About the project
Osteoarthritis is a condition with no cure that affects millions. For hand osteoarthritis, there are even fewer treatment options available. There is currently very limited ability to mimic living hand joints, meaning we struggle to trial new innovative treatments in a risk-free environment. This project aims to change this.
The lack of a ‘living hand model’ really does stifle innovation, as we struggle to get new ideas tested and demonstrate how they can help people. This project supports a longer-term goal of creating a living model of the human hand in the lab. One particular challenge is creating joint cartilage that is as stiff as in nature – a key deficiency in ‘lab grown’ cartilage currently. You'll use X-ray images of human hands to create accurate moulds in which to grow human cartilage in the exact shape of human joint cartilage.
You'll then grow it under the conditions of natural joint movement by using a loading system that replicates hand movements, monitored by a computer model to ensure accuracy and help interpret results. We hypothesise that more accurately recreating the natural joint will improve the stiffness of the cartilage that grows, but you will see if this is right or not. If successful, this project will create a platform that could better understand the factors causing hand OA and test emerging treatments.
This project is supported by an enthusiastic and committed supervisory team from bioengineering and biology. Between us we have a good level of supervisory experience and wide network to draw upon. We are confident that an engineer with a keen mind, who is motivated by the work, will be able to upskill themselves to be able to make a real contribution with this work.
You'll join interdisciplinary team where you will learn about cartilage biology and pathology, and develop skills in:
- image analysis
- 3D printing
- bioengineering
- biomechanics.
You will also join the UK Network Arthritis UK - Centre for Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis (former Versus Arthritis) attending weekly online meetings, annual patient showcase and bi-annual osteoarthritis conference.
