Who Do We Trust On Health Apps?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The survey found that almost 90 percent of respondents said that there is a role for the government in regulating health and wellness apps. Almost 60 percent of respondents said that the government should review and rate health apps, while 31 percent said that the government should fund a separate organisation to perform the role.

The survey is the first to be undertaken through Australia’s Health Panel which has been established by the Consumers Health Forum to harness community sentiment on contemporary consumer health issues.

It also found that consumers were most likely to trust recommendations by general practitioners and pharmacists on health and wellbeing apps. The results indicate that consumers trust their peers to give good recommendations on apps, but not completely. ‘Big tech’ avenues such as search engines like Google and Apple are much less likely to be trusted sources of health apps advice.

The CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said the survey results highlighted the growing public demand for credible and effective oversight of health apps given their accelerating reach into every aspect of health care.

“As consumers increasingly turn to health apps to aid and monitor their health and treatment, there’s clearly a need for people to know whether they can trust the apps, and whether they offer the best health option available and are worth the investment in time and money.

“To ensure the health system makes the most of the rapid developments in digital technology now gripping health care, the Federal Government should be moving now to assess how best to support and regulate the safety and quality of health apps.

“Given the rapid entry of health and wellbeing apps into health care, it is time now for the Government, consumers, health providers and app companies to come together to determine the fundamental principles that should govern this activity.

“The CSIRO’s recent Future of Health report states that there were approximately 318,000 mobile health apps as at last year. While that presents increasing opportunities for consumers to manage their own health, many remain unregulated despite making health claims, and they have no accountability for health outcomes.

“As the CSIRO report suggests, highly engaged consumers are demanding faster, cheaper, more personalised and preventative health solutions. There is enormous benefit to be gained by more widespread use of health and wellbeing apps to monitor and self-manage health conditions, but also to ‘nudge’ good lifestyle behaviours and choices,” said Ms Wells.

“However, the digital divide in the community is real: enhancing digital health literacy for people to benefit from this technology is becoming more important. As the CSIRO report says we need to develop robust consumer rating tools, symptom checker apps, and publicly available information sources for such health services.

“The value of the findings of Australia’s Health Panel is that while they reflect the responses of a modest sample of 260 respondents, they nonetheless give an insight into how people are viewing this relatively new and still largely unregulated development in health care.

“Importantly, the sentiments expressed by Panel participants flag areas where we need to do more research and policy development. When health and wellness apps are such that they start interacting with the more formal health system, further questions emerge such as whether they should form part of a treatment plan or even be prescribed and whether they should attract government funding in some form.

“The survey highlights the important role Australia’s Health Panel can play in bringing to policy-makers’ attention the thinking of the community on vital issues,” Ms Wells said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

If privacy is increasing for My Health Record data, it should apply to all medical records?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The laws underpinning the My Health Record as well as records kept by GPs and private hospitals currently allow those records to be shared with the police, Centrelink, the Tax Office and other government departments if it’s “reasonably necessary” for a criminal investigation or to protect tax revenue.

If passed, the policy of the Digital Health Agency (which runs the My Health Record) not to release information without a court order will become law. This would mean the My Health Record has greater privacy protections in this respect than other medical records, which doesn’t make much sense.

Changing the law to increase privacy

Under the proposed new bill, state and federal government departments and agencies would have to apply for a court order to obtain information stored in the My Health Record.

The court would need to be satisfied that sharing the information is “reasonably necessary”, and that there is no other effective way for the person requesting it to access the information. The court would also need to weigh up whether the disclosure would “unreasonably interfere” with the person’s privacy.

If granted, a court order to release the information would require the Digital Health Agency to provide information from a person’s My Health Record without the person’s consent, and even if they objected.

If a warrant is issued for a person’s health records, the police can sift through them as they look for relevant information. They could uncover personally sensitive material that is not relevant to the current proceedings. Since the My Health Record allows the collection of information across health providers, there could be an increased risk of non-relevant information being disclosed.

But what about our other medical records?

Although we share all sorts of personal information online, we like to think of our medical records as sacrosanct. But the law underpinning My Health Record came from the wording of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, which applies to all medical records held by GPs, specialists and private hospitals.

