PhD Studentship: Additive Manufacturing (3D-Printing) of soft robotic structures for wearable devices

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Engineering
Location:  UK Other
Closing Date:  Monday 06 May 2024
Reference:  ENG1769

An exciting opportunity has arisen to undertake a PhD as part of the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) Training Academy. The student will be based at University of Nottingham (UoN), UK, with access to both UoN and NRC facilities and expertise.

The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospitals Programme and will be the only such facility in the UK when it opens to patients in Spring 2025.  It will establish a new operating model which integrates clinical rehabilitation treatment with education, training and research and innovation under one roof. The NRC is co-located with the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC), providing unparalleled opportunities for sharing knowledge, facilities, education, and research. Further information about the project can be found at https://nationalrehabilitationcentre.nhs.uk/.

Due to their compliant nature, soft robotic devices are of significant interest in healthcare applications where comfort, portability and natural movement is required. In this project, wearable, multidirectional textile motion support systems will be developed for rehabilitation of complex joint (e.g. wrist) injuries and conditions. Bioinspired textile design will be combined with advanced Additive Manufacturing (3D-Printing) techniques and specialist modelling and control algorithms for multi-body systems. This project would be most suitable for someone with an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Physics or Materials Science. 

The successful candidate will be part of a mini-cohort and receive specialised training alongside their PhD research including support from industry partners on understanding areas such as product regulation, access to the UK market and internationalisation. In addition to their academic supervisors, the successful candidate will be mentored by a team of stakeholders including healthcare professionals, patients and careers, and industry partners. They will take part in activities to develop skills in working with a variety of stakeholders and researchers from different disciplines, including our award-winning OPAD programme (https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/cate-team/opad-assistive-devices-healthcare-and-community-partners). To ensure patient needs are placed at the heart of innovation, students will work alongside patients with lived examples in focus groups so they can understand challenges and barriers to acceptance of new technology.

Studentships will start in October 2024 and will be 4 years in duration. This funding covers the payment of tuition fees and gives you a tax-free stipend at the standard UKRI rate (£19,237 for 2024/25). To apply, a covering letter, CV and academic transcripts should be sent by email to [email protected] by Monday 6th May.