Leading the way in medical advances
CREATING digital humans to treat children with cerebral palsy, combatting injuries in elite athletes and helping ease the load on soldiers’ knees are just some of the groundbreaking medical advances already under way at the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.
The work is being led by renowned neuro-musculoskeletal bio-mechanist Griffith Professor David Lloyd.
Prof Lloyd was part of a research team in the 1990s that developed a motion-capture model to test the bowling action of accused “chucker”, Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan, and has worked with AFL players and other sports people to analyse and prevent injuries.
The professor is also working with the Defence Department to create 3D prototype designs to test different load-carrying systems for soldiers to minimise the impact on their knees.
But it’s his work with cerebral palsy kids that gives him the greatest satisfaction. He creates 3D models that precisely mimic how their legs function, enabling surgeons to simulate surgeries and help design custom 3D printed implants or surgical guides before real-life complex operations
He has been involved in some ground-breaking work, guided by Griffith colleague Dr Chris Carty and surgeons at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. “There have now been a couple of operations performed utilising our models,” Prof Lloyd said.
“These are delicate 8-10hour surgeries and instead of relying on more generic models to assist them, surgeons can tailor procedures to the individual child, improving outcomes and reducing complications.”
Prof Lloyd’s lab features equipment including Australia’s only “6-degrees of freedom” machine that enables the testing of joint implant computer models before surgery to see how they will perform.
“I’m really interested in helping people with Australian-made technology that improves patient outcomes.”