Trinity’s Advanced Materials and Bio-engineering Research (AMBER) centre has launched a project to develop 3D-printed joint implants that will regenerate, rather than replace, diseased joints.
Amber will conduct the research in collaboration with DePuy Ireland Unlimited Company and Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. The project, TRANSITION, will span five years and is funded under Science Foundation Ireland’s Spokes programme.
Prof Danny Kelly, from Trinity’s School of Engineering, is the lead Principal Investigator on the project. In a press statement, he said that the project was “ambitious” in its aims to overcome the challenges involved with the 3D printing of biological components and metals.
TRANSITION aims to develop a new class of 3D-printed biological implants that will regenerate, rather than replace, diseased joints. This would transform the way medical practitioners treat diseases such as osteo-arthritis, which affects 10 per cent of the world’s population. The project team will develop a hybrid device consisting of a titanium core overlaid by a layer of engineered bone and articular cartilage. Such a device will be particularly suited to hip and knee implants and will offer both functionality and mechanical integrity.
The research will advance the underpinning science and technology of metal, polymer and biological 3D printing, as well as surface treatments and functional coatings. A key aim of the TRANSITION initiative is to develop a subset of products ready for clinical studies by the end of the five years.
The announcement was welcomed by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, who said in a press statement: “The TRANSITION collaboration is a step forward in the development of next generation medical devices. The combination of biologics and technology in medicine is an exciting field and I am delighted to see the SFI Research Centre AMBER leading the way for Ireland in this transformative sector.”
“Government is focused on supporting an environment that facilitates collaboration between industry and academia, bringing to bear the expertise and infrastructure within Ireland’s higher education institutions in the pursuit of significant advancement in global healthcare”, she said.
The TRANSITION team will make use of the two new laboratories established by AMBER in Ireland: the new AR-Lab (Additive Research) laboratory and the new 3D bioprinting laboratory funded by the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies and Trinity.
