The research centres have extensive experimental and theoretical expertise and  are well endowed with state-of-the-art equipment. The Centres are especially expert in six areas which are readily applicable to the industrial career of our graduates.

Haemorheology - Blood

Our expertise in rheology has been applied to blood coagulation forging a substantial collaboration with the NHS. The significance of haemorheology combined with our research into developing biomaterials for implantation and wound healing has led to projects with a spin-in company (Haemair Ltd) and the development of a new laboratory based at the NHS Hospital at Morriston. This new avenue of expertise, knowledge and resources represent a major new  range of opportunities for the NHS, medical devices and pharmaceutical industry.

Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering is concerned with creating an environment to grow cells and tissue in similar to that found in the body. This leads to materials that can be used to treat disease states and replace damaged tissues. Ultimately the aim of such research is to guide the body’s own repair of tissues and organs. Staff working in medical engineering are developing a range of materials which will optimize the production of tissues for re implantation.

Nanotechnology, Surface and Particle Characterisation

We are recognised as international experts in the field of n Atomic Force Microscopy and Colloids and Interfaces. These are key areas within Nanotechnology with the AFM regarded as the work horse of this new area of engineering. We use AFM and other surface techniques to characterise surfaces important to all areas of medical  engineering from cancer cell surfaces to implant materials. We are also engaged with the development of new biosensors and nanoscale devices.

NanoHealth

The application of  Nanotechnology to Healthcare is creating a step change in the way healthcare is approached. Technology, and particularly Nanotechnology, has an increasingly important and strategic role to play in furthering our ability to detect and treat disease, and this has been central to the work of the Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre . Coupled with developments in biomarker discovery in Biomedical research at the School of Medicine’s Institute of Life Science (ILS), the challenges that can be overcome through Nanotechnology have the potential to lead to novel devices, processes and sensors essential for the earliest detection of disease onset, developed for point of care, near–patient and in vivo application. Medical engineering students have the opportunity to study and research in this exciting new area.

Medical Modeling

An important aspect of engineering is the theoretical prediction of process performance and this is also true for medical engineering. Staff lecturing on the medical engineering course are developing mathematical models that describe the behavior of medical systems. Such models can be used in the optimisation of medical treatments. Some of the applications that are being modeled include biomechanics, cancer development and device implantation.

Biosensors

A area of activity that brings a lot of the staff within medical engineering together is that of biosensors. These devices are required for the detection of disease, its monitoring and treatment. Medical engineering students will be exposed to aspects of development, testing and production of established and novel biosensors.

Membrane separation processes

We are recognized as internationally leading exponents in the development of quantitative methods for the prediction of the industrial performance of membrane processes (microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration). Applications that will be encountered by medical engineering students will be within the pharmaceutical, medical device  (dialysis) and biosensor areas.

Bioprocess Engineering

The successful scale-up and exploitation of recent developments in biotechnology depends of the effective operation of bioreactors and the efficient recovery and separation of the desired products. Such biological materials are extremely complex in composition and physical properties and their processing is a key feature of our  work. This area is extremely relevant for students wishing to enter the pharmaceutical area of medical engineering.