Skin and bones at the heart of futuristic Brisbane facility

Based on the Herston Health Precinct on the grounds of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, the facility has direct access to patients, and boasts a mechanical workshop, 3D printing lab, digital innovation hub and tissue laboratory.

The institute is a direct collaboration with the Queensland University of Technology, and was officially opened on Wednesday by Dr Wagels and Health Minister Yvette D’Ath.

Ms D’Ath said it was a big boost for medical innovation in Queensland.

“This is a state-of-the-art facility which will be the first of its kind in Australia,” the minister said.

“It will employ 3D-printing and modelling that will see engineers and experts being brought together to provide the best case and innovation going forward to treat patients.”

“I love the vision for this institute, which is that in the next 10 years, biofabrication technologies will be integrated seamlessly into everyday patient care.”

First announced in 2016, the facility had been due to open the following year but was pushed back, with the most recent delays owing to the pandemic shutdowns in 2020.

But as parts of the facility came online in the past few years it was involved in several individual cases.

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Just last year much of the available 3D-printer capacity was temporarily given over to making PPE, including face shields for frontline health workers.

Dr Wagels said a number of research projects were in progress under seven core programs which were funded through a combination of government and industry grants.

“The key areas we’re focusing on are burns and dermatology, we have a program in oral and maxillofacial surgery and neurosurgery, and we have vascular surgery [devices] which ward off infection and which last longer than devices previously used,” he said.

“[We want to] be part of leaving a legacy for healthcare that is fit for purpose in the future, which means finding ways of doing things that are more effective and which achieve outcomes which previously were not possible.”