Some of the top innovative businesses in WA were recognised at this week’s 2022 Innovator of the Year Awards.
Medtech Neurotologix Pty Ltd was awarded the overall WA Innovator of the Year 2022, which included the $70,000 cash prize, in recognition of their remote patient monitoring device for dizziness and vertigo. Through BioDesign Australia they have also won the support of three PhD students to further their program research.
Annually, over 2.9 million Australians (15% of the population) will experience dizziness and vertigo, prompting over 350,000 medical appointments. With numerous underlying causes, an accurate diagnosis is critical as treatment pathways differ significantly.
Neurotologix has built a revolutionary new system to address this worldwide need. The system incorporates integrated remote capture devices to be used by the patient and a cloud informatics suite that provides clinicians a complete clinical solution.
CEO and co-founder Kate Lewkowski (main picture) is an audiologist with over 20 years of clinical and epidemiological research experience, holding degrees in computer science, mathematics and public health.
The other winners included:
- Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation Category – Protective for their broken neutral protection device.
- Rio Tinto Growth Category – Assuro for their ‘Bank guarantees and bonds made easy’ project.
- Business News ‘Great for the State’ Award Winner – Xsights Digital for the XioT Health Tag, used for livestock health and welfare monitoring.
- Woodside Energy Award Winner – Sentient Hubs for their dynamic master planning platform.
- Wesfarmers Award Winner – Lixa for their Neo X platform technology, used for mitigating antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections.
Finalists Vedi and Speed Signature have also been selected to attend an Entrepreneurial Mindset Bootcamp hosted by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation (CERI) in Nedlands.
Neutrologix and Assuro were also both winners at this year’s Incite Awards.
The Innovator of the Year finalists were originally announced back in August. Since then, all finalists have been able to partake in free workshops and mentoring, including assistance in pitch coaching, funding and managing boards.
Innovation and ICT Minister Stephen Dawson said the awards – which were hosted during the West Tech Fest (WTF) for the first time – were an important event to showcase the brightest innovations and entrepreneurs in the State, and to support them in their innovation journey.
“The high calibre of finalists this year brought forward innovative solutions to address real issues in diverse industries, such as health, technology, sport and finance.
“The McGowan Government plays an important role in supporting and building our burgeoning innovation ecosystem, but it’s this successful event that continues to provide a platform to showcase the world-class innovation and technology being developed here in Western Australia.
The incredible response that we received for this awards program demonstrates the genuine passion and support for innovation within the WA community. I’d like to extend my congratulations to all the winners and finalists for their hard work and tenacity and I have no doubt this will continue to drive you to even greater, long- term success in WA and beyond.
Stephen Dawson, Innovation Minister
During the event, Mr Dawson also announced that ‘Team WA‘ has won its bid to host the next Massachusetts Institute of Technology Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP) event.
This week-long event will be held in late June 2023, and is set to attract visitors from all the participating countries in cohort 9 including Hungary, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and the United States, including Professors and staff from MIT.
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