Uni bid for 3D medical mecca
GRIFFITH University is planning to build a medical mecca where 3D printed body parts and instruments will be personalised for patient needs.
If approved by the government, the multi-million-dollar Advanced Design and Manufacturing Institute will be built on land near the Gold Coast University and Gold Coast Private hospitals as early as 2019.
“The facility is at the planning stage,” said Griffith University Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Ned Pankhurst who believed the institute would be the first of its kind in Australia.
“The primary focus is ... personalised orthopedic implants where you have the design, the scanning technology ... and the clinical capacity together in the one place.
“That will involve some outside industry partners ... and clinicians.
“The intention of the facility is basically a technology platform where we do work for and with industry, either around the direct production of products and services or helping industry advance a prototype.”
Griffith University Menzies Health Institute Centre for Musculoskeletal Research Professor David Lloyd said the new project was exciting for local academics and would provide jobs.
“You basically create a 3D model so the surgeon can have it in their hands and trial it.”
Professor Ned Pankhurst said the institute would also help the manufacturing industry by producing prototypes for inventions.
“A big problem for the manufacturing industry, when they’re presented with a new invention or a new idea, quite often they are presented with a proof of concept,” he said.
“That presents a risk for the company if they then have to take all of the financial and opportunity costs associated with shifting that proof of concept through to a prototype product.
“What we’re proposing to do (is) to share that risk.”
Professor Pankhurst said Griffith staff were working with a number of stakeholders on the new project and were talking a number of private companies to potentially be a part of the work at the institute.
“We’re building a mini version of the 3D printing component on campus,” he said. “We’ll have that up and running probably early next year so that we can develop skills and get used to industry working with us so we can do a rapid start around the ADAM project in around 2020.”
Conservatively, tens of millions of dollars are expected to be poured into the cuttingedge design facility.