Image supplied by authors
Engineers have developed a new class of smart textiles that can shape-shift and turn a two-dimensional material into 3D structures.
The team from UNSW Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering and Tyree Foundation Institute of Health Engineering and led by Dr Thanh Nho Do, have produced a material which is constructed from tiny soft artificial ‘muscles’ – which are long silicon tubes filled with fluid which are manipulated to move via hydraulics.
Potential applications for the material include use as a compression garment, as a wearable assistive device for those needing help with movement, and even as shape-shifting soft robots.
Professor Nigel Lovell, Director, Tyree IHealthE, commented: “Soft robots utilising our smart textile can shape shift and be implemented as a lifting mechanism, such as when rescuing people from collapsed buildings or other hazardous environments, or as a soft tubular gripper – in our experiments we could lift objects around 346 times the material’s own weight.”
Related content UNSW Media | New shape-shifting material can move like a robot Gizmodo Australia | Robotic Clothes? Check Out These Aussie-Made Smart Textiles Bendigo Advertiser | Shape-shifting textile which moves like a robot could help people walk again
News | 22nd June 2022
World first cochlear therapy
Professor Gary Housley, Chair of Physiology and Director of the Translational Neuroscience Facility, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW is also the Tyree IHealthE Medical Lead for the Bionics and Bio-robotics research pillar. Gary and his team of researchers from UNSW, the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne (Bionics Institute) and Macquarie University, with clinicians from NextSense and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH), Cochlear Ltd and collaborators in France and UK are working together on a world-first experiment that regenerates hearing cells to enhance the sound of cochlear implants.
Related content Watch the incredible story on Channel Nine News.
Events | 21st June 2022
Our first Morning Tea with IHealthE! We had over 40 people attend the first Morning Tea with IHealthE | Connected Health in the pandemic. Prof Nigel Lovell and Dr Peter Brown talked about their experience of implementing remote monitoring solutions to support over 4,000 Covid-19 positive patients in the community through the TCC-Covid App, patient-centric smartphone care. Nigel and Peter shared how important collaboration with clinicians and the end-user is in creating solutions that work and support the community.
The Morning Tea with IHealthE series is an informal session that will be held monthly. The talks are a great way to meet others, discover new projects, and hear experiences and lessons from a range of speakers; with plenty of time for discussion.
Thank you to everyone who attended and thank you GSBME for capturing some pics on the day!
News | 9th March 2022
Connected Health: in the pandemic
The COVID-19 virus emerged at the start of 2020, highly infectious and with no immediate vaccine or treatment solutions available.
Associate Professor Sze-Yuan Ooi, and a team of infectious disease and respiratory specialists, worked with the TeleClinical Care team to develop TCC-COVID, an app that allows clinicians to monitor symptoms in COVID-positive patients. This App helps to limit the spread of the virus by supporting those with mild to moderate risk to be cared for at home, while enabling them to respond quickly to those who showed signs of deterioration.
Early in the virus, TCC-COVID was used by a limited number of patients willing to take part in a clinical trial. When the second wave arrived in 2021, the TCC team moved quickly to negotiate with the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) to have the App approved for widespread implementation across the South Eastern Sydney LHD.
Related content Read an interview with Dr Kristen Overton who shares her experiences of using TCC-Covid with patients during the pandemic A/Prof Sze-Yuan Ooi discusses the TCC Program and the importance of engaging clinicians. Read the full interview.
News | 11th October 2021
Inaugural Tyree IHealthE Catalyst Awards winners announced
The inaugural Tyree IHeallthE Catalyst Awards in Connected Health, address how technology and data systems can support patient needs in a holistic way, from the hospital to the home. The five successful projects reflected principles of co-design, prioritising end-user engagement, and demonstrated strong collaboration with clinical researchers. Congratulations to everyone involved!
IHealthE is pleased to be partnering with HealthHatchery at Maridulu Budyari Gumal, The Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE), to facilitate the innovation process through CIMIT (Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology), a successful model for accelerating translational medical research, developed by a consortia in Boston.
You can read a full list of the winners and their projects here.
For more information on the Catalyst Awards, please email Jacqueline Wells