A 25-year-old engineer who wants to improve the quality of life of hip replacement patients has won an international competition held at New Zealand.
Engineering student Donald Dalli is one of five researchers working on the project, called MALTAHIP, creating prosthetic joints that could outlive patients by lasting some 30 years.
“The demand for better hip implants increases with increased global population age. At the University of Malta, we have developed a one-of-a-kind hip joint simulator testing machine in order to test standard and novel hip implants,” Mr Dalli told this newspaper upon his return from New Zealand.
On the work that secured him his award, the engineer said that the subject has generated great interest abroad. He explained that the team has already successfully designed the simulator that emulates the body so as to be able to test the prosthetics before they are transplanted into real patients.
Enhances the quality of lives of patients
Together with MCL Components Ltd., the researchers have already developed a number of novel implant prototypes, he went on, which they are currently testing with the hope of having the project ready for implementation by September next year.
“Our aim is to have our implant licensed out to a global orthopaedic implant manufacturer and to produce a solution that is cost-effective and at the same time enhances the quality of lives of patients,” Mr Dalli said.
On the competition, the engineer said that the final was “quite tough” since experienced engineers from all over the world participated, which meant he had to compete against finalists from countries such as the US and China.
The competition was coordinated by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), a prestigious worldwide engineering organisation.
“I am very proud to have placed first in this competition. This shows that despite our country’s size and limited resources, we can still produce work of high-calibre that competes internationally,” Mr Dalli said.
MALTAHIP is financed by the Malta Council for Science and Technology through FUSION: The R&I Technology Development Programme. A total of €194,593 is allocated for this project, with the University of Malta having a workshare value of €145,674.
The novel design was created by Pierre Schembri Wismayer, while Mr Dalli is being supervised by Dr Joseph Buhagiar and co-supervised by Prof. Schembri Wismayer and Dr Pierluigi Mollicone.
Mr Ray Gatt, head of the Orthopaedics Department at Mater Dei Hospital, is providing the team with consultations as an orthopaedic surgeon.