Dr Tegan Cheng
People_

Dr Tegan Cheng

BE(Mechanical(Biomedical))/BMedSc '11 PhD '16
NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, School of Health Sciences
Adjunct Lecturer, School of Biomedical Engineering
Dr Tegan Cheng

Dr Tegan Cheng is a biomedical engineer and scientist and Group Leader of the EPIC Lab, based in Kids Research at the Children's Hospital at Westmead. She works closely with clinicians to develop novel solutions to address unmet needs in children's health. Her main research areas are the development and commercialisation of implantable and wearable medical devices for children's musculoskeletal conditions and the application of 3D printing to improve health outcomes for children.

The treatment of musculoskeletal disorders in children’s growing skeletons comes with unique challenges, including the need to consider their small size, fast growth and high levels of activity. Dr Cheng leverages her academic backgrounds in biomedical engineering and medical sciences to create solutions facing our health care system. Her current research program involves working with clinicians to develop medical devices for children. Although historically overlooked by large medical device companies, it is her vision to drive commercial interest in paediatric medical devices by effectively crossing the “Valley of Death” that lies between conception and commercialization.

Since 2016, Dr Cheng’s research has focused on creating a new delivery model for personalised 3D printed orthotic devices for children with physical disabilities. In this research program, known as Printhotics, she has assembled an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, engineers and designers aim to advance the design and delivery of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) to improve the health and mobility of children with disabilities. Printhotics aims to develop an efficient and equitable fabrication pathway to overcome roadblocks in access and delivery of AFOs, involving a concurrent discovery pipeline of 3D scanning, co-design, artificial intelligence and 3D printing.

Biomedical engineering and technology

Publications

Journals

  • Farhan, M., Wang, J., Lillia, J., Cheng, T., Burns, J. (2023). Comparison of multiple 3D scanners to capture foot, ankle, and lower leg morphology. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 47(6), 625-632. [More Information]
  • O'Donohue, A., Xiao, Y., Lee, L., schofield, T., Cheng, T., Munns, C., Baldock, P., Schindeler, A. (2023). Targeted postnatal knockout of Sclerostin using a bone-targeted adeno-associated viral vector increases bone anabolism and decreases canalicular density. Bone, 167. [More Information]
  • Winger, B., Dobbe, A., Cheng, T., Little, D., Gibbons, P. (2023). Who Benefits from Allowing the Physis to Grow in Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis? Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, 43(6), E427-E432. [More Information]

2023

  • Farhan, M., Wang, J., Lillia, J., Cheng, T., Burns, J. (2023). Comparison of multiple 3D scanners to capture foot, ankle, and lower leg morphology. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 47(6), 625-632. [More Information]
  • O'Donohue, A., Xiao, Y., Lee, L., schofield, T., Cheng, T., Munns, C., Baldock, P., Schindeler, A. (2023). Targeted postnatal knockout of Sclerostin using a bone-targeted adeno-associated viral vector increases bone anabolism and decreases canalicular density. Bone, 167. [More Information]
  • Winger, B., Dobbe, A., Cheng, T., Little, D., Gibbons, P. (2023). Who Benefits from Allowing the Physis to Grow in Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis? Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, 43(6), E427-E432. [More Information]

2022

  • Wang, J., Lillia, J., Kumar, A., Bray, P., Kim, J., Burns, J., Cheng, T. (2022). Clinical applications of machine learning in predicting 3D shapes of the human body: a systematic review. BMC Bioinformatics, 23(1). [More Information]
  • Lee, L., Holman, A., Li, X., Vasiljevski, E., O'Donohue, A., Cheng, T., Little, D., Schindeler, A., Biggin, A., Munns, C. (2022). Combination treatment with growth hormone and zoledronic acid in a mouse model of Osteogenesis imperfecta. Bone, 159, 116378-1-116378-12. [More Information]
  • Wojciechowski, E., Cheng, T., Hogan, S., Mudge, A., Balassone, D., Menezes, M., Little, D., Dwan, L., Burns, J. (2022). Replicating and redesigning ankle-foot orthoses with 3D printing for children with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Gait and Posture, 96, 73-80. [More Information]

2021

  • Sidhu, V., Cheng, T., Lillia, J., Bridge, C., Little, D., Gray, R. (2021). 3D printed models can guide safe halo pin placement in patients with diastrophic dysplasia. Spine Deformity, 9(3), 841-849. [More Information]
  • Farhan, M., Wang, J., Bray, P., Burns, J., Cheng, T. (2021). Comparison of 3D scanning versus traditional methods of capturing foot and ankle morphology for the fabrication of orthoses: a systematic review. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 14(1), 2-1-2-11. [More Information]
  • Wang, J., Lillia, J., Farhan, M., Bi, L., Kim, J., Burns, J., Cheng, T. (2021). Digital mapping of a manual fabrication method for paediatric ankle–foot orthoses. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 19068. [More Information]

2020

  • Lahoud, D., Teng, C., Nusem, E., Burns, J., Wrigley, C., Cheng, T. (2020). Content analysis of child user and carer perspectives of ankle–foot orthoses. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 45(1), 12-19. [More Information]
  • Mills, R., Boyling, A., Cheng, T., Peacock, L., Savage, P., Tägil, M., Little, D., Schindeler, A. (2020). CSA-90 reduces periprosthetic joint infection in a novel rat model challenged with local and systemic Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 38(9), 2065-2073. [More Information]
  • Lee, J., Lillia, J., Bellemore, J., Little, D., Cheng, T. (2020). The universal entry point with oblique screw is superior to fixation perpendicular to the physis in moderate slipped capital femoral epiphysis. Journal of Children's Orthopaedics, 14(5), 358-363. [More Information]