Under the Act, doctors don’t need to see a warrant before they’re allowed to share health information with enforcement agencies. The Privacy Act principles mean doctors only need a “reasonable belief” that sharing the information is “reasonably necessary” for the enforcement activity.

Although public hospital records do not fall under the Privacy Act, they are covered by state laws that have similar provisions. In Victoria, for instance, the Health Records Act 2001 permits disclosure if the record holder “reasonably believes” that the disclosure is “reasonably necessary” for a law enforcement function and it would not be a breach of confidence.

In practice, health care providers are trained on the utmost importance of protecting the patient’s privacy. Their systems of registration and accreditation mean they must follow a professional code of ethical conduct that includes observing confidentiality and privacy.

Although the law doesn’t require it, it is considered good practice for health professionals to insist on seeing a warrant before disclosing a patient’s health records.

In a 2014 case, the federal court considered whether a psychiatrist had breached the privacy of his patient. The psychiatrist had given some of his patient’s records to Queensland police in response to a warrant. The court said the existence of a warrant was evidence the doctor had acted appropriately.

In a 2015 case, it was decided a doctor had interfered with a patient’s privacy when disclosing the patient’s health information to police. In this case, there no was warrant and no formal criminal investigation.

Unfortunately, there are recent examples of medical records being shared with government departments in worrying ways. In Australia, it has been alleged the immigration department tried, for political reasons, to obtain access to the medical records of people held in immigration detention.

In the UK, thousands of patient records were shared with the Home Office to trace immigration offenders. As a result, it was feared some people would become too frightened to seek medical care for themselves and children.

We can’t change the fact different laws at state and federal level apply to our paper and electronic medical records stored in different locations. But we can try to change these laws to be consistent in protecting our privacy.

If it’s so important to change the My Health Records Act to ensure our records can only be “unlocked” by a court order, the same should apply to the Privacy Act as well as state-based laws. Doing so might help to address public concerns about privacy and the My Health Record, and further inform decisions about opting out or staying in the system.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_zigzag][vc_column_text]

Authors

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Research Fellow in Law, University of Melbourne

Professor of Speech Pathology, University of Technology Sydney[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Associate professor, University of Melbourne

Director, University of Newcastle Legal Centre, University of Newcastle[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

This article originally appeared on theconversation.com.

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”2387″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaW1nJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZjb3VudGVyLnRoZWNvbnZlcnNhdGlvbi5jb20lMkZjb250ZW50JTJGMTAyNjU0JTJGY291bnQuZ2lmJTNGZGlzdHJpYnV0b3IlM0RyZXB1Ymxpc2gtbGlnaHRib3gtYWR2YW5jZWQlMjIlMjBhbHQlM0QlMjJUaGUlMjBDb252ZXJzYXRpb24lMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjElMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIxJTIyJTIwc3R5bGUlM0QlMjJib3JkZXIlM0ElMjBub25lJTIwJTIxaW1wb3J0YW50JTNCJTIwYm94LXNoYWRvdyUzQSUyMG5vbmUlMjAlMjFpbXBvcnRhbnQlM0IlMjBtYXJnaW4lM0ElMjAwJTIwJTIxaW1wb3J0YW50JTNCJTIwbWF4LWhlaWdodCUzQSUyMDFweCUyMCUyMWltcG9ydGFudCUzQiUyMG1heC13aWR0aCUzQSUyMDFweCUyMCUyMWltcG9ydGFudCUzQiUyMG1pbi1oZWlnaHQlM0ElMjAxcHglMjAlMjFpbXBvcnRhbnQlM0IlMjBtaW4td2lkdGglM0ElMjAxcHglMjAlMjFpbXBvcnRhbnQlM0IlMjBvcGFjaXR5JTNBJTIwMCUyMCUyMWltcG9ydGFudCUzQiUyMG91dGxpbmUlM0ElMjBub25lJTIwJTIxaW1wb3J0YW50JTNCJTIwcGFkZGluZyUzQSUyMDAlMjAlMjFpbXBvcnRhbnQlM0IlMjB0ZXh0LXNoYWRvdyUzQSUyMG5vbmUlMjAlMjFpbXBvcnRhbnQlMjIlMjAlMkYlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]

APPLE’S ANNOUNCEMENT GETS HEARTS RACING

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The much-anticipated new additions to the iPhone family were quickly overshadowed by Apple’s fourth generation Watch, aptly named Series 4. An already established leader in technology wearables, the new Apple Watch Series 4 has accelerated Apple’s long march into the health and wellness space with the announcements of its new capabilities.

