project Description: The kinematics of walking are thought to play an important role in the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis. The Newcastle Thousand Families study is a unique cohort of people who have been tracked throughout their lives. Kinematic gait data is being collected on the cohort using inertial measurement units. A protocol to record the data in a clinical environment was developed and validated; and shown to provide repeatable measurement of walking kinematics. A model of “normal” and “osteoarthritic” walking is being formed and common kinematic features of walking thought to be linked to the development of osteoarthritis will be identified.
Cate Wilson
e-mail: cate.wilson@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: The effect of specific spinal exercises on the intervertebral disc
Supervisor: Dr Tom Joyce
Funding source: self-funded
Project Description: Low back pain affects 80% of people at some point during their life. The exercises and advice given to patients for low back pain are sometimes conflicting. Are patients being given sub-optimal therapy? Can we add scientific justification to exercises proposed for patients?
Oliver Warlow
e-mail: o.m.e.warlow@ncl.ac.uk
Nationality: British
Project Title: Biomechanical modelling of the hand - development and application to high loading conditions
Supervisors: Dr Sian Lawson and Dr John Hedley
Funding source: Internal MSE scholarship
Personal webpage: http://research.ncl.ac.uk/crest
Project Description: Development and application of finger biomechanical models to help prevent injury and improve function. I have a particular focus on high loading situations where trauma of the soft tissues can occur. It is not possible to directly measure internal loading between bones or the tension in muscles and tendons, so we must measure what we can externally and use mathematical models to calculate these internal forces. This type of modelling is still in the development stage for the fingers and there are plenty of new and existing technologies and opportunities to be explored to improve its accuracy and widen its applications.
Examples of recently completed research student projects:
- "Improving the metal-on-metal hip prosthesis"
James Kenneth Lord, awarded PhD October 2012, supervisor Prof TJ Joyce - "Forces Applied and Space Required Relationship for Four Caster Vehicle Manoeuvres"
Brian Abraham, awarded PhD July 2012, supervisor Prof GR Johnson - "Kinematic and anatomical measurement for biomechanical finger models"
Oliver Warlow, awarded PhD April 2012, supervisor Dr J Hedley - "Arthroplasty of the Shoulder: A Modelling-based Approach to the Design, Development and Testing of an Implant Range"
Ian Flatters, awarded MPhil March 2011, supervisor Prof GR Johnson - "Perception of Musculo-Skeletal Size Information from Motion for Visual Effects Applications in Two and Three Dimensions"
Pierfranscesco Celada, awarded PhD June 2010, supervisor Dr SEM Lawson - "Muscle Wrapping Techniques Applied to the Shoulder"
Stuart Marsden, awarded PhD April 2010, supervisor Prof GR Johnson