The Morrison Government is funding research to improve the treatment of Australians suffering from osteoarthritis and other orthopaedic disorders.
The Government is providing almost $4 million to establish a new research centre that will put Australia at the forefront of the biomechanics industry and transform the area of personalised surgical treatment of joints.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan today announced the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics would be established at the Queensland University of Technology and led by Professor Yuantong Gu.
"This new research centre will advance surgical training, robotic and computer-based medical device development and assessment," Mr Tehan said.
"Our Government is funding research to improve health outcomes for all Australians. The centre will also help create a high-skilled workforce that will put Australia at the forefront of joint biomechanical technology in orthopaedics.
"Our Government is strategically investing in partnerships between universities, industry and government to drive the commercialisation of research leading to new jobs, new business opportunities, productivity gains and benefits for society."
Minister for Health Greg Hunt said the new centre would complement the Government's initiatives to reduce the health burden of musculoskeletal conditions, including through research.
"With the aid of our ground-breaking Medical Research Future Fund, we are making record investments in health and medical research, with a focus on chronic conditions," Mr Hunt said.
"Orthopaedics was one of the four priority areas for funding under the $10 million second round of grants from our BioMedTech Horizons initiative, which is currently being finalised."
Professor Gu said the new centre would establish Australia as a leading joint biomechanical technology provider.
"This centre will train high-quality young scientists and engineers to develop Australia's next generation of biomedical engineering workforce," Professor Gu said.
"It will advance and translate fundamental biomechanics research to marketable products which will bring new opportunities for the growing Australian medical technologies industry.
"The centre will achieve the innovations and the research outcomes which will have the potential to reduce the financial burden to the Australia health care system.
"This will improve the lives of people who are affected by joint related musculoskeletal disorders."
Member for Brisbane Trevor Evans said the Morrison Government's investment would be welcome news to Queensland's growing medical research community.
"Brisbane is home to some of the world's leading medical researchers and practitioners. This centre will provide amazing opportunities to leverage these strengths and further develop a hugely promising industry," Mr Evans said.
The training centre will attract a total of $7.7 million in cash and in-kind support from partners and involve collaboration with 12 participating organisations across three countries.
