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B.Eng., PhD
Lionel Rayward was awarded his PhD in 2023. He had previously worked with the BSRG team during his final year of Medical Engineering at QUT. As an undergraduate he cultivated an interest in computer modelling, particularly in performing 3D reconstructions of MRI and CT datasets and 3D modelling. Lionel’s worked as a Research Assistant with the BSRG team in 2017 on a QUT-Sealy collaborative project which yielded many avenues for further scientific enquiry. He was awarded the inaugural Sealy of Australia PhD scholarship to explore how the data and techniques that were developed in this earlier project could be used in the area of tissue pressure injury prevention. His PhD studies developed a 3D finite element model (FEM) to predict tissue stresses in subjects who are in the lying position. The model predictions provided new information describing the relationship between interface skin pressure and deep tissue pressure. His PhD developed new knowledge of the tissue mechanics associated with the onset of deep tissue injuries, which is particularly useful in preventing deep tissue injuries, as these may go undetected until significant damage has already occurred. Lionel’s PhD supervisory team included; Associate Professor Paige Little, Professor Peter Pivonka, Emeritus Professor Mark Pearcy and Professor Graham Kerr. Dr Rayward is now employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the QUT-Sealy Centre for Biomechanics and Sleep Research.