Biomechanics and wear of a novel modular tray for an all-polymer total knee replacement at University of Leeds
Job Description
Funding
EPSRC CASE Competition Studentship in partnership with Invibio Ltd, offering the award of fees, together with a tax-free maintenance grant of £19,237 and an additional Top-Up of £3,300 per year for 3.5 years. Training and support will also be provided.
Lead Supervisor’s full name & email address
Professor Louise Jennings – l.m.jennings@leeds.ac.uk
Co-supervisor name(s)
Dr Raelene Cowie – r.cowie@leeds.ac.uk
Dr Adam Briscoe – a.b.briscoe@leeds.ac.uk
Project summary
Do you want to make a difference in patients’ lives? Are you interested in medical technologies innovation? Do you want to collaborate with industry? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you should consider this PhD studentship opportunity offered by the University of Leeds in partnership with Invibio Limited, a proven development partner and leader of biomaterials solutions.
About the Project
25% of patients who receive a conventional metal-on-polyethylene Total Knee Replacement report problems during the first year after their operation, and rising demand for improved performance coming from younger more active patients presents a major challenge. A novel all-polymer knee replacement, comprising PEEK-OPTIMA-on-polyethylene, has been developed by Invibio Limited to address these challenges. It is expected products such as this will deliver the innovation needed to treat musculoskeletal diseases, provide better quality of life, ensure higher standards of affordable healthcare, and drive economic growth by bringing new orthopaedic products to market that help tackle national and global health challenges.
To date, the all-polymer knee replacement has used an all-polyethylene tibial component. However, clinical preference is for a modular design, where a polyethylene insert would clip into a PEEK tray. The implications of a modular PEEK tibial tray in terms of joint biomechanics and wear are unknown, and the aim of this research is to explore the biomechanical and tribological implications at the articulating surface and interface of the tibial tray.
References
None
Please state your entry requirements plus any necessary or desired background
First or Upper Second Class UK Bachelor (Honours) or equivalent, ideally from an Engineering or Materials Science background
Subject Area
Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering
