Additive manufacturing of advanced medical devices for cartilage regeneration: minimally invasive early intervention
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
No current surgical technique can regenerate articular cartilage and no current device can mimic the properties of cartilage. This Partnership will accelerate delivery of an innovative medical device for healing cartilage that will cross a frontier in orthopaedic surgery, allowing regeneration of articular cartilage rather than replacement. The device will restore cartilage to its healthy state. The surgical technique will be optimised through a new precise and minimally invasive keyhole technique. Patients will be able to use their knee immediately after the operation and recovery time will be rapid.
Osteoarthritis affects 1 in 4 people, is debilitating and costs >£3bn in UK lost economic productivity, >£2.4bn in out-of-work benefits and contributes to the NHS's £5.4bn annual spend on musculoskeletal disorders. Current treatment for severe osteoarthritis is total joint replacement and current best practice for cartilage impact damage is microfracture, which involves drilling into bone to liberate the marrow, which can form weak fibrous cartilage over the defect. Early intervention is important as complete degeneration results in total joint replacement. The problem is that the cartilage only lasts 2-5 years before the procedure must be repeated and total joint replacements are major operations, which involve removing a lot of tissue, and last 15-25 years.
Previous EPSRC research grants by Jones led to the invention of a new type of material that produced unique properties in terms of strength, flexibility and biodegradation. In fact, the mechanical properties can be precisely selected to match cartilage or bone. The material can also self heal. When 3-D printed, the material is able to instruct cartilage cells to produce articular cartilage rather than fibrous cartilage. Imperial Innovations submitted a patent, providing a strong IP position.
Our Healthcare Impact Partnership will bring expertise in biomechanics, precision surgery, medical device manufacture, technology transfer and regulatory procedures and product delivery. The team will evaluate the device and develop manufacturing capability, producing cost-effective, reliable and effective medical devices. Surgery will be tested in cadaver knees for how they fit and ensure they can provide an immediate articular surface. Then, biological testing will determine whether our hypothesis that the device can guide the regeneration of the cartilage under joint loading.
Eventually, surgeons will be able to send implant design specifications to the medical device company and receive a bespoke, patient specific device within a few days.
Osteoarthritis affects 1 in 4 people, is debilitating and costs >£3bn in UK lost economic productivity, >£2.4bn in out-of-work benefits and contributes to the NHS's £5.4bn annual spend on musculoskeletal disorders. Current treatment for severe osteoarthritis is total joint replacement and current best practice for cartilage impact damage is microfracture, which involves drilling into bone to liberate the marrow, which can form weak fibrous cartilage over the defect. Early intervention is important as complete degeneration results in total joint replacement. The problem is that the cartilage only lasts 2-5 years before the procedure must be repeated and total joint replacements are major operations, which involve removing a lot of tissue, and last 15-25 years.
Previous EPSRC research grants by Jones led to the invention of a new type of material that produced unique properties in terms of strength, flexibility and biodegradation. In fact, the mechanical properties can be precisely selected to match cartilage or bone. The material can also self heal. When 3-D printed, the material is able to instruct cartilage cells to produce articular cartilage rather than fibrous cartilage. Imperial Innovations submitted a patent, providing a strong IP position.
Our Healthcare Impact Partnership will bring expertise in biomechanics, precision surgery, medical device manufacture, technology transfer and regulatory procedures and product delivery. The team will evaluate the device and develop manufacturing capability, producing cost-effective, reliable and effective medical devices. Surgery will be tested in cadaver knees for how they fit and ensure they can provide an immediate articular surface. Then, biological testing will determine whether our hypothesis that the device can guide the regeneration of the cartilage under joint loading.
Eventually, surgeons will be able to send implant design specifications to the medical device company and receive a bespoke, patient specific device within a few days.
Planned Impact
The Partnership will accelerate the delivery of a new innovative medical device that can regenerate hyaline cartilage and restore the articular surface through minimally invasive early intervention, by beginning the translation of advanced materials that have unprecedented properties.
This partnership will benefit: patients, orthopaedic surgeons, and health services (e.g. the NHS) in a 5-20 year timeframe. This is important as it is expected that a third of workers will be over 50 by 2020. Specific impact targets are:
1. A new option for surgeons to treat chondral injury. This is often observed during anterior cruciate ligament repair surgery, which is performed approximately 3 million times annually worldwide;
2. Increased quality and longevity of chondral repair. Current best practice generates fibrocartilage with inferior mechanical properties to the desired hyaline cartilage. Hyaline cartilage repair will withstand joint loading better.