Speaking at the Special Event, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Williams, described the new Apple Watch as an intelligent guardian for your health.

Williams highlighted a number of key features including the watch’s improved accelerometer and gyroscope which can detect when a user is falling and call emergency services if required.

“Fall detection is a feature that we hope you never need but it’s really nice to know it’s there” Mr Williams said.

As reported in Wired Magazine, “the feature that received the most applause was the electrocardiogram (ECG) using the new ECG app”.

Partnering with cardiologist and President of the American Heart Association, Ivor Benjamin, Apple was able to introduce an industry-first consumer wearable that boasts the built-in ECG.  Through the new ECG app, users can opt to receive a heart rhythm classification within 30 seconds and a notification if an irregular heart rhythm is detected.

Users can export the data captured by the watch’s electrical heart rate sensor into a PDF report to be shared with health professionals for further analysis.

As consumer data continues to dominate the conversation around health in the United States and Australia, Apple’s latest achievement will likely herald a further shirt toward patient-centred care.

While the Apple Watch’s ECG capable app has been given the tick of approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the same technology will not be available in Australia as the device is yet to have approval from the TGA.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

A VISION FOR A NEW APPROACH TO HEALTH

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The CSIRO Future of Health report provides a list of recommendations for improving the health of Australians over the next 15 years, focussed around five central themes: empowering people, addressing health inequity, unlocking the value of digitised data, supporting integrated and precision health solutions, and integrating with a global sector.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said collaboration and coordination were key to securing the health of current and future generations in Australia, and across the globe.

“It’s hard to find an Australian who hasn’t personally benefitted from something we created, including some world-first health innovations like atomic absorption spectroscopy for diagnostics; greyscale imaging for ultrasound, the flu vaccine (Relenza); the Hendra vaccine protecting both people and animals; even the world’s first extended-wear contact lenses,” DR Mashall said.

“As the world is changing faster than ever before, we’re looking to get ahead of these changes by bringing together Team Australia’s world-class expertise, from all sectors, and the life experiences of all Australians to set a bold direction towards a brighter future.”

The report highlighted that despite ranking among the healthiest people in the world. Australians spent an average of 11 year in ill health – the highest among OECD countries.

Clinical care was reported to influence only 20 per cent of a person’s life expectancy and quality of life, with the remaining 80 per cent relying on external factors such as behaviour, social and economic support, and the physical environment.

“As pressure on our healthcare system increases, costs escalate, and healthy choices compete with busier lives, a new approach is needed to ensure the health and wellbeing of Australians,” CSIRO Director of Health & Biosecurity Dr Rob Grenfell said.

The report stated that the cost of managing mental health related illness to be $60 billion annually, with a further $5 billion being spent on managing costs associated with obesity.

Health inequities across a range of social, economic, and cultural measurers were found to costs Australia almost $230 billion a year.

“Unless we shift our approach to healthcare, a rising population and increases in chronic illnesses such as obesity and mental illness, will add further strain to them system,” Dr Grenfell said.

“By shifting to a system focussed on proactive health management and prevention, we have an exciting opportunity to provide quality healthcare that leaves no-one behind.

“How Australia navigates this shift over the next 15 years will significantly impact the health of the population and the success of Australian healthcare organisations both domestically and abroad.”

CSIRO has been continuing to grow its expertise within the health domain and is focussed on research that will help Australians live healthier, longer lives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

WORLD-FIRST STUDY INTO COCHLEAR IMPLANTS AND IMPACT ON SPEECH

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the study, published today in the journal Ear & Hearing, the experts have found a correlation between a computer model and the speech intelligibility in implant recipients. This might mean that by improving the performance of the model, the performance of individuals with cochlear implants may benefit in ways that have never before been explored.

“Cochlear implants are remarkable devices that have changed lives over the past several decades,” said lead author, PhD candidate Greg Watkins from the University of Sydney’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.

“However, despite this astonishing history, listening to and understanding another person’s speech when there is a lot of background noise is still much more difficult for people with cochlear implants than it is for people with normal hearing.”

