Interesting To See What Research Into Medical Technology Is Being Funded By Commonwealth Government Grant

This release appeared last week:

$18.8 million to supercharge digital health technologies

The Australian Government is investing $18.8 million to supercharge the discovery of better treatments for cancer, epilepsy, stroke, paralysis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, brain injuries, back pain and chronic middle ear disease.

The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Minister for Health

Date published: 20 July 2020

The Morrison Government is investing $18.8 million to supercharge the discovery of better treatments for cancer, epilepsy, stroke, paralysis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, brain injuries, back pain and chronic middle ear disease.

Under round three of our Government’s $45 million BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program, 21 very promising projects will receive funding to help unlock some of the key health challenges of our times.

Successful applicants will use the funding to develop medical devices–including wearable devices–telehealth and telemedicine, and digitally-enabled personalised medicine.

Our Government is supporting Australia’s world-class biomedical and medical technology sector for the benefit of all Australians, while creating new jobs, growing expertise and building sustainable export markets.

Victoria-based Seer will receive $1 million to develop a real-time seizure forecasting system, through mobile and wearable monitoring, to empower people with epilepsy to regain control of their condition.

This project has great potential to save lives and improve lives of people with epilepsy and their families.

Other projects include a 3D bioprinting system for regenerating skin and developing a smart brain biopsy needle for faster, safer neurosurgery.

The Morrison Government provides funding for the BioMedTech Horizons program through its $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), while industry is backing these projects by matching contributions to the tune of $21.3 million.

The MRFF is a key pillar of Australia’s long term national health plan to build the world’s best health system.

MTPConnect, a not-for-profit organisation driving innovation, productivity and competitiveness in the medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals sector, delivers BioMedTech Horizons on behalf of the Australian Government. 

Further information is available on the MRFF website.

Round three — BioMedTech Horizons program

Project	Recipient	Funding
Digitally enabled skullcaps to monitor brain swelling in craniectomy patients to optimise timing of skull reconstruction surgery.	Anatomics Pty Ltd, Victoria	$997,920
A nano-optimised surface to prevent orthopaedic implant and dental infections.	Anisop Holdings Pty Ltd, New South Wales	$1,000,000
Artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support software for guiding acute stroke therapy.	Apollo Medical Imaging Technology Pty Ltd, Victoria	$346,500
Automated methods for evaluating cardiac CT angiography and high-risk imaging biomarkers	Artrya Pty Ltd, Western Australia	$987,428
Application of Atmo ingestible gas sensing capsule to diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).	Atmo Biosciences Pty Ltd, Victoria	$620,000
Development of an implantable vision system in the Bionic Eye Generation 3 device to restore functional vision for blind patients.	Bionic Vision Technologies Pty Ltd, Victoria	$1,000,000
High resolution cortical recording for the prediction and prevention of epileptic seizures.	Carbon Cybernetics, Victoria	$1,000,000
ClearDrum® which is an acoustically-optimised silk fibroin membrane for the treatment of chronic middle ear disease.	Ear Science Institute Australia, Western Australia	$993,500
Improving colorectal cancer outcomes with hybrid cancer tracers.	Ferronova Pty Ltd, South Australia	$826,000
Development of miniature, low-energy wireless power and data transmission systems for implantable medical devices.	Hemideina, Victoria	$660,520
Developing a 3D bioprinting system for intraoperative skin regeneration.	Inventia Life Science Pty Ltd, New South Wales	$1,000,000
Augmented digital re-construction and re-visualisation of spine MRI for the personalised diagnosis of back pain.	Merunova Pty Ltd, New South Wales	$977,000
A smart brain biopsy needle for faster, safer neurosurgery.	Miniprobes Pty Ltd, South Australia	$1,000,000
Commercialisation of hand and arm wearable for use with Neuromersiv Virtual Reality rehabilitation system.	Neuromersiv Pty Ltd, New South Wales	$994,000
Advancing commercialisation of its PulseVAD pulsatile rotary blood pump designed to treat patients suffering from a form of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) for which there is no effective treatment.	Northern Research Pty Ltd, New South Wales	$1,000,000
Compact wireless technology for improved accuracy during breast conserving surgery.	OncoRes Medical Pty Ltd, Western Australia	$1,000,000
Use of non-invasive confocal endomicroscopy system to enhance oral cancer screening and surgical margin assessment.	Optiscan Pty Ltd, Victoria	$971,000
Personalised epilepsy treatment via mobile and wearable monitoring.	Seer, Victoria	$1,000,000
Stentrode; enabling people with paralysis to restore functional independence (email communication, text messaging and online shopping) by controlling apps and external devices through thought alone, and without requiring open brain surgery.	Synchron Australia Pty Ltd, Victoria	$990,000
Development of a transcatheter blood pump system for Cardiogenic Shock and Hemodynamically Compromised patients.	VenstraMedical Pty Ltd, New South Wales	$850,000
Establishing domestic capabilities for combined R&D and manufacture of point-of-care diagnostics.	Zip Diagnostics, Victoria	$600,000

*Funding amounts are subject to contract negotiation.

Here is the link to the release:

https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/188-million-to-supercharge-digital-health-technologies

ZDNet covered the announcement as well.

Australian government fronts up $19 million for digital health tech development

Elsewhere, RMIT Online and the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre have announced a suite of digital health short courses.

By Aimee Chanthadavong | July 20, 2020 -- 02:44 GMT (12:44 AEST) | Topic: Innovation

The federal government has announced it will be handing over a total of AU$18.8 million to fund the development of 21 new biomedical and medical technology projects.

The funding is part of round three of the government's AU$45 million BioMedTech Horizons program, an initiative designed to support the development of health technologies.

"Successful applicants will use the funding to develop medical devices -- including wearable devices -- telehealth and telemedicine, and digitally-enabled personalised medicine," Minister for Health Greg Hunt said.

"Our government is supporting Australia's world-class biomedical and medical technology sector for the benefit of all Australians, while creating new jobs, growing expertise and building sustainable export markets."

Projects that will receive the funding include Victoria-based Seer to develop a personalised epilepsy mobile and wearable monitoring device, New South Wales-based Inventia Life Science, which is developing a 3D bioprinting system for skin regeneration, and South Australia's Miniprobes for developing a smart biopsy needle for faster, safer neurosurgery. Each of these projects will receive AU$1 million from the handout.

Other technology projects are focused on treatments for cancer, stroke, paralysis, irritable bowel syndrome, brain injuries, back pain, and chronic middle ear disease.  

More here:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/australian-government-fronts-up-19-million-for-digital-health-tech-development/

Seems to me it is worthwhile to be seeding these projects with a little funding to see if they really can make a difference! It is but a very tiny part of the overall Health Budget.

David.