3. Reduced osteoarthritis (OA) progression. Early correction of the cartilage damage will restore the natural biomechanical loading of the joint. Changes in joint loading contribute to the degenerative process.
4. The population will be active for longer. Patients will benefit from improved healing and accelerated recovery, which will benefit the UK economy by reducing operation and hospital stay costs and the time it takes for patients to return to work.
Early interventional joint preserving surgery is a growing sector in the orthopaedic market and achieving points 1-4 above will increase the uptake of this surgery. If this is achieved, further impact will be:
- Delay in need for joint replacement. OA results in 180 000 hip and knee replacements performed annually by the NHS( >1M worldwide). They only last 15-25 years and as life expectancy increases, more are revised. The cost to the NHS of a hip or knee replacement (including surgery, implant, hospital stay and rehabilitation) is approximately £10,000, neglecting the economic cost of lost working days. By making a small repair, before the joint is irreparably damaged, joint preserving techniques allow a far less invasive and traumatic surgery, less rehabilitation and if patients can be discharged the same day, could be performed at a fraction of the cos.
- Commercial opportunity for chondral repair device which would be a huge growth market. The UK has a strong orthopaedic industry base, and is well placed to take this opportunity for economic benefit to UK plc.
The research is also structured to plan for secondary, lower risk, impact. By proving that matching stiffness of a device improves osteochondral repair and fixation, we will have developed a method for manufacturing conventional joint replacement implants that will enable joint replacements with lower profile fixation features. This reduce bone removal and give a better physiological load transfer to bone. Patients would benefit by:
- Improved proprioception and activity levels for patients after total joint replacement
- Reduced pain after joint replacement - this is currently the second most common cause of revision.
- New opportunities in joint replacement implant design.
The long-term impact will be judged on whether devices reach the clinic. We will develop a translation pathway to map progress through technology readiness (TR) levels from 1 to 10, where 10 is a clinical product. The pathway will include: proving efficacy; sourcing raw materials, manufacturing to GMP standards; risk analysis; biological risk assessment and testing; clinical trials; distribution etc. By the end of the grant we expect to have taken the device from TR level 2 to 4. A key aspect is longevity of the Partnership beyond the 3 years. The engagement partners will invest more resources once we are at TR4 and more partners will be recruited where needed.
This partnership will benefit: patients, orthopaedic surgeons, and health services (e.g. the NHS) in a 5-20 year timeframe. This is important as it is expected that a third of workers will be over 50 by 2020. Specific impact targets are:
1. A new option for surgeons to treat chondral injury. This is often observed during anterior cruciate ligament repair surgery, which is performed approximately 3 million times annually worldwide;
2. Increased quality and longevity of chondral repair. Current best practice generates fibrocartilage with inferior mechanical properties to the desired hyaline cartilage. Hyaline cartilage repair will withstand joint loading better.
3. Reduced osteoarthritis (OA) progression. Early correction of the cartilage damage will restore the natural biomechanical loading of the joint. Changes in joint loading contribute to the degenerative process.
4. The population will be active for longer. Patients will benefit from improved healing and accelerated recovery, which will benefit the UK economy by reducing operation and hospital stay costs and the time it takes for patients to return to work.
Early interventional joint preserving surgery is a growing sector in the orthopaedic market and achieving points 1-4 above will increase the uptake of this surgery. If this is achieved, further impact will be:
- Delay in need for joint replacement. OA results in 180 000 hip and knee replacements performed annually by the NHS( >1M worldwide). They only last 15-25 years and as life expectancy increases, more are revised. The cost to the NHS of a hip or knee replacement (including surgery, implant, hospital stay and rehabilitation) is approximately £10,000, neglecting the economic cost of lost working days. By making a small repair, before the joint is irreparably damaged, joint preserving techniques allow a far less invasive and traumatic surgery, less rehabilitation and if patients can be discharged the same day, could be performed at a fraction of the cos.
- Commercial opportunity for chondral repair device which would be a huge growth market. The UK has a strong orthopaedic industry base, and is well placed to take this opportunity for economic benefit to UK plc.
The research is also structured to plan for secondary, lower risk, impact. By proving that matching stiffness of a device improves osteochondral repair and fixation, we will have developed a method for manufacturing conventional joint replacement implants that will enable joint replacements with lower profile fixation features. This reduce bone removal and give a better physiological load transfer to bone. Patients would benefit by:
- Improved proprioception and activity levels for patients after total joint replacement
- Reduced pain after joint replacement - this is currently the second most common cause of revision.
