Research areas

Advanced imaging technologies, supported by bioinformatics and big data extraction, allow images from the most inaccessible environments of the living body to be turned into reliable scientific findings.

Advanced manufacturing is the use of innovative technologies to improve products performance and reduce the cost of production. Biological advanced manufacturing is the production of structured multi-functional biomaterials, from single molecules to cell populations.

Biomaterials are substances engineered to interface with the body for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes. Traditionally these include metals (eg. hip implants), ceramics (eg. dental implants) and polymers (eg. vascular grafts), but can also include complex materials such as decellularized tissue, engineered cell sheets, nanoparticles, etc.

The biomechanics of human movement investigates a person’s physical performance. Our research focuses on the biomechanics of human movement in the presence of a medical device and on the performance of people with amputation, and other medical conditions such as cerebral palsy and stroke.

Bionics brings the worlds of biology and electronics together. Bionics includes the development of neural prostheses that address a range of sensory and neurological disorders, through artificial stimulation of neurons.

Biosensing refers to sensing signals from the body using a human-machine interface. The signals can range from the activity of thousands of neurons to specific chemicals present in the blood and brain.

Nanotechnology offers major opportunities in the area of cancer diagnostics and treatment. Working at the interface of chemistry and physics, we are pioneering new and exciting approaches to targeted and triggered therapeutics and cancer-specific imaging.

Cell technologies includes the production, reprogramming or genetic editing of cells for the development of cell therapies or therapeutics produced by cells.

Computational modelling is a powerful tool used to simulate complex physiological systems and their interaction with medical devices.

Integrated medical devices are a window to the body that allow digital personalised health monitoring, and management from point-of-care testing to in vivo monitoring.

Robots are being developed to serve in a variety of roles within the medical environment, including surgical robots, rehabilitation robots, assistive care robots, and industrial robots for routine tasks, such as sterilizing rooms and delivering medication, medical supplies and equipment.

Neural interfaces are artificial materials that interact with neurons of the body, for example the electrodes of a neural prosthesis or biomaterials that release drugs. Neural interfaces are an essential part of many bionic devices.

Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering aims to restore, maintain or improve tissue and organ function lost due to age, disease, injury, or congenital defects. This can include stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms or assembly of functional tissue constructs outside the body.

Telemonitoring is the use of information technology to monitor patients remotely, providing health care services without using hospital beds, and addressing the needs of an ageing population.