Experts enter fourth dimension to create better medical devices

Experts at the University of Birmingham and Imperial College London have launched a project aimed at revolutionising medical device engineering by incorporating a fourth dimension—time— into design to achieve new functionality. The research team includes researchers working as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre’s Patient-reported Outcomes research theme.

The 4D Health Tech initiative addresses a critical gap in medical device design: neglect of time-dependent changes in the human body. Traditional medical devices fail to account for growth, movement, and tissue regeneration or degeneration, leading to compromised functionality and shortened lifespan.

For example, paediatric implants do not grow with the child and must be regularly changed. Stoma bags leak because they do not fully conform to skin folds. Bone implants do not predictably degrade as surrounding tissues regenerate.

“Our bodies change over time as we grow, move and regenerate, but products designed to replace or repair our bodies typically neglect the dimension of time, compromising their function and lifespan. We believe that this ground-breaking initiative will position the UK at the forefront of healthcare innovation – as well as helping to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and foster innovation in the medical device sector.”

Dr Sophie Cox – University of Birmingham

Backed by £1.2 million of UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding, the three-year Network Plus aims to position the UK at the forefront of healthcare innovation – focusing on delivering improved patient outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and driving more UK innovation in the medical device sector.

Funded as part of a wider £10 million investment responding to the national report ‘Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges’, the project will create a network connecting academics, businesses, clinicians, patients and policymakers. This collaboration will serve as a springboard to create bigger, longer-term research projects.

Project lead Dr Sophie Cox, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Our bodies change over time as we grow, move and regenerate, but products designed to replace or repair our bodies typically neglect the dimension of time, compromising their function and lifespan.

“We believe that this ground-breaking initiative will position the UK at the forefront of healthcare innovation – as well as helping to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and foster innovation in the medical device sector.

“Our vision is to transform the way we engineer medical devices. Fostering connections across the supply chain will create a new culture of 4D Health Tech embedding innovative thinking, patient perspective and diversity – ensuring this new age of medical devices offers improved healthcare outcomes for everyone.”

The project aims to promote the use of innovative materials that degrade predictably and promote faster healing and combine this with expertise in cutting edge automated design, advanced manufacturing processes and patient specific pre-clinical testing to create better medical devices that cater to diverse populations.

The project is led by a team of distinguished researchers from both universities, including Professor Andrew Dove (materials), Dr Sophie Cox (manufacturing), Professor Michael Bryant (testing), Dr Samantha Cruz Rivera and Dr Sarah Hughes (clinical outcomes), and Imperial design experts Professor Robert Hewson and Dr Connor Myant.

Dr Samantha Cruz Rivera and Dr Sarah Hughes, from the University of Birmingham, also work as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre’s Patient-reported Outcomes research theme.

Jane Nicholson, Executive Director for Research at EPSRC said: “Engineering is the cornerstone to a more sustainable, successful and thriving future for the UK. From developing renewable energy solutions to creating smart cities, engineering innovations are driving progress in every sector.

“These new networks will address the strategic challenges outlined by the TERC report. Together, these researchers present a hugely ambitious, thoughtful response to the economic, environmental and social challenges we all face.”