Evaluating the biomechanical and functional performance of textile-based implants in knee joints

The studentship is with University of Salford and XIROS Limited

Academic Supervisor: Prof Richard Jones

Academic Co-Supervisor: Dr Lee Herrington

Industrial Supervisors: Dr Bahaa Seedhom

The studentship is fully funded and includes:

• A fee waiver
• A stipend of £16,000.00 p.a. for three and a half years
• All bench fees and consumable costs
• Funding for conference travel available via XIROS and UoS.

Final date for applications: Friday 28^th October 2022

Interviews will be held on the week of the 7^th of November 2022 (Via Teams)

The candidate must be in a position to register by the January 2023

Description:

This IPhD studentships has been developed between Salford University and XIROS Limited. Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most common orthopaedic knee procedures performed. The main indication for this surgery is knee instability after a ligament injury/tear. Typically, this is performed using an autograft involving either the patient’s patellar tendon or hamstring tendons in a young and active population keen to resume a high level of physical activity and recreation/sport. Both methods of autograft are associated with a significant incidence of donor site morbidity with associated pain and dysfunction after the surgery. An artificial graft has the potential to avoid such donor site morbidity and potentially be biomechanically superior. XIROS have designed a biomechanically strong range of artificial ligaments that have excellent biocompatibility with low documented complications. However, functional, and biomechanical movement data from in vivo studies is limited and thus the PhD will develop research within this topic area utilizing 3D motion data capture, biomechanical modelling, and patient reported outcomes.

Candidates:

Candidates should have a high 2.1 or 1^st class undergraduate degree in an Engineering Biomedical or Biomechanics related field. An optional MSc in a related field would be desirable. Candidates with experience in motion capture data collection involving patients would be advantageous and experience with musculoskeletal modelling software.

Enquiries:

Informal enquiries may be made to Prof Richard Jones by email: [Email Address Removed]

Curriculum vitae and supporting statement explaining their interest should be sent to: [Email Address Removed]

Note to applicant:

In addition to applying for this role the successful candidate will also be required to complete the University application process which applies to all students wishing to study at The University of Salford. How to apply for research studies can be found here: https://www.salford.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/applying/applying-for-research