Greg, who received a cochlear implant himself in February, explained that: “Computerised speech intelligibility models are powerful tools that allow us to evaluate how a hearing impairment may affect a cochlear implant recipient’s ability to understand speech in background noise.”

The researchers compared the accuracy of four different models of a recipient’s likelihood to understand speech. They discovered that a new model, known as the ‘output signal to noise ratio’ or OSNR was superior in predicting the improvements or decline in sentence recognition of actual cochlear implant recipients.

“The OSNR appears to have the capability to predict what will happen as a result of changing the parameters available to clinicians when tailoring the implant performance to the specific needs of a patient,” said Professor Gregg Suaning, a global leader in implantable bionics from the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering and co-author of the study.

“The result might be that changes that were never considered as possible improvements may now be used to achieve a better outcome for recipients of cochlear implants.”

Brett Swanson, Principal Research Engineer at Cochlear Limited, highlighted another important aspect of the study.

“A cochlear implant stimulates the auditory nerve directly, so if you’re a researcher with normal hearing, you can’t listen to it yourself. Instead, we rely on dedicated volunteers with cochlear implants who spend hours in sound-proof rooms listening to sentences in noise and telling us what they hear. It is vital work, but mentally draining. OSNR has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of time that we need from our volunteers,” he said.

The next steps in this work include working with cochlear implant recipients to make changes in their implant based on the model predictions and demonstrating the outcome is indeed an improvement in speech recognition in noise.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE CAN HELP PREVENT STROKES AND HEART ATTACKS

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Millions of people around the world die from heart attacks and strokes every year.

Predicting the formation of a blood clot is challenging because of the dynamic environment in which a clot forms. Blood platelets, which are a tenth of the size of a regular cell, are the major drivers of blood clot formation and they clump together within seconds when triggered.

ANU biomedical engineer Dr Steve Lee, from the ANU Research School of Engineering, and biochemist Associate Professor Elizabeth Gardiner, from the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), are the research team leaders.

“Using the new diagnostic device that our team has developed, we can create and quantify clot formation in 3D view from a blood sample without any form of labelling such as fluorescence or radiotracer – this had been impossible to achieve until now,” Dr Lee said.

Associate Professor Gardiner said that doctors treated people at risk of heart attack or stroke with blood-thinning medication, but there was no way to know a patient’s susceptibility with precision – until now.

“We can apply this technology to blood from patients at risk of clotting or uncontrollable bleeding – this is a potential gamechanger,” she said.

Sherry He, a CSC-PhD scholar in Dr Lee’s group at the ANU Research School of Engineering, and Dr Samantha Montague, a postdoctoral fellow from the Gardiner group at JCSMR, supported the development of the new diagnostic device.

“Our device creates a digital hologram of a microscopic blood clot at a fraction of a second by measuring the delay time for light to travel through the clot,” Ms He said.

The team tailored a microfabricated device that can mimic a damaged blood vessel and created blood clots from human samples to reveal these blood-clotting events in the laboratory.

Ms He said the device can be fitted onto a regular microscope, but was not yet suitable to be used at the bedside.

“We need to shrink our diagnostic device, which takes up a fair amount of space in a research lab at the moment, to something that can fit into a shoebox so that it can be used in a clinical setting,” she said.
Dr Montague said the device would be further developed in tandem with existing clinical and platelet research practices.

“We have set up this new diagnostic device at JCSMR right alongside routine flow cytometry equipment that are the gold-standard for cell and blood platelet analysis,” she said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

$80,000 CALL FOR AUSTRALIA’S PATHBREAKING HEALTHCARE INNOVATORS

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Now in its fifth year, MedTech’s Got Talent, an initiative of the Actuator, is on the search to identify and refine high-potential MedTech concepts from aspiring next-generation early stage entrepreneurs and innovators associated with Australia’s world-class universities, hospitals and research institutes.

Successful applicants will receive support to develop an investable start-up pitch, developing a go-to-market strategy, and initiating commercial activities. Participants will vie for over $80,000 in cash prizes plus critical support, such as mentoring from Australia’s leading commercialisation and technology experts.

Founder and CEO of the Actuator, Dr Buzz Palmer, is keen to emphasise the importance of the MedTech’s Got Talent competition in stimulating an entrepreneurial culture within the Australian MedTech community.

