Collaboration between Medicine and Engineering Increasing New Possibilities
Creation of Unprecedented, High-performing Medical Materials Through a Fusion of Medicine and Engineering
Professor Ung-il Chung/Yuichi Tei
As the pace of the declining birthrate and aging population rapidly increases, it is vital to maintain the health of bones, cartilage and other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Keeping this system healthy in particular helps prevent the elderly from becoming bedridden, resulting in an increase in their quality of life. Our research team is working to create artificial bones and cartilage with the use of biomaterials, including metals, ceramics and polymers. Here, engineers and medical scientists do more than just joint research; they work together, understanding each other’s field of specialty. This mutual understanding allows us to produce unique medical materials and devices in which engineering is fused with medical science. In particular, we have discovered that with precise control over the shapes and quality of materials on various scales, we can make them perform unprecedentedly advanced functions. With these high-performing biomaterials, we strive to confront diseases that have as of yet been untreatable while strengthening our focus on basic research into the materials themselves. The Faculty of Engineering promotes education and research on medical engineering from a wide interdisciplinary standpoint.
As the pace of the declining birthrate and aging population rapidly increases, it is vital to maintain the health of bones, cartilage and other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Keeping this system healthy in particular helps prevent the elderly from becoming bedridden, resulting in an increase in their quality of life. Our research team is working to create artificial bones and cartilage with the use of biomaterials, including metals, ceramics and polymers. Here, engineers and medical scientists do more than just joint research; they work together, understanding each other’s field of specialty. This mutual understanding allows us to produce unique medical materials and devices in which engineering is fused with medical science. In particular, we have discovered that with precise control over the shapes and quality of materials on various scales, we can make them perform unprecedentedly advanced functions. With these high-performing biomaterials, we strive to confront diseases that have as of yet been untreatable while strengthening our focus on basic research into the materials themselves. The Faculty of Engineering promotes education and research on medical engineering from a wide interdisciplinary standpoint.
Artificial bone made to fit the affected area of the skull, created with a 3D printer
A microscopic unit of artificial bone that creates a pathway for cells and blood vessels when formed
Titanium mesh plates that can change into any shape without concentrating stress on any one area
