Researchers and lecturers from the field of Biomedical Engineering at IT Sligo attended the leading national conference on biomedical engineering, Bioengineering in Ireland 17, in Galway on January 28th and 29th.
The event was hosted by NUI, Galway in the Ardilaun Hotel in Galway City, and was attended by more than 180 researchers from Universities, Institutes of Technology and industry from Ireland and abroad.
Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering techniques to improve understanding of the human body in health and disease, and to develop new medical therapies and devices.
Engineers and scientists at the conference discussed latest findings on topics as varied as the design of new stents for treatment of arterial and heart disease, analysis of sport technique, and the forces experienced by cells in tissue-engineered constructs, and the design and innovation of surgical assistance technology.
Members of the IT Sligo Bioengineering Group delivered a number of papers at the event. The IT Sligo Bioengineering Group was originally set up in 1999 by the current Registrar, Dr. Brendan McCormack and Mechatronic lecturer, Dr. John Hession, to facilitate engineering solutions to surgical needs. The group is now led by Dr. Hession and is assisted by Dr. Leo Creedon, Mathematics lecturer and Gordon Muir, Technician;
Four post-graduate students are currently engaged in active research in the Group in the area of analysis of crack and fractures in bone.
Dr. Hession chaired one of the sessions at the Conference and was one of the judges for the
‘Best Paper Award’. Speaking after the Conference, he said; “IT Sligo works very closely with the biomedical industry and the research being undertaken in the Institute can be translated into real products that will enhance medical treatments. It’s a very important link between higher education and local industry, and one which has benefited the local region greatly.
IT Sligo postgraduate students delivered papers on diverse areas of research in the field;
• Robert Carroll; Acoustic Emission, a Tool to predict Crack Growth.
• John O’Toole; Source Location of Cracks in Bone using Acoustic Emission.
• Padraig Varley; Vibration Analysis of Bone Fracture using Finite Element Analysis and Experimental Modal Analysis.
• Michael Cafferty; An Investigation of the Possible Adverse Effects of Vibration and Fatigue Wear on Bovine Bone.
Pictured from left to right in the materials laboratory in IT Sligo where much of the work of the IT Sligo Bioengineering Group is carried out are; Dr. Leo Creedon, Mathematics lecturer; Gordon Muir, Technician; Dr. John Hession; and postgraduate students Michael Cafferty, John O’Toole, Padraig Varley, and Robert Carroll.