- New opportunities in joint replacement implant design.
The long-term impact will be judged on whether devices reach the clinic. We will develop a translation pathway to map progress through technology readiness (TR) levels from 1 to 10, where 10 is a clinical product. The pathway will include: proving efficacy; sourcing raw materials, manufacturing to GMP standards; risk analysis; biological risk assessment and testing; clinical trials; distribution etc. By the end of the grant we expect to have taken the device from TR level 2 to 4. A key aspect is longevity of the Partnership beyond the 3 years. The engagement partners will invest more resources once we are at TR4 and more partners will be recruited where needed.
Organisations
- Imperial College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- Nagoya Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- University of Milano-Bicocca (Collaboration)
- Orthox Ltd (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF READING (Collaboration)
- ORTHONIKA LIMITED (Collaboration)
- Evonik Industries (Collaboration)
- Noraker (Project Partner)
- Embody Orthopaedic (Project Partner)
- Renishaw (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Touchstone Innovations (Project Partner)
- Johnson Matthey (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
Publications
Akhbari P
(2020)
Can joint fluid metabolic profiling (or "metabonomics") reveal biomarkers for osteoarthritis and inflammatory joint disease?: A systematic review.
in Bone & joint research
Clark JN
(2020)
Propagation phase-contrast micro-computed tomography allows laboratory-based three-dimensional imaging of articular cartilage down to the cellular level.
in Osteoarthritis and cartilage
Clark JN
(2021)
High resolution three-dimensional strain measurements in human articular cartilage.
in Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials
Clark JN
(2020)
Exploratory Full-Field Mechanical Analysis across the Osteochondral Tissue-Biomaterial Interface in an Ovine Model.
in Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
Clark JN
(2020)
Quantifying 3D Strain in Scaffold Implants for Regenerative Medicine.
in Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
Edwards TC
(2021)
Predictors of Pediatric Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: The Influence of Steep Lateral Posterior Tibial Slope and Its Relationship to the Lateral Meniscus.
in Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association
Ferreira S
(2024)
3D printed hybrid scaffolds do not induce adverse inflammation in mice and direct human BM-MSC chondrogenesis in vitro
in Biomaterials and Biosystems
Heyraud A
(2023)
3D printed hybrid scaffolds for bone regeneration using calcium methoxyethoxide as a calcium source
in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Jaggard MKJ
(2020)
Can metabolic profiling provide a new description of osteoarthritis and enable a personalised medicine approach?
in Clinical rheumatology
Jaggard MKJ
(2023)
The effect of liquid-liquid extraction on metabolite detection and analysis using NMR spectroscopy in human synovial fluid.
in Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
Li S
(2020)
Scaffold channel size influences stem cell differentiation pathway in 3-D printed silica hybrid scaffolds for cartilage regeneration.
in Biomaterials science
Parkes M
(2021)
Tribological evaluation of a novel hybrid for repair of articular cartilage defects.
in Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications
Tallia F
(2022)
Bioactive, Degradable and Tough Hybrids Through Calcium and Phosphate Incorporation
in Frontiers in Materials
Tallia F
(2018)
Bouncing and 3D printable hybrids with self-healing properties
in Materials Horizons
Tallia Francesca
(2023)
3D printed hybrid for articular cartilage regeneration: from design to
in vivo studies
in TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A
Young G
(2023)
Hybrid materials with continuous mechanical property gradients that can be 3D printed
in Materials Today Advances
Øvrebø Ø
(2022)
Design and clinical application of injectable hydrogels for musculoskeletal therapy.
