Biodesign Australia recently hosted a 4-day conference that brought together 31 biodesign leaders from around the world. Titled BioMedical Engineering Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Alliance Asia Pacific, the conference was themed around “Actionable Collaboration” and focused on how biodesign programs across the APAC region and the local WA medtech ecosystem could collaborate.
The conference kicked off with a Biodesign Strategy retreat in Yallingup followed by a Biodesign Showcase at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research with over 200 attendees.
The showcase was opened by Minister of Innovation Stephen Dawson MLC.
Keynote speakers were Adjunct Professor Anurag Mairal, Director of Global Outreach at Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign and William McKeon, President and CEO of Texas Medical Center.
Stanford Biodesign is one of the most successful collaborations between academia and the medtech industry globally. The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical city in the world.
Other presenters included startup companies from Biodesign Australia, namely Vysum, VitalTrace, VeinTech and Lenexa Medical, as well as from other APAC Biodesign programs such as Remohab, HealthPixel, PrediMed, LongGood MediTech and Ripple Healthcare. Companies from within the WA medtech ecosystem also presented including Curve Tomorrow, Atamo Innovations, Inspiring, Linear Clinical Research, AIRO plus Adarsh Australia, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and Alcolizer Technology who sponsored the event.
Professor Mairal sat down with 11 Biodesign Australia ecosystem medtech startups to give them commercialisation and market access advice and the delegates toured a number of Biodesign-founded MedTech companies. CEO and founder of VitalTrace, a company developing a novel fetal monitoring system to keep babies and mothers safe during childbirth, Dr Arjun Kaushik commented on the experience.
The conference concluded with a Directors’ meeting at City of Perth Council House, hosted by Minister Dawson, to discuss how Perth could leverage Perth Biodesign’s experience to maximise the impact of medical innovation in the state.