2019

  • Cheng, T., Leblanc, E., Kalinina, A., Cantrill, L., Valtchev, P., Dehghani, F., Little, D., Schindeler, A. (2019). A Bioactive Coating Enhances Bone Allografts in Rat Models of Bone Formation and Critical Defect Repair. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 37(11), 2278-2286. [More Information]
  • Lee, L., Peacock, L., Ginn, S., Cantrill, L., Cheng, T., Little, D., Munns, C., Schindeler, A. (2019). Bone Marrow Transplantation for Treatment of the Col1a2+/G610C Osteogenesis Imperfecta Mouse Model. Calcified Tissue International, 104(4), 426-436. [More Information]
  • Bateman, J., Sampurno, L., Maurizi, A., Lamande, S., Sims, N., Cheng, T., Schindeler, A., Little, D. (2019). Effect of rapamycin on bone mass and strength in the α2(I)-G610C mouse model of osteogenesis imperfecta. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 23(3), 1735-1745. [More Information]

2018

  • Franks, D., Shatrov, J., Symes, M., Little, D., Cheng, T. (2018). Cannulated screw versus kirschner-wire fixation for milch II lateral condyle fractures in a paediatric sawbone model: A biomechanical comparison. Journal of Children's Orthopaedics, 12(1), 29-35. [More Information]
  • Mills, R., Cheng, T., Mikulec, K., Peacock, L., Isaacs, D., Genberg, C., Savage, P., Little, D., Schindeler, A. (2018). CSA-90 Promotes Bone Formation and Mitigates Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in a Rat Open Fracture Model. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 476(6), 1311-1323. [More Information]
  • Morse, A., Cheng, T., Schindeler, A., McDonald, M., Mohanty, S., Kneissel, M., Kramer, I., Little, D. (2018). Dkk1 KO Mice Treated with Sclerostin Antibody Have Additional Increases in Bone Volume. Calcified Tissue International, 103(3), 298-310. [More Information]

2017

  • Leblanc, E., Bellemore, J., Cheng, T., Little, D., Birke, O. (2017). Biomechanical considerations in slipped capital femoral epiphysis and insights into prophylactic fixation. Journal of Children's Orthopaedics, 11(2), 120-127. [More Information]
  • Little, D., Peacock, L., Mikulec, K., Kneissel, M., Kramer, I., Cheng, T., Schindeler, A., Munns, C. (2017). Combination sclerostin antibody and zoledronic acid treatment outperforms either treatment alone in a mouse model of osteogenesis imperfecta. Bone, 101, 96-103. [More Information]
  • Manavi Tehrani, I., Fathi, A., Wang, Y., Maitz, P., Mirmohseni, F., Cheng, T., Peacock, L., Little, D., Schindeler, A., Dehghani, F. (2017). Fabrication of a Biodegradable Implant with Tunable Characteristics for Bone Implant Applications. Biomacromolecules, 18(6), 1736-1746. [More Information]

2016

  • Cheng, T., Schindeler, A., Little, D. (2016). BMP-2 delivered via sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB) improves bone repair in a rat open fracture model. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 34(7), 1168-1176. [More Information]
  • Morse, A., Cheng, T., Peacock, L., Mikulec, K., Little, D., Schindeler, A. (2016). RAP-011 augments callus formation in closed fractures in rats. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 34(2), 320-330. [More Information]

2015

  • Cheng, T., Murphy, C., Ravarian, R., Dehghani, F., Little, D., Schindeler, A. (2015). Bisphosphonate-adsorbed ceramic nanoparticles increase bone formation in an injectable carrier for bone tissue engineering. Journal of Tissue Engineering, 6, 1-9. [More Information]
  • Schindeler, A., Yu, N., Cheng, T., Sullivan, K., Mikulec, K., Peacock, L., Matthews, R., Little, D. (2015). Local delivery of the cationic steroid antibiotic CSA-90 enables osseous union in a rat open fracture model of Staphylococcus aureus infection. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: American Volume, 97(4), 302-309. [More Information]

2014

  • Shen, K., Murphy, C., Chan, B., Kolind, M., Cheng, T., Cheng, T., Mikulec, K., Peacock, L., Xue, M., Park, S., Little, D., Jackson, C., Schindeler, A. (2014). Activated Protein C (APC) can Increase Bone Anabolism via a Protease Activated Receptor (PAR)1/2 Dependent Mechanism. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 32(12), 1549-1556. [More Information]
  • Cheng, T., Murphy, C., Cantrill, L., Mikulec, K., Carpenter, C., Schindeler, A., Little, D. (2014). Local delivery of recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins and bisphosphonate via sucrose acetate isobutyrate can prevent femoral head collapse in Legg-Calve-Perthes disease: a pilot study in pigs. International Orthopaedics, 38(7), 1527-1533. [More Information]

2013

  • Cheng, T., Valtchev, P., Murphy, C., Cantrill, L., Dehghani, F., Little, D., Schindeler, A. (2013). A sugar-based phase-transitioning delivery system for bone tissue-engineering. European Cells and Materials, 26, 208-221. [More Information]

Selected Grants

2021

  • Feasibility of smart ankle-foot orthoses with embedded wearable sensors to measure real-world function and compliance in childhood, Burns J, Wojciechowski E, Cheng T, Farhan M, American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association/Pilot Grant

2020

  • Printhotics: A Digital Solution to Optimise Personalised Childrens Orthotic Devices, Cheng T, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Investigator Grant

In the media