ANNUAL REVIEW | 2016
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Widening our impact
Our expertise in translating medical technologies is one reason why we are a good match for Arthritis Research UK, the biggest funder of research into the cause, treatment and cure for all forms of arthritis in the UK.
Flourishing partnerships and networks set up by the Medical Technologies IKC have established it as a national centre that is engaging with universities, industrial partners and charities across the UK.
Our expertise in translating medical technologies is one reason why we are a good match for Arthritis Research UK, the biggest funder of research into the cause, treatment and cure for all forms of arthritis in the UK.
A two-year pilot collaboration with Arthritis Research UK launched in 2014 offered proof of concept grants for applied and translational research that addressed a clear clinical need and could help improve the lives of people with arthritis.
Three projects were each awarded £ 100,000 from Arthritis Research
UK for a maximum two-year period, and were jointly managed by both organisations.
While the IKC was able to contribute industry and scientific know-how required to move technologies towards the marketplace, Arthritis Research UK also shared its expertise in patient involvement, enabling patients to play a role in designing the technologies that will improve their lives.
“ For us, it bridged the gap in our grant portfolio between fundamental research and early stage clinical trials,” said Dr Sarah Odoi, Research Translation Manager at Arthritis Research UK.“ The IKC team are dedicated, knowledgeable and have the right contacts in the market and we’ ve been particularly pleased and encouraged by the partnerships with industry that the projects have had. We believe there’ s real momentum building with these pilot projects and the potential to see these reaching the market.”
In 2016, a further £ 500,000 has been made available for new projects.
Healing large joint defects |
Developing new methods of repairing large osteochondral defects in knee joints is drawing together veterinary scientists from the University of Cambridge and engineers from Newcastle University, with JRI Orthopaedics and GTS. |
These types of large defect can be caused by osteoarthritis or through sporting injuries and affect around 2.3 million working-age people each year.
The team has developed a twopart scaffold material developed at Newcastle, made from a macro / microporous bioceramic with an integrated biopolymer surface. The device matches very closely the mechanical properties of cartilage and subchondral bone. Data taken from the patient’ s x-rays and CT scans is used to 3D print the implants so they fit the precise contour of the patient’ s joints.
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Dr Frances Henson, who is leading the project in Cambridge, explains:“ The deep holes caused by large osteochondral defects pass through very different types of tissue, so we need this two-part scaffold to secure the implant and encourage healing.”
The team is investigating the performance of the scaffold in sheep to analyse whether the technology can progress to a‘ first in man’ clinical trial.
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