Clinical and commercial outcomes
The Bionics Institute is focused on clinical and commercial outcomes in response to the health needs of the community, while providing fundamental knowledge to underpin new advances in medical bionics.
Our work strengthens the Australian economy through innovation and skills training for the next generation of researchers.
Our capabilities
The institute has:
- Proven experience in taking research concepts through to pre-commercial product outcomes
- Experience working in multidisciplinary teams and in collaboration with other organisations spanning medical, science and engineering fields
- Commercial partners
- Expertise in neuroscience and electrophysiology research at both the in vitro and in vivo levels
- Established infection control, biocompatibility and biological safety techniques which can be applied to all implant devices
- Experience in important clinical research techniques including; signal processing, mathematical modelling, neurophysiology, behavioural performance measures for adults and children, and psychophysics.
Our successes
Formalised relationships between Universities and other research partners now exist, enabling the capture and creation of unambiguous title to IP in the field of medical bionics.
An agreement between the Institute and Cochlear has enabled several research projects on hearing, with others under negotiation.
The Institute has facilitated the formation of two companies in the last ten years:
- Dynamic Hearing Pty Ltd was spun off from the CRC for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Innovation in 2002 and is now a successful sound processing technology company with about 25 employees.
- In 2010 PolyActiva Pty Ltd was spun-off from Bionic Technologies Australia, a joint venture with CSIRO, St Vincent’s Hospital (Melbourne), and the University of Wollongong, funded by a Victorian State Government Science, Technology, and Innovation grant.
PolyActiva is developing a drug-polymer technology that delivers therapeutic drugs directly to the affected organ or treatment site.