QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Collaboration improves health and environment

Improved bone surgery outcomes are the promise of Trauma and Regenerative Medicine Research by IHBI and Humboldt University. Improving outcomes for car accident victims and bone cancer patients is motivating joint research from the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and Humboldt Universität in Berlin. IHBI’s trauma and regenerative medicine group is working to revolutionise the treatment of large defects in bones through a research collaboration with Humboldt Universität. Large bone defects, or large sections of missing bone, are common following trauma such as car accidents, or surgery to remove cancerous bone. Regeneration of lost bone is essential to enable full recovery. The current best practice treatment involves the transplant of a bone graft from the iliac crest (hip bone) or fibula (calf bone) to the bone defect site to encourage bone regrowth. This process creates a number of challenges for the patient as it requires multiple surgeries, increases risk of infection and causes significant post-operative pain. The technique is also limited in terms of the defect size that can be repaired as only a small bone graft can be safely taken from the hip or calf. Researchers at IHBI and Humboldt Universität have developed a novel solution to this problem, utilising an off-the-shelf scaffold product which can be implanted at the defect site. The scaffold releases a potent bone stimulating drug (Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP)) which encourages the growth of new bone into the scaffold to heal the defect. This approach is less invasive than traditional techniques, reduces post-operative pain, decreases the risk of infection, and potentially offers a more cost-effective treatment option as scaffolds can be mass produced to fit most defects. The team has also developed techniques to enable the fabrication of custom scaffolds based on patient CT scans which would allow for the treatment of complex and severe bone defect cases. The scaffolds are entirely biodegradable and are completely replaced by natural bone within two or three years. IHBI researchers recently completed work to evaluate the new surgical methods and combination of scaffolds with BMP. Results to date show significantly greater bone formation and superior strength compared to the traditional graft treatment. IHBI’s trauma research group leader Professor Michael Schuetz says, “Our research is focused on ‘bench to bedside’ or rapid translation from basic research to implementation in clinical practice.” To ensure this translation into practice, the laboratory researchers have worked closely with cancer surgeon, Dr Ian Dickenson at the Wesley Hospital, and Professor Schuetz, in his orthopaedic practice at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Clinical trials are scheduled from early 2013 in Australia and Germany, where former IHBI PhD student Dr Johannes Reichert and current PhD student Dr Arne Berner will assist with clinical trials in the Trauma Departments of the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg and University of Regensburg, respectively. Building on the strong collaboration between QUT, Humboldt Universität and other leading German universities including Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, and Technische Universität Dresden, opportunities for students to participate in international joint PhD programs are now growing. This provides Queensland and German doctoral candidates with extensive opportunities to work with pre-eminent supervisors and they gain access to world-standard research facilities in both countries.

The Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) facility stands on QUT’s campus in Brisbane’s thriving inner-suburban Kelvin Grove Urban Village precinct.

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