in Bioengineering & translational medicine
Description | New device for testing tribology of our implants against cartilage. PCL/Silica hybrids can be 3D printed into scaffolds suitable for knee cartilage regeneration, including matching the tribology to native cartilage. A 3D scaffold can be 3D printed into the back of the bearing surface to produce an osteochondral device. Our scaffolds work well in vitro to stimulate cartilage growth. The first generation devices were implanted in in vivo studies. The pilot study showed good cartilage ingrowth into the device. A full study has been carried out but analysis is ongoing Silica/polymer hybrids can be made into intervertebral disc replacements with stiffness gradients or moulded into the shape of a meniscus and have been integrated with porous Ti metal plugs |
Exploitation Route | We have a Healthcare Impact Partnership of Surgeons, academics and industry working on technology transfer |
Sectors | Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
Description | We developed a 3D printed device for cartilage regeneration, finding that a specific pore channel size promoted stem cells down a cartilage route, producing high quality cartilage matrix A sheep study shows this may be reproduced in vivo We are processing the histology results of the animal study and presented the findings to Zimmer Biomet and Orthox Ltd. for evaluation as to whether they will invest further in the technology transfer. Imperial College are funding maintenance of the patent and we responding to international patent office reports. Patent approved in USA and EU. Imperial College Enterprise funded a 6 months project (DT-Prime) to pump prime translation of our cartilage regeneration device. Francesca Tallia was funded as an Imperial College MedTechOne Fellow through an MRC block grant to work on translation |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | 3D printing multifunctional devices without internal interfaces for cartilage repair |
Amount | £615,329 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/W034093/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2023 |
End | 12/2025 |
Description | Biodegradable hybrid screws for ligament-bone interface regeneration |
Amount | £1,119,981 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S025782/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2019 |
End | 05/2023 |
Description | Imperial College Enterprise DT-Prime |
Amount | £65,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 07/2022 |
Description | NIHR Global Health Research Global Health Research Group on POsT Conflict Trauma; PrOTeCT |
Amount | £1,880,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 1613745 |
Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2017 |
End | 10/2020 |
Description | NIHR Global Health Research Group on POsT Conflict Trauma in Sri Lanka and Gaza (PrOTeCT), cost extension |
Amount | £48,381,254 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 1613745 |
Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2020 |
End | 07/2021 |
Description | Translation of Bouncy Bioglass towards Spinout |
Amount | £68,415 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/X52556X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2022 |
End | 11/2023 |
Title | Tribology of hybrids against cartilage |
Description | A tribology testing rig that allows testing of our materials and devices for wear resistance in a model of a joint, including against natural (bovine) cartilage in fluid. |
Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - in vitro |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | ability to test osteochondral regeneration devices in an accurate model of the human joint. reduction in the need for animal testing |
Description | Medical devices for cartilage regeneration |
Organisation | Orthox Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Orthox are interested in commercialising our scaffolds for cartilage regeneration. We have provided technical input and shared our data under a non disclosure agreement |
Collaborator Contribution | Input into design of device, development of technology for surgical delivery and advise on technology transfer strategy. |
Impact | No outputs yet |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Meniscus replacement |
Organisation | Orthonika Limited |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Orthonika have IP on a method for anchoring a replacement meniscus device to host bone and are looking for a next generation material for the meniscus. we have been working on shaping our hybrid materials to the shape of a meniscus and incorporation of their device. |
Collaborator Contribution | Orthonika have supplied their materials and are testing the new device, e.g. the surface tribology. |
Impact | Orthonika have IP on a method for anchoring a replacement meniscus device to host bone and are looking for a next generation material for the meniscus. we have been working on shaping our hybrid materials to the shape of a meniscus, on the surface tribology and incorporation of their device. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Nanocomposites for bone regeneration |
Organisation | Nagoya Institute of Technology |
Country | Japan |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Julian Jones was appointed Visiting Professor, giving an annual seminar at Nagoya Institute of Technology. Post doctoral researcher Gowsihan Poologasaundarampillai employed at Nagoya Institute of Technology for 18 months, PhD student Sen Lin appointed as a post doctoral researcher at Nagoya Institute of Technology for 12 months. Hosted Dr Akiko Obata (Assistant Professor) for 1 year , Jin Nakamura (PhD student) for 1 year and Sungho Lee (PhD Student) for 3 months. Maria Nelson and Lizzie Norris (PhD students) visited Nagoya for 3 Months each. Anthony Macon employed from Jones' group as an Assistant Professor. Hosted 4 Masters students from NiTech. Associate Professors Akiko Obata and Toshihisa Mizuno joined Jones' group for 2 months and 1 year respectively. |