“The reason why we have been running the MedTech’s Got Talent competition for the past five years is to support start-ups, researchers, healthcare professionals or anyone who has an interest in MedTech to share their ideas, take risks and embrace failure. It is only through this entrepreneurial mindset that our innovation ecosystem grows, and great MedTech ideas become a reality,” Dr Palmer said.

Victoria’s Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy, Philip Dalidakis, believes its important to highlight the role of the Actuator in enabling the commercialisation of new MedTech ventures.

“We’re one of the world’s largest life science clusters and possess world leader research and advanced manufacturing capabilities. Victoria’s potential to create innovative healthcare solutions is among the world’s best and the Victorian Government is proud to support local start-ups and help them achieve their full potential through the MedTech Actuator,” Mr Dalidakis said.

Applications for the 2018 National round close on the 27th of September. For full program details, eligibility and to apply, visit www.medtechchallenge.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

$9.85 MILLION TO GET MEDICAL DEVICES TO MARKET

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]New South Wales Minister for Health and Medical Research, Brad Hazzard, announced the recipients of the 2018 NSW Medical Devices (MDF) which invests in the development and commercialisation of medical devices and related technologies.

“Since the Medial Devices Fund began in 2013, the NSW Government has awarded more than $50 million in grants to 31 technologies,” Mr Hazzard said.

“We are committed to supporting innovators in the MedTech industry in getting their brilliant ideas off the ground and ultimately saving millions of lives around the world.”

MDF past recipients have now raised more than $456 million in funding, treated more than 180,000 patients and all have quadrupled their staff in the process.

Office for Health and Medical Research Executive Director, Dr Antonio Penna, said Sydney-based Ellen Medical Devices has received $2.2 million to develop a portable, solar-powered dialysis machine, costing just $1,000 to build and $5 a day to run.

“Dialysis can cost up to $100,000 per patient each year in Australia and up to seven million people die annually in developing countries because it is too expensive,” Dr Penna said.

Among other recipients is Wollongong-based company Eudaemon Technologies, which has received $1 million to develop a condom made from an innovative material called hydrogel which is non-allergenic.

It is expected the product will enhance sexual experience, making it more popular and therefore potentially save healthcare agencies millions of dollars worldwide by reducing the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.

THE 2018 NSW MEDICAL DEVICES FUND WINNERS ARE:

  • Kico Knee Innovation Company Pty Ltd ($2.5 million): Customised total knee replacement technology platform. The platform has software and hardware components that provide orthopaedic surgeons and patients with dynamic, functional and patient-specific solutions. It is primarily aimed at Australian and US markets.
  • Ellen Medical Devices Pty Ltd ($2.2 million): An affordable dialysis system which will provide access to life-saving treatment to millions of kidney patients around the world. Dialysis is a safe and effective treatment for kidney failure, but expensive at $50,000-$100,000 per patient per annum in Australia.
  • Cenof ex Innovations Pty Ltd ($1.5 million): A device to improve treatment of side effects of the incurable chronic and painful disease, Lymphoedema. It is capable of activity moving lymphatic fluid while incorporating a patient’s need for comfort, portability, and ease. The disease can also lead to dangerous infections, restricted movement and depression.
  • iFix Medical Pty Ltd ($1.15 million): The iFix system can deliver a 3D-printed structure directly onto the eye to seal wounds in the treatment of corneal ulceration, better preventing infection, relieving pain and accelerating healing. The condition is extremely painful and accounts for 55,000 hospital presentation each year in Australia.
  • Eudaemon Technologies Pty Ltd ($1 million): A next-generation, non-allergenic condom made from hydrogels that act like latex rubber but with enhanced feel and self-lubrication and without odours or tastes. Although condoms can prevent both pregnancy and STIs they are often avoided due to the stigma of reduced sensation.
  • Trimph Technology Pty Ltd ($1 million): TrimphDent, a ready-to-use, injectable scaffold that is applied immediately after tooth extraction and has been shown to preserve the socket. Tooth extraction is an inherently traumatic procedure that damages the underlying tissues and leads to inevitable jaw bone shrinkage.
  • Indee Pty Ltd ($500,000): This inexpensive mechanical process to make gene-modified cells will solve the development and manufacturing issues associated with current gene therapies and ensure greater access to treatment. The impact of gene-modified cell therapies will be similar to that of antibiotics seen during the last century. In the near term, their therapies will provide cures for most cancers.

