Wound Management Innovation Cooporative Research Centre Joins Forces with RMIT

The Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre (WMI CRC) has joined forces with  RMIT University to maximise the potential to heal wounds and conduct wound research.

Chronic wounds – wounds that take years to heal or never heal at all – cost the national health system $3 billion each year and cause great emotional, physical and financial stress to more than 430,000 Australians.

Since its establishment in 2010  the WMI CRC has fast become the leading organisation for integrated and collaborative research into innovative wound care tools, systems and technologies.

As an essential participant, RMIT brings its research expertise and opportunities in pressure sensing bandages to aid in the treatment of wounds to the WMI CRC.

Chief Executive Officer, WMI CRC, Dr Ian Griffiths said, “RMIT University joining the WMI CRC is a very positive outcome for us, further building our capability and adding value to our current research and development activities.

“Several of our existing participants have already expressed interest in working with RMIT. Southern Cross University’s podiatric department has already collaborated with RMIT to calibrate the new technology to a range of diabetic foot ulcers,” he said.

RMIT’s initial research project will be led by Professor Franz Konstantin Fuss (School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering) and Associate Professor Olga Troynikov (School of Fashion and Textiles).

The project will design, develop and test prototype pressure mapping insoles with bio-acoustic feedback for the management of diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers, with a clinical collaboration with Queensland University of Technology planned for the last quarter of this year.

RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO said the University’s expertise in this key area would add value to the Centre.

“As technology becomes more sophisticated, so does our approach to healing the patient. RMIT’s research into advanced medical compression garments and sensors will ultimately help to deliver better and more comfortable solutions for patients,” she said.