Collaborator Contribution | Exchange Programme funded through JSPS Sent 9 researchers to Julian Jones' research group Employed a post doctoral researcher and a phd student from Julian Jones' research group Employed and Assistant Professor from Julian Jones' group |
Impact | Maçon, A. L. B., Lee, S., Poologasundarampillai, G., Kasuga, T., Jones, J. R. "Synthesis and dissolution behaviour of CaO/SrO-containing sol-gel-derived 58S glasses" Journal of Materials Science, 2017, DOI: 10.1007/s10853-017-0869-0.Wang, J., Zhou, P., Obata, A., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T. "Preparation of cotton-wool-like poly(lactic acid)-based composites consisting of core-shell-type fibers", Materials. 2015: 8: 7979-7987, DOI :10.3390/ma8115434 Gao, C. X., Ito, S., Obata, A., Mizuno, T., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T. "Fabrication and in vitro characterization of electrospun poly (gamma-glutamic acid)-silica hybrid scaffolds for bone regeneration" Polymer, 2016: 91:106-117. DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2016.03.056. Wang, J., Zhou, P., Obata, A., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T. "Preparation of cotton-wool-like poly(lactic acid)-based composites consisting of core-shell-type fibers", Materials. 2015: 8: 7979-7987, DOI :10.3390/ma8115434. Poologasundarampillai, G., Wang, D., Li, S., Nakamura, J., Bradley, R., Lee, P. D., Stevens, M. M., McPhail, D. S., Kasuga, T., Jones, J. R., "Cotton-wool-like bioactive glasses for bone regeneration", Acta Biomaterialia, 2014: 10: 3733-3746. Obata, A., Ito, S., Iwanag, N., Mizuno, T., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T. "Poly(?-glutamic acid)-silica hybrids with fibrous structure: effect of cation and silica concentration on molecular structure, degradation rate and tensile properties" RSC Advances, 2014: DOI: 10.1039/c4ra08777a. Wang, D., Poologasundarampillai, G., van den Bergh, W., Chater, R., Kasuga, T., Jones, J. R., McPhail, D. S. "Strategies for the chemical analysis of highly porous bone scaffolds using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)" Biomedical Materials, 2014: 9 (1): 015013. Nakamura, J., Poologasundarampillai, G., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T. "Tracking the formation of vaterite particles containing aminopropyl-functionalized silsesquioxane and their structure for bone regenerative medicine" Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2013: 1: 35: 4446-4454. Obata, A. Ozasa, H., Kasuga, T., Jones, J. R. "Cotton wool-like poly(lactic acid)/vaterite composite scaffolds releasing soluble silica for bone tissue engineering" Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 2013: 24: 1649-1658. Fujikura, K., Obata, A., Lin, S., Jones, J. R., Law, R. V., Kasuga, T. "Preparation of electrospun poly(lactic acid)-based hybrids containing siloxane-doped vaterite particles for bone regeneration" Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition 2012: 23:10, 1369-1380 Obata, A. Hasegawa, D., Nakamura, J., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T. "Induction of hydroxycarbonate apatite formation on polyethylene or alumina substrates by spherical vaterite particles deposition", Materials Science and Engineering C, 2012: 32: 1976 - 1981. Obata, A., Jones, J. R., Akiyoshi, S., Kasuga, T. "Sintering and crystallization of phosphate glasses by CO2-Laser irradiation on hydroxyapatite ceramics" International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, 2012: 9: 541-549. Obata, A., Hashimoto, T., Kasuga, T., Jones, J. R. "Hydroxyapatite coatings incorporating silicon ion releasing system on titanium prepared by using water glass and vaterite" Journal of American Ceramics Society, 2011: 94 (7): 2074-2079. Wakita, T. Obata, A., Poologasundarampillai, G., Jones, J. R., Kasuga, T., "Preparation of siloxane-containing poly(lactic acid)-vaterite hybrid membranes for guided bone regeneration" Composites Science and Technology, 2010: 70: 1889-1893. |
Start Year | 2009 |
Description | Reactions of organosilanes in the sol-gel process |
Organisation | University of Milano-Bicocca |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | PhD students Louise Connell, Oliver Mahony and Francesca Tallia visited Bicocca to understand the reactivity of the organosilane GPTMS Hosted PhD student Laura Russo |
Collaborator Contribution | Laura Russo developed a new hybrid based on Silica and PEG Hosted Louise Connell and Oliver Mahony and investigated the reaction of GPTMS with water and nucleophiles Tall developed a new hybrid with self-healing properties |
Impact | EPSRC Healthcare Impact Partnership Grant "Additive manufacturing of advanced medical devices for cartilage regeneration: minimally invasive early intervention" Connell, L. S., Gabrielli, L., Mahony, O., Russo, L., Cipolla, L., Jones, J. R. "Functionalizing natural polymers with alkoxysilane coupling agents: reacting 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane with poly(?-glutamic acid) and gelatin" Polymer Chemistry, 2017: 8: 1095-1103, DOI: 10.1039/c6py01425a. Gabrielli, L., Connell, L. S., Russo, L., Jiménez-Barbero, J., Nicotra, F., Cipolla, L., Jones, J. R. Exploring GPTMS reactivity against simple nucleophiles: chemistry beyond hybrid materials fabrication, RSC Advances, 2014: 4: 1841 - 1848. Russo, L., Gabrielli, L., Valliant, E. M., Nicotra, F., Jiménez-Barbero, J., Cipolla, L., Jones, J. R. "Novel silica/bis(3-aminopropyl) polyethylene glycol inorganic/organic hybrids by sol-gel chemistry" Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2013:140: 168-175. Gabrielli, L., Russo, L. Poveda, A., Jones, J. R., Nicotra, F., Jiménez-Barbero, J., Cipolla, L. "Epoxide opening versus silica condensation during sol-gel hybrid biomaterial synthesis", Chemistry, a European Journal, 2013: 19: 7856-7864. |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Supramolecular polymers for 3D printing |
