LaTrobe med-tech innovation subject to new grant innovation

La Trobe University has been funded $8.1 million from the Federal Government’s Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) scheme to drive three research projects for innovation, with one distinctly focused on advancing medical technology.

In addition to the government support, partner organisations have also contributed in funding of the research projects.

For the new med-tech innovation, professor Brian Abbey, from School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (SCEMS) and the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), has received $2.5 million in funding for his research partnering with AlleSense, a Melbourne based MedTech company on nanotechnology.

The funding will support a new certified facility for large-scale nanotechnology device manufacture in Australia.

Abbey’s research enhances and expand the manufacture of NanoMslide, a nanofabricated sensor technology that significantly enhances the contrast of microscope tissue sample.

“This project holds the potential to revolutionise the medical industry by generating faster, cheaper and more accurate images for diagnosis. Through our collaboration with the Australian Centre for Artificial Intelligence for Medical Innovation (ACAMI), we are also researching fundamentally new approaches to digital pathology,” Abbey said.

Professor Ian Porter from the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment has been awarded with $1.78 million for his research of smoke detectors.

Porter’s research uses Wine Industry Smoke Detectors (WISDs) to detect smoke like bushfires and burns around vineyards, to warn winegrowers the chance in tainting their grape.

“Smoke taint is the Australian wine industry’s greatest economic production risk, costing the industry multi-million dollar loss every year,” Porter said.

“We hope to see a widespread adoption of the WISD system throughout key wine-growing regions in Australia. Growers and winemakers will benefit by making early decisions for management of smoke impacts on vineyards. For the first time, they can have the confidence to market quality grapes and wine from smoke-affected areas.”

Professional Aniruddha Desai also from the SCEMS and the Centre for Technology Infusion was funded $3.8 million for his research of digital technology solution in dairy farm management partnering with Robo Jedi.

Desai’s research creates an integrated digital technology solution that can enhance dairy farm management through offering farmers essential tool to reduce costs and improve milk yield.

“Comprehensive testing and development at our pilot farms will bring together autonomous drone data with next-generation livestock-wearable technology to deliver a fully integrated, scalable solution for farmers,” Desai said.

“By providing real-time, actionable insights, the system will enable more effective pasture management, proactive animal health monitoring, and optimised reproduction cycles – ultimately boosting productivity, sustainability, and profitability for the Dairy sector.”