Enhanced quality of life - new metal coated polymer technology

Funding: 2000: $50,000
2001: $60,000

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC SPIRT (Strategic Partnerships with Industry Re)
Austin Research Institute - Institute for Breathing and Sleep (Austin Research Institute Partner Funds)
NeuroControl Corporation (Neurocontrol Corporation Partner Funds)

Start year: 2000

Summary: Current implantable electrodes for enabling quadriplegics to move their limbs, have severe limitations in both their design and performance. Metal-coated polymers can revolutionise these electrodes by overcoming these limitations. This project will focus on using wet chemical modification of polyaramid fibres to enable the metal to adhere to the substrate and withstand the rigours of these applications. Also, new stimulation leads which incorporate this exciting new technology in their design will be tested. Success will directly lead to improved devices, enhancing the quality of life for many paralysed Australians, and provide a technology platform for a new Australian manufacturing industry.

Keywords: Implantable electrodes; Functional Electrical Stimulation; Polymer surfaces; Metal Coating Adhesion; Chemical Modification; Plasma Treatment

FOR Codes: Nervous system and disorders, Fabricated metal products, Composite Materials, Rehabilitation and Therapy: Occupational and Physical, Chemical sciences, Biomaterials, Expanding Knowledge in the Chemical Sciences, Composite and Hybrid Materials, Biomaterials , Clinical health, EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.