Organisation | University of Reading |
Department | School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Cellular response studies to new polymers for ink development |
Collaborator Contribution | Development of new supramolecular polymers |
Impact | Hart, L., Li, S., Sturgess, C., Wildman, R., Jones, J. R., Hayes, W. "3D printing of biocompatible supramolecular polymers and their composites" ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b10471. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Synthesis of bouncy bioglass inks for 3D printing medical devices |
Organisation | Evonik Industries |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have developed a biomaterial with unique mechanical and biomedical properties for cartilage regeneration. Evonik supply raw materials to medical device companies |
Collaborator Contribution | Evonik are working on the industrial synthesis process |
Impact | Investment of £65k from Imperial College Enterprise DT Prime to advance translation |
Start Year | 2021 |
Title | HYBRID MATERIALS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF |
Description | The invention relates to inorganic-organic hydrid materials comprising interpenetrated organic and inorganic components, wherein the organic component comprises polymer chains formed at least in part by ring-opening polymerization of a cyclic monomer, and processes for the production thereof. |
IP Reference | WO2017168168 |
Protection | Patent / Patent application |
Year Protection Granted | 2017 |
Licensed | No |
Impact | Healthcare Impact Partnership grant from the EPSRC and partnership with surgeons and industry to begin technology transfer Granted in USA and EU Pending in EU Further funding from : 2017: NIHR Global Health Research Group on POsT Conflict Trauma in Sri Lanka; PrOTeCT, National Institute for Health (1613745) £2.4 M 2022: Imperial College DT Prime "A medical device for cartilage regeneration", £65k 2022: UKRI IAA grant "Translation of Bouncy Bioglass towards Spinout" £94k over 1 year |
Description | Children's BBC Operation Ouch! episode |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | CBBC Operation Ouch! Hospital Takeover Series 5, Episode 9 A child was featured in the programme who had had an operation involving a bone graft. The presenter came to my lab to film the making of bioglass and to film an interview explaining how it works and our future developments in the area, such as 3D printing |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
Description | Chris Xand and Drake Award Pilot in Primary Schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The Chris Xand and Drake Award raises awareness of STEM subjects in schools, including Materials Science. I arranged mentors for two primary schools for the scheme |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.chrisxanddrake.com |
Description | Daily Mail article featuring our work on hybrid biomaterials |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Daily Mail article featuring our work on hybrid biomaterials |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Exhibition for future materials Jaguar Land Rover |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Supplied bioactive glass scaffolds for an Exhibition for future materials set up by Jaguar Land Rover |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.jaguarlandrover.com |
Description | Magazine Article |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Article for February 2024 issue of National Geographic. Julian Jones assisted the author with the scientific content, based on Bouncy Bioglass. Francesca Tallia and Agathe Heyraud provided samples for photography and assisted with the photo shoot. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/issue/february-2024 |
Description | Pint of Science science festival talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Pint of Science science festival talk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/fixing-our-body |
Description | Radio Programme on BBC Radio 4 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Appearance on BBC Radio 4's In their Element, talking about the role of Lithium in glass with Prof Sophie Scott |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pdzxq |
Description | Segment on BBC Radio |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | BBC Radio 4's In Business, talking about 3D printing of biomaterials with presenter Peter Day. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | UN International Year of Glass 2022 pitch/launch video broadcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Video broadcast created to pitch to the UN to make 2022 the International Year of Glass. The video included footage at Imperial College on bioglasss and bouncy bioglass. The proposal was successful. The initial pitch was viewed by the UN council and 13k views online (YouTube) The video was also used to launch the International Year of Glass activities and received a further 2k views. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ZEaWvlz6k |