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DIGITAL HEALTH A $200 BILLION INDUSTRY BY 2020

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Software and technologies that assist in diagnosis, treatment options, storing and sharing health records, and managing workflow can enable more efficient clinical practice. The proliferation of digital health tools, including mobile health apps and wearable sensors, holds great promise for improving human health.

By some accounts there are now over 318,000 health apps available on the top app stores worldwide, nearly double the number of apps available in 2015 – with more than 200 apps being added each day.

In today’s environment, apps can be created by anyone with a good idea and some programming skills.

When barriers to entry are low, how do you differentiate yourself? But more importantly how does the industry and regulators ensure the quality of the technology can be directly linked to clinical evidence sufficient to demonstrate an appropriate level of safety and performance when used for the intended purpose.

That’s why this week the TGA recognised that to continue providing a clear regulatory environment for medical devices in Australia, it is essential that it engage with the medical devices ecosystem during the development of new regulatory recommendations and guidelines. The TGA has commenced consultation, through CSIRO Futures, in the areas of Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), and Cyber Security for Medical Devices (CSfMD).

As with all other medical devices, the regulation of medical device software and mobile medical apps that are medical devices is risk-based. This means that the level of scrutiny and oversight by the TGA applied to a product will vary according to the level of risk that the product represents to the patient or healthcare professional using it. The potential risks arising from medical devices can be minor, or very significant indeed, depending on the nature of the device and its intended purpose.

PulseLine will be taking a keen interest in this project as it evolves. If you want to get involved contact the team using the link below, before close of business on the 20th of August 2018.

CSIRO project team member Dr Jill Freyne.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCHERS SPARKING IDEAS ON THE WORLD STAGE

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Over the past week, senior executives from across the world gathered in Berlin, Germany for the annual SPARK Global meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to bring together like-minded translational scientists in academia to collaboratively address global health challenges.

As part of the SPARK Global meeting, Accelerating Australia and MTPConnect selected six esteemed Australians to join SPARK’s two-week Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship training program. The six include Anqi Li and Garcia Cruz from Monash University, John Karas and Lisseth Burbano-Portilla from the University of Melbourne, and Carly Italiano and Max Cummins from the University of Technology Sydney.

All six Australians will work across multi-disciplinary and multi-national teams to solve global healthcare problems.

Maria, a PhD student at Monash University, is currently working in the field of cardiac tissue engineering, aiming to improve cardiac regeneration after heat attacks by developing a 3D bio-printed scaffold.

Speaking of her scholarship to attend the course, Maria said she believes the course “will be beneficial to me, as it takes me closer to develop feasible and better solutions, instruct on how to obtain funding to create biomedical companies and reinforces the communication skills that are essential for working effectively in multi-disciplinary teams.”

Joining the Australian researchers will be a delegation of senior executives from SPARK Oceania and Accelerating Australia, including Professor Michael Wallach and A/Professor Kevin Pfleger. Mr Wallach was invited by Stanford SPARK founders, Professor Daria Mochly-Rosen and A/Professor Kevin Grimes, to present the Australian SPARK model as a shining example of collaboration that other Spark programs can emulate.

Professor Wallach said the philosophy of SPARK Australia is to focus primarily on the benefit for the patient, which contributed to the success of all of the projects participating in the program.

“It has been very exciting seeing SPARK programs develop in Sydney (UTS, Univ. of Sydney & Macquarie Univ.), at Monash University starting last year and more recently at the University of Melbourne. Working closely with Professor Daria Mochly-Rosen and Prof. Kevin Grimes from Stanford University, School of Medicine (the Directors of SPARK Stanford) to bring SPARK to Australia has been an amazing experience & a great honour for me,” Prof Wallach said.

The SPARK program was originally developed by Stanford University in 2006 as a way to advance research discoveries from bench to bedside through education, mentorship and funding, often with a particular emphasis on drug development. A number of academic institutions worldwide have successfully developed their own SPARK programs based upon the SPARK at Stanford model, including Japan, France, Switzerland, Brazil, Norway and Australia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]